Shrine

JPN 201

Intermediate
Japanese I
Language & Culture


Tu•Th 10-11:15am
MAK C-1-114

 Jeremy Robinson
robinjer@gvsu.edu
Office: MAK D-2-136
Tu•Th 1-2pm or by appointment
Tu•Th 11:30am-12:45pm
MAK C-1-114

Foreign language learning is like love a la Tennyson: it is better to have had it and lost it, than never to have had it at all. What fool objects to falling in love because there may be eventual “loss through disuse?” After really experiencing a foreign language--no person is ever the same again. What before was strange has not merely been described or explained; it has been encountered in its reality, and the strangeness has gone. As in love, the words learned may fade, the grammar be forgotten; but he who has experienced a foreign language knows at first hand, and forever--as others less fortunate cannot know--what it means to transcend the limitations of a single tongue and a single culture. He has known one of the liberating forces in a liberal education.
- William Riley Parker, The Language Curtain (1966)

Student Learning Objectives
  After successful completion of JPN 201, students will be able to...
    ... analyze complex Japanese sentences, including identification of modifying clauses.
    ... differentiate between different registers of formality expressed through language context.
    ... apply learned grammar and vocabulary to create original statements in intermediate Japanese
    ... produce sustained communication on a variey of topics in intermediate Japanese in both oral and written form.
    ... translate intermediate level concepts from Japanese to English and English to Japanese.
    ... memorize Japanese vocabulary necessary to comprehend and produce sustained communication in intermediate Japanese.
    ... recognize cultural expectations embedded in language use in intermediate Japanese.
    ... write intermediate Japanese in coherent paragraphs using appropriate kana and 240 Chinese characters.
    ... infer social context and meaning suggested within intermediate Japanese communication.
    ... demonstrate cultural competence and strengthen critical thinking skills.


The following books are available at the university bookstore:
  Genki II: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese II, 3rd ed. – textbook & workbook

In general we will be working our way through Genki II Lessons 13-18, but the instructor may change the order of assignments or supplement those materials. Be sure to check the syllabus and course schedule – both on this website and on Blackboard – regularly to keep up on assignments.

Also available at the bookstore is The Compact Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary. While it is not required for the course, you will need some way to look up kanji and compounds by their radicals. You will also need access to a Japaese-English/English-Japanese dictionary, either a physical copy, app, or online. This semester we will be branching out more frequently into materials intended for native speakers and you will be learning to use these dictionaries to explore materials beyond the textbook. Also available at the bookstore and, although not required, very highly recommended is Makino and Tsutsui's A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. In addition to enriching your understanding of the grammar we learn in the textbook, it allows you to explore variations on the grammatical forms we have learned as well as terms we have not yet encountered.

This class is conducted in hybrid format, with new material learned through grammar videos, online practice, quizzes, workbook assignments, etc. BEFORE coming to in-class sessions. The class meets only twice a week, for an hour and fifteen minutes each session, and this time will be devoted entirely to active language practice. If you have not prepared for each class by completing all required assignments, practice sessions, etc. you will be unable to participate in class effectively and will slow down not just your own progress but that of the entire class. All grammar videos and submission of assignments will be conducted through the university’s Blackboard online learning environment while online practice sessions with fellow students will be organized and conducted using the class Discord server. This is a required elemcnt of the class so if you have not used Discord in the past you will need to become familiar with it as soon as possible.

The primary language of this class is Japanese. While onliine videos will explain new material in English, all synchronous sessions, classroom commands, instructions, etc. will be in Japanese and it is expected that when you have questions, you will ask them in Japanese. Even when speaking to your fellow classmates, try to use Japanese as much as possible and avoid the habit of clarifying in English what someone is saying in Japanese. In addition, avoid using dictionaries and the textbook glossary during synchronous sessions. If you forget how to say a word, ask your partner in Japanese how to say it. If neither of you know, then ask the instructor in Japanese. Class time is extremely limited, and thus extremely valuable, and you should spend as much of it as possible actively using the language.

Grades will be evaluated as follows:    
 

Each Lesson
- pre-class preparation
- homework
- in-class participation
- chapter tests
- web assignment
- writing assignment
- realia assignment

Six Lessons
Final Project

15%
3%
3%
3%
3%
1%
1%
1%

6 x 15% = 90%
10%

  

Note that for each of the six lessons the pre-class preparation, in-class participation, homework, and chapter test are all of equal value (3pts. = 3% of total grade). Learning a language requires steady regular work rather than cramming for a single exam, and the grading system is intended to reflect this. Reviewing your own work and correcting your own mistakes is also critical and, as long as you have made your first attempt prior to class each day, all homework and quizzes may be reattempted as many times as you wish to achieve a perfect score until that lesson is complete. You will be encountering new material – grammar, vocabulary, kanji, etc. – for the first time on your own and completing homework and quizzes before coming to class, so it is normal that you might not understand it perfecty when you first attempt it. Even so, you should always complete the homework and quizzes to the best of your ability prior to class in order to receive credit. In general your pre-class preparation will consist of:

  Reading the grammar point in the textbook in the Textbook
  Viewing the explanatory video for that grammar point on Blackboard
  Attempting any quizzes assigned for that day on Blackboard
  Practice the designated practice exercises with one or more partners on Discord
  Looking up any new vocabulary that you encountered in the practice exercises in the Textbook
  Completing and submitting the homework on Blackboard

This is how each leasson is set up in Blackboard and it is highly recommended that you follow that structure for preparation. Once again, late submissions of homework and quizzes WILL NOT be accepted, but as long as you have attempted them at least once you will be allowed to redo them as often as necessary.

Each lesson will also include fndependent study assignments to be completed on Blackboard: "Web assignment," "Writing Assignment," and "Realia Assignments" are each worth 1 pt (1%) of the total final grade. Writing Assignments are based on the 書く練習 section of the Reading/Writing section of each lesson and involve composing written passages in Japanese, having fellow students read them, and then rewriting them based on their feedback. Web assignments will focus on accessing Japanese web sites in order to complete specific tasks related to the theme of the Reading/Writing section. And Realia Assignments involve collaborating with your classmates to understand materials aimed at native Japanese speakers. Deadlines for these assignments are posted on the course schedule on Blackboard.

The greatest resource you have available to you is your fellow students and you are strongly encouraged to collaborate with your classmates in practicing dialogues, doing homework assignments, studying for exams, etc. Work together! However, quizzes and tests should be taken on your own and copying other students’ work, using students’ materials from previous years, or otherwise submitting the work of others as one’s own is plagiarism and will result in an automatic F for the course. If you are ever unsure whether outside help is permitted for any individual project, please ask.

 

Fall 2024 Course Schedule

• click on any section to go to the assignments for that week •

Week One – Introduction and Review

８月２７日〜２９日

Weeks Two and Three – 第十三課

９月３日〜１２日

Weeks Four and Five – 第十四課

９月１７日〜９月２６日

Weeks Six and Seven– 第十五課

１０月１日〜１０日

 

Weeks Eight and Nine – 第十六課

１０月１５日〜２４日

 

Weeks Ten to Twelve – 第十七課

１０月２９日〜１１月１４日

 

Weeks Thirteen to Fifteen - 第十八課

１１月１９日〜１２月５日

 

• Final Video Presentations •

Tuesday, December 10th and/or Thursday, December 12th
10-11:50am