JPNS 1000: Basic Japanese I

JPNS 2000: Intermediate Japanese I

SYLLABUS (Fall 2007)

INSTRUCTORS & CLASS MEETINGS:

Jinko Oyake MTWR 10:00-10:50am Classroom: Dunbar Hall 2203

小宅　仁子 Office: 814 Sprau Tower Office Hours: MTWR 10:50-11:05

Contact: 387-6249; jinko.oyake@wmich.edu

Katsuyuki Kawakami MTWR 12:00-12:50am Classroom: Trimpe Hall 1321

川上克之 Office: 814 Sprau Tower Office Hours: MTWR 12:50-1:05

Contact: 387-6249; katsuyuki.kawakami@wmich.edu

If you have questions about how to study abroad in Japan or if you would like to enroll in the Japanese minor, please contact Dr. Angles (jeffrey.angles@wmich.edu, TEL 387-3044). For more information on the WMU Japanese program and study abroad opportunities, see http://homepages.wmich.edu/~jangles/.

Prerequisite:

This course is designed with the assumption that students have completed JPNS 1010 at WMU or the equivalent. Students who have not taken JPNS1010 should request permission from the instructor to take the course.

Course Description:

This is a continuation of JPNS 1010. All four skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) will be equally emphasized and practiced in this course. Intermediate level communicative competence of the Japanese language will be acquired in all these skills throughout the semester. Some aspects of the Japanese culture will also be discussed during the semester.

Course Objectives:

1. To acquire intermediate level communicative competence of the Japanese language in all four skills --- speaking, listening, writing and reading.

a. Speaking: able to carry out comprehensive conversation in different situations such as going to theatres, talking about past events, expressing reasons, planning for future events, comparing things, expressing hope, talking about experiences, going to hospital, and explaining situations.

b. Listening: able to understand comprehensive conversation in different situations.

c. Writing: able to write memos, journals, essays, and letters both in hand-writing and on the computer.

d. Reading: able to read required kanji for the semester (and hiragana/katakana) as well as to read long paragraphs.

2. To acquire knowledge of Japanese grammar sufficient for carrying out different functions.

3. To acquire 59 kanji and approximately 24 recognizable kanji (compound kanji words).

4. To become familiar with some aspects of Japanese culture.

Required Materials:

<Textbook> GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I

Banno, Eri, Yutaka Ohno, Yoko Sakane, and Chikako Shinagawa. Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I. Tokyo: The Japan Times, 1999.

<Workbook> GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I Workbook

Banno, Eri, Yutaka Ohno, Yoko Sakane, and Chikako Shinagawa. Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I Workbook. Tokyo: The Japan Times, 2000.

<CD> GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I Student CD

Course Requirements:

1. Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. Role will be taken in each class meeting. Do not be late for the class. Three late arrivals will be considered one absence. Each student is allowed 4 absences (for whatever reason --- religious holidays, illnesses, etc.). After 4 absences, regardless of the reason, your letter grade will be lowered by 1% each day you are absent. For extended illnesses, you must submit a letter from your physician within a week.

2. Participation [5%]

Active classroom participation and full attention are expected all the time. The participation will be worth 5 % of the final grade. The criteria for final participation grades:

5~4 %

· Is always well prepared for class

· Actively participates and performs well in activities/practices

· Speaks Japanese most of the time

3~2 %

· Is usually adequately prepared for class

· Participates and performs in activities/practices not actively but passively

· Speaks Japanese but speaks English more than Japanese

1 %

· Is always insufficiently prepared for class; shows lack of preparation

· Poorly participates and performs in activities/practices

· Speaks English most of the time and speaks Japanese little

0 %

· Comes to class without any preparation

· Shows very poor participation and performance in activities/practices

· Shows inappropriate behaviors in the classroom setting (such as disruptive behaviors, disrespectful behaviors, and falling asleep)

· Speaks English all the time; No attempt to speak Japanese

3. Dialogue Presentation [20 %]

There will be several dialogue presentations during the semester. Each presentation will be worth 5 points and total points of the dialogue presentations will be re-calculated as 20 % of the final grade. The criteria for dialogue presentation grades:

5 points	Fluent performance · Could be easily understood by native speakers · No major grammatical or pronunciation problems that inhibit understanding
4 points	Very good performance · Could be understood with little problem by native speakers · Conversation has some minor problems that inhibit understanding, such as missed pronunciation, some hesitancy, or minor word choice problems
3 points	Good performance · Could be understood by native speakers · Conversation has some problems that inhibit understanding, such as excessive hesitance, mispronunciation, or grammatical problems
2 points	Mediocre Performance · Could be understood by native speakers with moderate difficulty · Conversation has serious problems that inhibit understanding, such as excessive hesitancy, severe mispronunciation, or moderate grammatical errors
1 points	Poor performance · Native speakers would have serious difficulty understanding · Conversation has serious problems that seriously inhibit understanding, such as excessive hesitancy, severe mispronunciation, or serious grammatical errors
0.5 point	· Student comes to class · Performs but did not memorize the assigned dialogue
0 point	· Student does not come to class · Students comes to class late and misses the presentation time

4. Weekly Quizzes: Kanji Quizzes [10%]

There will be 8 kanji quizzes throughout the semester. Each kanji quiz will be worth 1.25%. The quiz dates will be announced in advance.

