JPN 302
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T • R 1-2:15 pm |
Jeremy Robinson |
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Mackinac B-1-112 |
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とびら Website
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[Japanese] is the most complicated and uncertain system of writing under which poor humanity has ever groaned. An old Jesuit missionary declares it to be evidently "the invention of a conciliabule of the demons to harass the faithful." | |||
- Basil Hall Chamberlain, Things Japanese, 1891 | |||
The following books are available at the university bookstore: |
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上級へのとびら • Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese |
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The primary language of this class is Japanese. Although some explanation of new grammar and unfamiliar vocabulary may be conducted in English, classroom commands, instructions, etc. will be in Japanese, discussion will be conducted primarily 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. Doing this effectively will require a great deal of preparation prior to coming to class, and it is expected that you will come to class ready to speak about that day's topic. Discussion will be a large part of the class, and active participation in that discussion will be critical to your success in the course. Aside from the textbook and kanji workbook, other Tobira materials you need for this course can be found on the Tobira website All audio and video files, Anki flashcard sets, video and grammar worksheets, etc. are available there, so if you have not yet registered to use the site you will need to do so, after which you should be able to do any necessary work online, including recording yourself for self-reference. Recording yourself to submit for homework (if assigned) should still be done in the LRC, and the audio files are available there as well. The Anki flash card program is available both in the LRC and for free download, and you can use it to drill the data sets provided by the Tobira authors. Links to these sites, resources for self-study and links to useful learning tools are available through the university’s Blackboard online learning environment for this course and on this website and you will also be required to use Blackboard for certain homework assignments, such as web assignments. |
Grades will be evaluated as follows: | |||
Attendance & Participation |
10% |
Regular attendance and active participation are vital to successfully learning a language, and thus that portion of your 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, and prepared to make an active contribution to class discussion. Whenever new material is introduced in class, it is expected that you will already be familiar with the material through your own preparation. In order to facilitate this, video explanations of the various grammar points will be provided to supplement your self-study. Class time will be thus focused on active use of the material and 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. If you are ever obviously unprepared on a given day you may be asked to leave. Class time will be used for active use of the language, and for every missed class, regardless of reason, your participation grade will drop, and missed exams and quizzes can not be made up unless you give advance notice. We will be working through five lessons this semester and for each lesson you will have a kanji/vocabulary quiz at the beginning, a web assignment during, and an exam at the end. We will usually take six class sessions (three weeks) to get through a lesson, but some may be abbreviated due to the needs of the academic calendar. Quizzes will be taken during the first fifteen minutes of class on the first day of each new lesson. We will not take class time for exams. Instead, they must be taken in the LRC using Blackboard between the end of class on Thursday and 4pm on Friday (when the LRC closes for the weekend). In addition, you will need to complete one web project for each lesson. These projects will require you to use online resources to complete concrete task related to each lessson's content, and the due dates for these are indicated on the course schedule. All assignments written in Japanese, whether homework, online submissions, or tests must be typed. You will not be expected to write any kanji by hand this semester. There will also be one term project which you should work on over the course of the semester. The content of the term project is fairly open, but the format will be consistent for all students. Each student will submit a term project proposal outlining the planned project on the final day of the first lesson, maintain an online journal documenting progress over the course of the semester, and prepare a presentation of the results at the end of the semester. The term project should focus on one of the following three types of communication: |
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Winter 2014 Course Schedule
• click on any section to go to the assignments for that week •
春休み 3月4日〜6日
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4月1日〜4月10日 |
Wrap-up, Additional Practice 4月15日〜4月17日 |