2024 3Q/4Q Course list and descriptions

This course is aimed at first-time learners of the Japanese language (Beginner 1). Students will learn:
- the basic of Japanese grammar and vocabulary for everyday situations;
- information about Japanese culture and society.
Students will also learn Japanese characters, Hiragana and Katakana. Through a variety of communicative activities, students will be able to communicate in ordinary conversation, and will learn how to express their own ideas using basic Japanese.

This course is aimed at beginning learners (Beginner 3) who have studied the Japanese language for about 6 months. Students will learn the latter stage of basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary. This course focuses on acquiring natural Japanese depending on the situation, and a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and the Japanese society through language learning. In addition to speaking and listening exercises, students will work on reading and writing. Through a variety of communicative activities, students will be able to communicate in a more natural way, and will learn how to express their own ideas using Japanese.

This course is for students who have already completed the beginner's level. The four-skill exercises will be conducted based on topics. The course will further introduce more pre-intermediate level vocabulary and sentence patterns. The course will help students acquire practical Japanese skills through task-oriented exercises.

This course is for students who have already completed the Intermediate Japanese 1 and 2 levels. The four-skill exercises will be conducted based on topics.

This course is for students who have JLPT_N3 level proficiency and further wish to proceed to JLPT_N2 level. Reading practices on various kinds of materials will be conducted to help students acquire skills for effective reading. Students are expected to select their own materials, and share the content with other students both orally and in writing through various oral / composition practices.

This course is for students who have completed Intermediate Japanese 5/6 or have JLPT N2 level, and students are expected to:
1) read texts on various topics (texts should be longer and more difficult compared with those of Intermediate level);
2) make a research on subjects of their interest, and summarize and present the content and opinions in clear and understandable terms (e.g. presentations);
3) develop vocabulary and expressions to write sentences using correct sentence patterns; write long sentences along with the theme while paying attention to the whole structure;
The aim of this course is to help students acquire comprehensive Japanese skills at the upper-Intermediate / Advanced level.

We will learn Japanese culture areas through language, arts, music, and several plays of children. We will discuss some uniqueness of Japanese culture from the viewpoint of international students. By means of culture study, we will learn the introduction of the Japanese language as well.

This course is aimed at students who have studied Japanese before (e.g. half-year basic level study with knowledge of 50-100 kanji) to acquire basic knowledge of Kanji (shape, pronunciation, meaning and combination), and to further acquire basic knowledge of Kanji system and skills for recognizing Kanji through various class activities.

This course is for students who do not use kanji in their first language.

This course focuses on basic Japanese kanji, and covers the fundamentals of Japanese hiragana and kanji calligraphy.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Read and write 80 basic kanji letters;
2. Understand how to stroke with brush, and to further write Japanese kanji accordingly.

This course is for students who do not use kanji in their first language.

The aim of this class is to explore the difference by comparative methodology. And some uniqueness of the Japanese culture from the viewpoint of the international students will be discussed.

This course is for students who have completed the basic level, specifically for those who are still not confident in their Japanese when they speak with Japanese people. This course will focus on various interesting topics to be shared with the class.

This course is aimed at students who have finished the study of basic level Japanese with knowledge of about 250 basic Kanji. Students will learn 250 Kanji often used for the study of lower-intermediate level Japanese language as well as for daily life and campus life including their research activities. Students will learn the pronunciation and the meaning of each Kanji and Kanji combinations, and will further expand their knowledge of Kanji system and skills for recognizing Kanji which will lead them to achieve their autonomous Kanji studying.

This course is for students who do not use kanji in their first language.

This course is for students who have already completed Intermediate 2 level. Students will learn how to appropriately use the expressions they have learned depending on the occasion and the person they are talking to. The course will further introduce more formal words and euphemistic expressions, and will also help students acquire practical Japanese skills through task-oriented exercises.

This course is aimed at intermediate level students who have studied about 400 kanji words. Students will learn kanji words which are:
- often used in daily life and campus life including their research activities;
- useful for the intermediate level study of Japanese as well.
Students will learn how to expand their knowledge of kanji system and skills for recognizing kanji which will lead them to achieve their autonomous Kanji studying.

This course is for students who do not use kanji in their first language.

The aim of this course is to help students acquire the basic knowledge of Japanese pronunciation and the ability to present sentences containing technical terms with natural-sounding pronunciation. Online classes will be streamed live via Zoom, and the instructor will check and correct each student's pronunciation individually during the class.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) understand the basic knowledge of Japanese pronunciation;
2) write the pitch lines and accent marks on technical sentences or terms using the pronunciation dictionary and OJAD (Online Japanese Accent Dictionary);
3) present sentences marked with the pitch lines with natural-sounding pronunciation;
4) present their research with easily understandable pronunciation.

Through text readings and discussion, students will learn the knowledge and communication skills necessary to work smoothly in a multicultural environment.
This course examines the conflicts of international graduates of Japanese universities and Japanese employees working in a global environment.The course further examines how they try to solve such conflicts, as well as how they feel the significance of their own existence in their workplace from their respective viewpoint.