JAPN& 121 Japanese I • 5 Cr.

Develops beginning level listening and conversation skills along with reading and writing hiragana and katakana characters. Some relevant aspects of Japanese culture are introduced.

Course Outcomes

• Read and write the basic phonetic characters of the Japanese kana (hiragana and katakana) syllabaries – including diacritic marks
• Read and write formal-style sentences about current, future and past states and activities using simple nominal and verbal phrases with correct particles and tenses
• Understand and reproduce the correct pronunciation and intonation of spoken Japanese words and phrases
• Use basic conversational phrases and participate in common personal interactions (such as exchanging greetings, self-introductions, shopping, describing the locations of objects, extending and accepting or declining invitations, etc.) in formal settings
• Recognize and understand the effects of social context on the spoken language (such as formal vs. informal styles, omission of first and second-person pronouns, hesitation to complete sentences especially when declining an invitation, etc.)

JAPN& 122 Japanese II • 5 Cr.

Continues JAPN 121. Continues to develop listening, speaking, and reading and writing skills of Japanese. Some basic kanji characters and relevant aspects of Japanese culture are introduced.

Prerequisite(s):JAPN 121 or permission of instructor.

Course Outcomes

• Learn 80-90 kanji characters
• Recognize the distinctions between kanji characters and the characters of the two phonetic kana syllabaries and know how and when each should be used in modern Japanese
• Read and write formal-style sentences about current, future and past states and activities using nominal, verbal and adjectival phrases with correct particles and tenses
• Use and comprehend basic conversational phrases in more detailed personal interactions (such as talking about self and families, suggesting a plan of action, making requests, offering assistance, asking for and granting or denying permission, etc.)
• Begin to use more complex verbal sentence structures, using TE-forms and Short forms
• Begin to recognize and use the informal speech style (in present/future tense only) for casual conversations with close friends
• Expand understanding of the effects of social context on the spoken language, which is reflected in the appropriate choices of vocabulary, grammatical forms and expressions

JAPN& 123 Japanese III • 5 Cr.

Continues JAPN 122. Continues to develop listening, speaking, and reading and writing skills of Japanese. More basic kanji characters and relevant aspects of Japanese culture are introduced.

Prerequisite(s):JAPN 122 or permission of instructor.

Course Outcomes

• Learn 60 additional kanji characters
• Read and write both informal and formal-style passages about current, future and past states and activities using more complex nominal, verbal and adjectival phrases with correct particles and tenses
• Use and comprehend basic conversational phrases in more detailed personal interactions (such as expressing opinions, comparisons, explaining physical/emotional states, etc.)
• Continue to use more complex sentence structures including complement clauses (such as quotations), relative clauses (such as modifying nouns) and subordinate clauses (such as giving reasons)
• Recognize and use the informal speech style (in both present/future and past tenses) for casual conversations with close friends
• Continue to expand understanding of the effects of social context on the spoken language, which is reflected in the appropriate choices of vocabulary, grammatical forms and expressions

JAPN& 221 Japanese IV • 5 Cr.

Continuation of JAPN 123. Students practice listening, speaking, reading and writing in integrated activities relating to a main theme. More kanji and relevant aspects of Japanese culture are introduced.

Prerequisite(s):JAPN 123 or permission of instructor.

Course Outcomes

• Learn 50 additional kanji characters and related compound words
• Know the multiple meanings and multiple pronunciations of each kanji character and their appropriate use
• Read and write both informal and formal-style passages about current, future and past states and activities using more complex nominal, verbal and adjectival phrases with correct particles and tenses
• Speak in and comprehend pre-intermediate level conversational situations (e.g. give two or more reasons, express one’s visual impression, describe an action one performs in advance / in preparation, etc.) and be able to use the appropriate ordinal numbers, generic and specific counters
• Continue to use more compound sentence structures (such as relative verb clauses modifying nouns) and express various quantity and frequency expressions
• Comprehend and be able to use a wider variety of vocabulary (nouns, verbs and adjectives) in their proper forms and verbal sentences (including potential forms, volitional forms and verbs of giving and receiving)
• Continue to expand understanding of the effects of social context on the spoken language, which is reflected in the appropriate choices of vocabulary, grammatical forms and expressions
• Recognize the correct formality and politeness levels required in common situations – including ‘in-group’ / ‘out-group’ distinctions

JAPN& 222 Japanese V • 5 Cr.

Continues JAPN 221. Students practice listening, speaking, reading and writing in integrated activities relating to a main theme. More kanji and relevant aspects of Japanese culture are introduced.

Prerequisite(s):JAPN 221 or permission of instructor.

Course Outcomes

• Learn 60 additional kanji characters and related compound words
• Know the multiple meanings and multiple pronunciations of each kanji character and their appropriate use
• Read and write both informal and formal-style passages about current, future and past states and activities using more complex nominal, verbal and adjectival phrases with correct particles and tenses
• Speak in and comprehend pre-intermediate level conversational situations (e.g., giving and receiving favors, apologizing, reporting information you obtained “second hand” by hearing or reading)
• Continue to use more complex sentence structures (such as conditional and temporal clauses)
• Comprehend and be able to use a wider variety of vocabulary (nouns, verbs and adjectives) in their proper forms and verbal sentences (including transitive and intransitive verbs, honorific respectful verbs, the “ba” form of verbs expressing regret)
• Continue to expand understanding of the effects of social context on the spoken language, which is reflected in the appropriate choices of vocabulary, grammatical forms and expressions. Use honorific/respectful expressions as appropriate to the social context

JAPN& 223 Japanese VI • 5 Cr.

Continues JAPN 222. Students practice listening, speaking, reading and writing in integrated activities relating to a main theme. More kanji and relevant aspects of Japanese culture are introduced.

Prerequisite(s):JAPN 222 or permission of instructor.

Course Outcomes

• Learn 60 additional kanji characters and related compound words
• Know the multiple meanings and multiple pronunciations of each kanji character and their appropriate use
• Read and write both informal and formal-style passages about current/future and past states and activities using more complex nominal, verbal and adjectival phrases with correct particles and tenses. Speak in and comprehend pre-intermediate level conversational situations (such as Passive, Causative, Causative-Passive sentences)
• Continue to use more complex sentence structures (such as embedded questions, generic nouns — koto and yoo — with suru and naru)
• Comprehend and be able to use a wider variety of vocabulary (nouns, verbs and adjectives) in their proper forms and verbal sentences (including humble verbs and instructional commands)
• Continue to expand understanding of the effects of social context on the spoken language, which is reflected in the appropriate choices of vocabulary, grammatical forms and expressions. Recognize additional degrees of formality and be able to distinguish and appropriately use the honorific language: respectful, humble and refined expressions

Note: Special Topics in Japanese 194-197 & 294-297 are not offered at this time.