If students must leave the class right after a quiz for unavoidable reasons, students should come to the instructor’s office prior to the class meeting time and take the quiz in the office, not in the classroom. Students should not come to class only to take a quiz and then leave after the quiz.

5. Lesson Tests [30 %]

There will be 4 lesson tests during the semester. After each lesson (Lessons 9, 10, 11, and 12), there will be a lesson test. Students will be informed a week in advance. All tests will include grammar and speaking sections. Each test will be worth approximately 7.5 % of the final grade.

6. Skit and Final Examination [20 %]

There will be a skit presentation as a part of the final exam (a speaking section) before the final week. Each skit presentation should be no longer than five minutes. Students will form a small group for this presentation. The skit presentation will be worth 5 % of the final grade.

Final exam is a comprehensive exam. It will include kanji, grammar, and listening sections. Final exam will be worth 15% of the final grade.

Final Exam Date: Monday, December 10, 2:45-4:45pm

7. Homework Assignment [15 %]

The workbook is the major homework in this course. Students will be informed in advance which section(s) in the workbook to be completed.

In addition to the workbook, some of the handout materials that will be distributed in the classroom will also be assigned as homework. Students will be informed in advance which handout(s) to be submitted as homework

Total homework assignment will be worth 15 %

*Homework is due every Monday.

Make-up Work and Late Work

(1) Make-up Work

If students must miss a quiz or a test because of serious circumstances such as death in the family, car accident, illness, and so on, the students need to provide documentation. It is strongly recommended that the students inform the instructor ahead of time. The students must make up the missed quiz/test within a calendar week. Make-up work is only reserved for serious circumstances, not for lack of time to study ahead of time. Students are granted up to three make-up quizzes during the semester.

(2) Late Work

If students must submit homework late, one point per day will be degraded.

Evaluation:

The letter grade will be determined in the following way:

100~93% A

92~88% BA

87~81% B

80~76% CB

75~71% C

70~66% DC

65~60% D

Under 59% E

Roles of students and the instructor:

Role of students

Students should take charge of their own learning! The instructor expects that students will come to class having already thoroughly familiarized themselves with the new material (grammatical notes, vocabulary, new kanji, etc.) for the day. The student should come prepared to PRACTICE the new material, NOT to learn it from scratch. Most college courses expect that students will prepare at least two hours per hour of in-class time. This means a minimum of eight hours of preparation/homework per week for the course.

Students should listen as much as possible to the CD-ROM accompanying the textbook so that they can understand the new material (words, phrases, and grammar) when they hear it. Students should also repeat after the CD-ROM so that they come to class already somewhat able to produce the new words, grammar, etc.

The class will be taught mainly in Japanese so students should speak as much Japanese as possible inside and outside of class. When students have difficulty with some complicated matter, ask in Japanese, 「えいごでもいいですか。」(“May I speak in English?”)

Role of the instructor

· The instructor’s role is not to teach the contents of the textbook to students from scratch, but to help students better understand the grammar, new phrases, and words that they should have already stated studying at home on their own. The instructor will do this by putting the new material into context, providing explanations when necessary, and guiding students through situations in which they must speak aloud.

· The instructor will do her best to be available to students before class, during regular office hours, or via email and/or telephone.

THE WAYS TO ACHIEVE GOALS IN JAPANESE LANGUAGE CLASSES:

Commitment: Students should commit as least one hour a day to language study.

Preparation: Students should finish the homework assignments before the class. Students are expected to come to class having thoroughly familiarized themselves with the new material for the day.

In Class Participation: Students are responsible for participation in class activities. Students should come prepared to PRACTICE the new material, NOT to learn it from scratch.

Outside the Classroom: Students should listen as much as possible to the CD-ROM accompanying the textbook so that they can understand the new material. Students are encouraged to have language partners and receive private tutorial assistance as much as possible.

Policies:

Academic Integrity

You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate (pp. 271-272) [Graduate (pp. 24-26)] Catalog that pertain to Academic Integrity. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test.

If students have used outside sources in any writing, all the sources must be cited appropriately either in MLA format or in Chicago style. Outside sources include books, book chapters, journal articles, newspapers, web pages, etc.

Disability Policy

Students who have disabilities (physical, mental, or learning disabilities) and need special accommodations should inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester not at the middle or end of the semester. It is students’ responsibility to inform the instructor of their special need(s).

Email address policy

The only email address that should be used for communication between WMU students and WMU faculty is the email address associated with a Bronco Net ID. This email address typically takes the form “firstname.midleinitial.lastname@wmich.edu.” An example is buster.h.bronco@wmich.edu. Students cannot automatically forward email from this address to other addresses. Students can access this email account or get instructions for obtaining a Bronco Net ID at GoWMU.wmich.edu.

Basic rules in Japanese language class:

No food (Do not eat food or chew gum during the class period.)
No cell phone

Language Lab

The Language Lab is located in 3209A Kohrman Hall during the Brown Hall renovation. It is a computer lab with a mounted projector, and previously-copied CDs, tapes and DVDs are available from the check-out area across the hall. Language Lab Director Jahan Aghdai and his assistants are located in 2152 Dunbar (387-2488). Call 387-2485 to contact the lab.

Fluent performance

Very good performance

Good performance

Mediocre Performance

Poor performance

(1) Make-up Work

TOPIC

Homework Due 1