Prospectus

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Japanese 1 Beginners

Course
2018-2019

Admission requirements

This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme.

Description

Japanese 1 Beginners is an integrated Japanese language course, which aims for introducing Japanese to students who have no prior knowledge of the Japanese language. The main aim of this course is providing opportunities developing fundamental proficiency in four components of modern Japanese: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The instructors will introduce and explain a wide range of elementary grammatical structures, expressions, vocabularies, Kana characters (about one hundred), Kanji characters (about seventy) and provide students the opportunity to practice them, and help them learn to perform correctly in a variety of cultural and social situations. This course will cover Lesson 1 through 7 of the “Genki” Textbook.

Course objectives

At the end of the course, students will be expected to perform sufficiently in all four skills at a basic level of proficiency, which is equivalent of A1 of Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) to deal with common aspects of daily life (see the course syllabus provided through Blackboard for details).

Skill CEFR Level
Reading A1
Writing A1
Listening A1
Speaking A1

Timetable

The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website.

Mode of instruction

Tutorials

Three two-hour tutorials every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your tutor in advance, providing a valid reason for your absence. Being absent will result in a lowering of the participation grade with 0.5 for every absence after the first three (3) times.

Course Load

Total course load for this course is 10 EC (1 EC = 28 hours), which equals 280 hours, broken down by:

  • Attending classes (6 hours per week over 12 weeks): 72 hours

  • Preparing for classes, exams and extra activities: 202 hours

  • Assessment hours (exams and other assessment): 6 hours

Assessment method

Assessment

  • Final written exam, writing assignment and participation (quiz).

  • (In-class) oral performances (speaking and listening).

Weighing

Partial grade Weighing
Reading 20%
Writing 20%
Listening 20%
Speaking 20%
Participation 20%

End Grade

  • To successfully complete the course, please take note that the End Grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of the in-class oral and listening performance, and written exams.

  • The End Grade needs to be a 6.0 or higher to pass the course.

Resit

If the End Grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), there is a possibility of retaking the full 80% of the exam material (exams, quizzes, projects, etc.). No resit for the tutorial (participation or homework) is possible.

Retaking a passing grade

Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2018 – 2019.

Exam review

How and when an exam review takes place will be determined by the examiner. This review will be within 30 days after official publication of exam results.

Blackboard

Blackboard will be used for this course. Students are requested to enroll on Blackboard, but only after correct enrolment in uSis.

Reading list

Required main textbooks:

  • An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese Genki Ⅰ [Second Edition], Tokyo: The Japan Times, ISBN: 978-4-7890-1440-3

Required workbooks:

  • An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese Genki Ⅰ Workbook[Second Edition], Tokyo: The Japan Times, ISBN: 978-4-7890-1441-0

  • See the course syllabus provided through Blackboard for the recommended books and websites.

Registration

  • Enrolment through uSis for Tutorials is mandatory.

  • Students will be enrolled for Exams by the Administration Office, as long as they have a valid Tutorial enrolment.

  • General information about uSis is available here.

Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs

Not applicable.

Contact

N. Seki MA

When contacting lecturers or tutors, please include your full name, student number, and tutorial group number.

Remarks

Passing this course is an additional requirement for a positive Study Recommendation at the end of the year.

This course uses an integrated communicative language learning method. Therefore active participation in the classroom activities is essential for successful learning outcomes.