Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Course Description

Now that you are familiar with basic grammar, expanded vocabulary, a variety of expressions, and cultural literacy, you are ready to study Japanese further from different angles: reading novels, short stories, and/or poetry; watching Japanese films and/or TV programs; listening to music; using apps and/ or social media, or studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). This course is designed to bridge textbook Japanese to unfiltered “authentic” Japanese for learners who have good foundations of the basics of Japanese. We will focus on reading and translating short newspaper articles and short stories from the genre called “short-short” (ショートショート). In addition to short stories, we will use the Netflix drama 深夜食堂（しんやしょくどう）to expand your vocabulary and improve your listening ability. For speaking improvement, there will be various speaking exercises for you to get more used to speaking Japanese. Objectives of this course The objectives for this course are twofold. While enjoying reading and translating these short stories, you will deepen your understanding of the language and culture. The foci of this course are: to learn about different levels of linguistic formality, to be able to identify the appropriate register when someone speaks, to understand the intricacy of each language, and to be exposed to art of translation. It is my hope that you will be able to make use of various media or tools to continue to enjoy learning Japanese for many years to come.

Student Outcomes

After successfully finishing this course, you will be able to:

  • Analyze linguistic nuances in Japanese
  • Express relatively complex thoughts in your words
  • Explain and express the different degrees of formality in Japanese
  • Analyze complex Japanese sentences

Download

Share

COinS