JPN 301

Advanced-Intermediate
Japanese Language

Tu•Th 2:30-3:45 pm	Jeremy Robinson
A-1-184 Mackinac Hall	robinjer@gvsu.edu
Office: B-2-243 Mackinac Hall	Office Hours: Tu•Th 11am - Noon

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 301, students will be able to...
		... comprehend, speak, read, and write conversational Japanese on a range of topics with an awareness of appropriate vocabulary and cultural context.
		... alter their spoken language for a wide variety of social situations, including spontaneous formal conversation using honorifics and humble language, and to properly assess the proper level of formality for a given situation.
		... use reference materials to comprehend material with which they are unfamiliar, including some writing, audio, and video intended for native speakers.
		... implement strategies for comprehending meaning from incomplete information and be able to glean general information from an unfamiliar text or multimedia presentation on known topics.
		... read and write approximately 120 new kanji and be able to use them in a variety of contexts.

The following books are available at the university bookstore:

上級へのとびら • Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese
上級へのとびら『きたえよう漢字力』 • Tobira: Power Up Your Kanji
上級へのとびら『これで身につく文法力』 • Tobira: Grammar Power

Tobira
Kanji
Bumpô

This semester we leave behind the Genki textbook series and with a new textbook comes an entirely new approach to learning Japanese. In the first years of study, the focus had been on acquiring fundamental Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and kanji. And although we will continue to expand all three of these areas, they will no longer be the primary focus. Now that you've acquired the necessary tools, the focus shifts to becoming more proficient in how you use them. The topic of this course is 日本 rather than 日本語, and language is the tool we will use to learn about, discuss, and explore Japanese culture.

Each chapter of theとびら textbook deals with a topic related to Japanese culture and society. There are fifteen lessons in the Tobira textbook, and over the course of the semester we will be working through the first five (outlined on the schedule below). Rather than deciding what grammar and vocabulary to teach and then building a topic around it, as was the case in Genki, new grammar and vocabulary – as well as new uses for language you've already learned – will emerge through the need to understand readings and discussion on the topics. This will take some getting used to, and will require a greater degree of discipline and self-awareness on your part. Not every kanji you have to recognize in order to understand a reading passage will you be required to be able to write, and not every grammar pattern you need to recognize in order to comprehend a video passage will you be required to actively use. The workbooks will help guide you, but more importantly you will need to guide yourself, deciding what you need in order to comprehend and discuss a topic and building on that decision.

The primary language of this class is Japanese and classroom commands, instructions, discussion, etc. will all be in Japanese. Even when speaking to your fellow classmates use Japanese as much as possible and avoid the habit of clarifying in English what someone has said in Japanese. Doing this effectively requires a great deal of preparation prior to coming to class, and it is expected that you will come to class having studied the required sections and ready to speak about that day's topic. Active participation in class discussion will be critical to your success in the course.

Grades will be evaluated as follows:
	Participation Homework - Workbook Homework - Recording Homework - Writing Five Kanji/Vocab Qiuzzes Five Chapter Tests Semester Project	15% 10% 5 x 1% = 5% 5 x 1% = 5% 5 x 1% = 5% 5 x 10% = 50% 10%

The “Participation” grade includes attendance, but does not mean simply showing up for class. Rather, you should come to class having read the necessary sections, studied relevant grammar and vocabulary, viewed any relevant online materials, etc.– in short, you should be ready to make an active contribution to class discussion. Whenever new material is introduced in class, it is expected that you will have already encountered that material through your own preparation. This is even more vital than in previous years, since class time will be entirely focused on active use of the material. You should never be encountering something from the textbook for the first time in class. Coming to class without having familiarized yourself with the material in advance slows the pace of the class down and is unfair to those who have prepared, and if you it is obvious you are unprepared to make a contribution on a given day you may be asked to leave. There is no substitute for time spent in class and for every missed class after the first, regardless of reason, your participation grade will drop.

We will devote approximately five class days to each lesson, and each lesson will include regular written homework (turned in during class, recording homework (in LRC), a writing assignment (submitted on Blackboard), and a kanji/vocabulary quiz, in class on the second Tuesday of each lesson. The kanji homework for each lesson is due on the day of the kanji/vocabulary quiz, but it is strongly recommended that you work on it gradually up until that point rather than doing it all the night before.There will also be a chapter test at the end of each lesson, not taken during class hours but rather on Blackboard by the end of the day on Friday each lesson ends. Missed quizzes can not be made up unless you give advance notice and late exam submissions will not be accepted. All homework is due by the beginning of class on the date on which it is listed on the schedule. Additional materials are available on the とびら website, for which you will need to register in order to use. It includes some materials you will need to complete your assigned work, as well as resources for self-study, but nothing submitted via that website is accessible to the instructor and any assigned homework must be submitted in class, via Blackboard, or on the course Flipgrid site. Flipgrid is a forum for sharing conversation on various topics using online video, and in addition to formal assignments you are also welcome to use it for general practice with fellow students etc.

The semester project is an individual project on a topic of your choice. It is highly individualized and should relate to your personal goals for learning Japanese. Previous projects include a translation of a manga, a month-long survey of Twitter posts of a Japanese celebrity, a viewing and analysis of a Japanese TV drama, etc. Any topic is acceptable, but you will need to submit your topic for approval in order to ensure that it is of an appropriate length and complexity for the assignment. The project will include a formal presentation to the class, in lieu of a final exam. We will discuss this project further as the deadline for proposing a topic draws closer.

Some of the greatest resources you have are your fellow students. You are strongly encouraged to collaborate with your classmates in practicing dialogues, doing homework assignments, preparing projects, studying for exams, etc. However, 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.