Spoken Japanese

The Spoken Japanese courses are required for all Asian Studies Program participants. Each course meets five times a week (50-minute, each). We used to offer introductory level (Spoken Japanese 1) only in spring semester, but now the course is available in the fall semester, too. In all courses, there will be mid-term, final exams, and additional quizzes in either written or oral form. Homework assignments will also be given.

Spoken Japanese 1 (5 semester credits)

The first level of Elementary Spoken Japanese for beginners who have no formal training in the language. This course aims at the development of speaking and listening skills. At the end of the course, successful students should be able to speak simple sentences needed for daily conversation.

Spoken Japanese 2 (5 semester credits)

Prerequisite: Spoken Japanese 1 (or its equivalent)

The second level of Elementary Spoken Japanese.This course aims at further development of speaking and listening skills. At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to adequately handle everyday conversation in Japanese.

Spoken Japanese 3 (5 semester credits)

Prerequisite: Spoken Japanese 2 (or its equivalent)

The third level of Elementary Spoken Japanese. This course aims to review and reinforce previous knowledge of Japanese and systematically develop the patterns of expression needed in various situation commonly encountered in daily Japanese life. In addition to the textbook, audio-visual materials such as movies will be used.

Spoken Japanese 4 (5 semester credits)

Prerequisite: Spoken Japanese 3 (or its equivalent)

The first level of Intermediate Spoken Japanese. This course aims to prepare students to participate in an advanced level of conversation and discussion. In order to deal with formal topics, such as commonly discussed social issues, more formal structural patterns and an adequate number of new vocabulary items will be introduced. Materials taken from Japanese movies will also be used to help students improve both comprehension and speaking.

Spoken Japanese 5 (5 semester credits)

Prerequisite: Spoken Japanese 4 (or its equivalent)

The second level of Intermediate Spoken Japanese. The course will lay the foundation for three to four years of tertiary level study. It will develop communication skills in spoken Japanese to the point where students can deal with a wide range of academic topics and with basic facts about Japanese business, culture and society, etc. The major portion of classes will be spent on oral interaction such as discussions, presentations, debates or speeches.

Spoken Japanese 6 (5 semester credits)

Prerequisite: Spoken Japanese 5 (or its equivalent)

The first level of Advanced Spoken Japanese. This course emphasizes the development of active conversational skills as well as the expansion of expressions and vocabulary necessary for conversation and discussions with Japanese native speakers. This course will cover academic and formal topics and expressions, and additionally, colloquial and casual expressions, for which audio-visual materials such as movies will be employed.

Spoken Japanese 7 (5 semester credits)

Prerequisite: Spoken Japanese 6 (or its equivalent)

The second level of Advanced Spoken Japanese. This course is designed to teach students to converse fluently with native speakers on a variety of subjects with a full command of speech levels. Students will gain a deeper understanding of contemporary Japanese culture and society. Audio-visual materials are used to further develop and refine listening and speaking skills. Individual projects will be also assigned.