Undergraduate Course: Japanese Language Lower Intermediate (ASST08060)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | A continuation of Japanese Language Pre-Intermediate. Teaching will be aimed at enabling students to speak, read and write Modern Japanese at a lower to mid-intermediate level of the language, equivalent to Japanese Language Proficiency Test level between N4 and N3, or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages level A2/B1.
The course provides essential grounding for the third-year Japanese Honours Degree level.
This course is intended primarily for students taking Japanese Honours and priority will be given to those students when spaces are limited.
This course is not available to native or near-native speakers of Japanese, or complete beginners. If in doubt, contact the Course Organiser.
A placement test and questionnaire on students' background in Japanese language studies will be conducted in the first class. |
| Course description |
Japanese Language Lower Intermediate will continue to cover all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) to expand students' socio-cultural knowledge for communication further, and will help them to consolidate the grammar, vocabulary and kanji foundation they studied at the beginners level. The course also helps students to progress to the intermediate level language learning by focusing on more reading skills for comprehending longer, authentic texts in the field of Japanese culture and society. The course will cover more academic types of activities (e.g. reading followed by discussions, group presentations, writing short essays etc, all in Japanese), as well as providing useful speaking practice as a preparation for the third year in Japan.
Japanese Language Lower Intermediate is taught through a series of classes focussed on different aspects of language learning. As offered in the University¿s Hybrid Model, most activities are provided asynchronously, and they require a lot of individual study.
The teaching activities will follow this pattern on a weekly basis:
- Main textbook class covers the main textbook. This is the main class for the course, and the class will be offered synchronously and asynchronously. (LO1, 2,5)
- Translation class covers the basic translation skills for Japanese-English translation. The translation practice includes translating some texts in the main textbook as well as authentic texts from various sources. This class will be offered mainly asynchronously. (LO1,3,4)
- Writing class covers the essential writing skills for essay writing as well as kanji characters. This class will be offered mainly asynchronously. (LO1,3,4)
- Grammar tutorial class covers the Grammar workbook of the textbook. This class will be offered mainly asynchronously.(LO1,3)
- The Oral class focuses on developing speaking skills including pronunciation and useful phrases in real situations, and survival skills and useful vocabulary and phrases in case of emergency. Materials are provided by the instructor. This class will be offered mainly asynchronously, with an optional short 1-to-1 weekly session. (LO1,2)
- The Language Project class offers an opportunity to apply their knowledge of the language to a semi-authentic situation through group project work. This class will be offered mainly asynchronously. (LO2,4,5)
There will be regular homework assignments throughout the semester. You are also expected to do a set of group work with peer feedback element.
Be sure to read the additional class delivery information before enrolling on this course.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Japanese Language Pre-Intermediate (ASST08057)
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Japanese Language Beginner (ASST08059) OR
Japanese Language Post Beginner (ASST08058)
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Other requirements | Students must pass the placement test for this course (conducted by the end of Week 1). |
| Additional Costs | Essential textbooks: Tobira, Gateway to Advanced Japanese: £42.99; Tobira Grammar Workbook: £28.50; Tobira Kanji Workbook: £28.50.
Supplemental textbook for self-study for kanji characters: Kanji Look and Learn Textbook: £23.50; Kanji Look and Learn workbook: £15.50) |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Students must pass the placement test for this course (conducted by the end of Week 1). |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 8 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 64,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
130 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Exams (60%)
Regular online tests (40%)
Oral exam (10%)
Practical exam (10%)
Course work (40%, 10% each)
Japanese to English Translation
Writing assignment
Group project work
Portfolio of homework |
| Feedback |
Feedback is an essential element of all aspects of the course. You will receive timely and detailed feedback on your formal homework assignments and course work.
You will also receive instant scores and feedback after on continuous assessments via Learn Test throughout semester, as well as instant feedback at their live sessions (online / on-campus). |
| No Exam Information |
|
| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 26 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 66,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
128 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Exams (60%)
Regular online tests (40%)
Oral exam (10%)
Practical exam (10%)
Course work (40%, 10% each)
Japanese to English Translation
Writing assignment
Group project work
Portfolio of homework |
| Feedback |
Feedback is an essential element of all aspects of the course. You will receive timely and detailed feedback on your formal homework assignments and course work.
You will also receive instant scores and feedback after on continuous assessments via Learn Test throughout semester, as well as instant feedback at their live sessions (online / on-campus). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- use the lower to mid-intermediate level of the language, with the ability to read, write and use appropriately approximately 500 kanji, equivalent to Japanese Language Proficiency Test level between N4 and N3, or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages level A2/B1.
- handle a variety of straightforward oral communicative tasks in daily social situations as well as more formal occasions.
- write a short, structured text such as a short essay with some detailed description to express their opinions and personal letters in both hand-writing and typing, and read and translate textbook and authentic texts on familiar topics with the aid of a dictionary.
- utilise further reading and writing skills of various Japanese text with technology such as reading short news articles and local information websites and filling in online forms.
- work both independently and in a team for collaborative project work as a successful language learner in preparation for their year abroad.
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Reading List
Essential textbooks:
1. TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese Learning Through Content and Multimedia
Authors: Mayumi Oka, Michio Tsutsui, Junko Kondo, Shoko Emori, Yoshiro Hanai, Satoru Ishikawa
Publisher: Kuroshio Publishers, ISBN: 978-4-87424-447-0 C0081, 13/07/2009.
2. Power Up Your Kanji- 800 Basic Kanji as a Gateway to Advanced Japanese (TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese series)
Authors: Mayumi Ota, Satoru Ishikawa, Junko Kondo, Michio Tsutsui, Yoshiro Hanai
Publisher: Kuroshio Publishers, ISBN: 978-4-87424-487-6 C0081, 11/08/2010.
3. Tobira, Gateway To Advanced Japanese : Grammar Power Exercises for Mastery(TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese series)
Authors: Shoko Emori, Yoshiro Hanai, Satoru Ishikawa
Publisher: Kuroshio Shuppan. ISBN: 9784874245705, 2012.
Supplemental textbooks for independent study of Kanji:
1. Kanji Look And Learn Textbook:
Authors: Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Chikako Shinagawa, Kaori Tajima, Kyoko Tokashiki
ISBN: 9784789013499, Publisher: Japan Times Published: May 2009.
2. Kanji Look And Learn Workbook
Authors: Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Chikako Shinagawa, Kaori Tajima, Kyoko Tokashiki
ISBN: 9784789013505, Publisher: Japan Times Published: June 2009.
3. Intermediate Kanji Book VOL.1 (Rev. 3rd Ed.)
Authors: Chieko Kao et al.
Publisher: Bonjinsha
ISBN-10: 4893588109
ISBN-13: 978-4893588104
Dictionaries:
1. The Japan Foundation Basic Japanese-English Dictionary (Tokyo/Oxford: Bonjinsha & Oxford U.P., 1986)
2. Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English and English-Japanese Dictionaries
3. Haig, John W. ed., The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary, based on the classical edition by Andrew N Nelson (Tokyo: Tuttle 1997)
4. Hadamitzy, Wolfgang and Mark Spahn eds., Japanese Character Dictionary with compound lookup via any kanji (Boston: Cheng and Tsui 1991) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal and intellectual autonomy: Self-awareness and reflection; independent learning and development; creative and inventive thinking, knowledge integration and application
Personal effectiveness: Planning, organising and time management; team working; assertiveness and confidence; flexibility.
Communication: Interpersonal skills, verbal and written communication, presentation. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Fumiko Narumi-Munro
Tel: (0131 6)50 6971
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Vivien MacNish Porter
Tel: (0131 6)50 3528
Email: |
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