JPN 101
Beginning Japanese I
Language & Culture

	M•W 11-11:50 am	Jeremy Robinson
	B-2-138 Mackinac Hall	robinjer@gvsu.edu
		Office: D-2-136 Mackinac Hall
		Office Hours:
Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem You live a new life for every new language you speak.
		- Czech proverb

This class is intended for absolute beginners with no significant past experience learning the Japanese language. Unlike many college classes, the goal of this class is not just the acquisition of knowledge, but the development of skills: active communication in both written and spoken form, and awareness of the cultural expectations embedded in the language. It is not sufficient simply to memorize words and written symbols in Japanese and reproduce them on an exam; to do well, you will need to make active choices about practical language use in a range of situations. For this reason, the grading conventions for this class are a bit different than in classes you may be used to. Most new material will be learned on your own prior to coming to class, preserving classs time for active language use. You will take quizzes, but you will not be penalized for failing them; rather you will be allowed to take them multiple times until you master the material. And there will be presentations, but you will evaluate yourself based on the time and effort you put into learning the material. Language fluency is a process and it can't be demonstrated by performance on a single test... so I won't use that basis to evaluate you. I understand that this approach to grading is atypical and may caause stress to students who are used to more structured point systems. I ask for your trust, and that if you ever have specific concerns you bring them to me to discuss them. By the end of the semester you will be able to:
Write ...	both of the Japanese syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, as well as a number of Chinese characters in their context within Japanese words.
Read ...	both syllabaries and a much larger number of Chinese characters than you are able to write. You will also learn strategies both for reading for general comprehension with incomplete understanding, and for using digital tools to read Japanese online.
Understand ...	the differences betwen diffferent levels of formality in Japanese and choose forms appropriate for the context when communicating.
Communicate ...	in both written and spoken Japanese to ask and answer questions about personal information, as well as engage in basic conversation about a variety of topics, as listed on the course schedule below.
There is one textbook for this course: Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I, and you are required to buy both the textbook and the workbook. However, we will not be working through the textbook chonologically. Topics will be introduced in a different order, and with a different focus than in the textbook. Thus the textbook should serve as a reference and source of some assignments, but it does not deffine the class. Always refer to the Blackboard site as your primary guide to daily expectations. This semester the course is being offered in hybrid format, and in-person classess meet on Mondays and Wednesdays. Most of the material for each class consists of independent preparation prior to class, and you will need to make sure to look at all required material, submit any assignments, and generally be prepared to use class time for active communication in Japanese. Preparation typically includes a range of tasks including reading grammar points in the textbook, viewing explanatory videos, practicing newly learned patterns on your own or with partners, completing written assignments, etc. If you are not ready to participate during classs, it slows the entire class down and keeps us from making the best use of our time. You are not expected to know everything perfectly when each class begins, but you are expected to have already encountered most of the material in class. In addition, although in-person classes are only held twice a week, the classroom remains available on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well if you wish to use the space for meeting and practicing with other students. Whether or not you choose to use the classroom, you are strongly encouraged to find other students in class to work with. Japanese is a language, and you cannot learn a language in isolation. Some assignments will specify that they must be done with a partner but, unless otherwise specified, you are allowed (and encouraged) to work with other students on ALL assignments. Plagiarism is the knowing presentation of others' work as your own, but collaboration is NOT the same thing. Help each other.