Prospectus

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Beginner’s level Japanese

Course
2012-2013

Admission requirements

Students admitted to MA Asian Studies 60 ec tracks.

Description & Goals

This is an integrated language course for beginners, with a communicative approach. Special attention will be paid to the use of the language in practical everyday situations and the focus will be on listening, speaking and reading. Basic writing instruction will also be part of the course.

Students will be introduced to: – Japanese pronunciation, – a wide range of elementary grammatical structures and sentence patterns, – hiragana and katakana syllabaries, – basic kanji characters (145 in semester 1), and – vocabulary terms and expressions that are closely tied to students’ everyday lives and communicative situations in Japanese contexts.

For more details, refer to online resources accompanying the course book:
Syllabus of the Grammar and Dialogue section
Kanji characters introduced in the Reading and Writing section)

By the end of volume 2, students will acquire approximately 1,700 basic words and 317 kanji characters, including 254 of the 284 kanji listed for Level 3 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (as administered until 2010). An online Self-study Room offers additional resources for independent study outside the classroom (http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/self_en).

Time table

see time-table.

Teaching

Seminar.

Assessment

Participation element (attendance, preparation): 10%
Quizzes (in class): 40%
Final exam (conversation & written): 50%

Blackboard

Blackboard will be used for course handouts, course information, and links.

Compulsory Readings

1) Genki Textbook I [Second Edition], The Japan Times, ISBN: 978-4-7890-1440-3
2) Genki Workbook I [Second Edition], The Japan Times, ISBN: 978-4-7890-1441-0

Genki website

Enrollment

Enrolment uSis

Contact

Emi Yamamoto (website)

Remarks

Local book dealer in Leiden: Van Stockum (leiden@vanstockum.nl), Breestraat 113.