Chabot College
Fall 2010
Course Outline for Japanese 1B
ELEMENTARY JAPANESE
Catalog Description:
JAPN 1B - Elementary Japanese
5.00 units
Further study of Japanese-speaking cultures of the world featuring the acquisition of the four language
skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) of Japanese begun in Japanese 1A. Following an
immersion instruction format, the class is entirely taught in the target world language of the selected
course.
Prerequisite: JAPN 1A (completed with a grade of "C" or higher)
Units
Contact Hours
Week
Term
5.00
Lecture
Laboratory
Clinical
Total
5.00
5.00
1.00
0.00
6.00
87.50
17.50
0.00
105.00
Prerequisite Skills:
Before entry into this course, the student should be able to:
1. compare and contrast American and Japanese-speaking cultural practices in relation to speech,
social attitudes, and values;
2. demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the culture of Japanese-speaking people,
including formative historical events and relevant geographical information;
3. demonstrate proficiency in understanding and using, orally and in writing, the grammatical
structures presented and vocabulary assigned;
4. demonstrate proficiency in reading and writing of the hiragana and katakana syllabaries;
5. demonstrate proficiency in reading and writing thirty kanji characters;
6. demonstrate the ability to comprehend a short conversation composed chiefly of the vocabulary
and grammar studied;
7. apply the sentence patterns and grammar structures presented in the course to create new
sentences in culturally appropriate ways both orally and in writing;
8. conduct a simple, culturally sensitive conversation in Japanese on topics studied, using words and
expressions in structurally correct sentences;
9. write a coherent and culturally appropriate paragraph on a topic studied and/or discussed in class;
10. make simple descriptions in Japanese related to size, shape, and color orally and in writing;
11. demonstrate understanding of the basic phonetic principles of Japanese pronunciation.
Measurable Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. demonstrate well-informed awareness of the similarities and differences in American and
Japanese-speaking cultural practices in relation to speech, social attitudes, and values;
2. demonstrate a detailed understanding and appreciation of the culture of Japanese-speaking
people, including the most formative historical events and the most important geographical features;
3. demonstrate the ability to comprehend an authentic but slowly paced conversation of native
speakers composed chiefly of the vocabulary and grammar studied;
4. show proficiency in applying the sentence patterns and grammar structures presented in the
course to create new sentences in culturally appropriate ways both orally and in writing;
5. converse on topics studied with some degree of fluency and with accurate pronunciation and
intonation;
6. apply the principles of syntax and grammar introduced at this level in both speech and writing;
7. using hirgana and katakana characters to write a well-constructed and culturally appropriate
paragraph of one hundred characters or more on a topic studied and/or discussed in class;
8. use one hundred kanji characters.
Course Content:
LECTURE
1. Review “recycling” and extension of content of Japanese1A, including the addition of seventy kanji
characters in writing assignments
2. Development of conversation skills
3. Comparative analysis of Japanese and American cultures
4. Further study of Japanese customs, values, attitudes, relationships, civil institutions, families,
geography and history
5. Functional vocabulary and grammar to allow students to:
A. extend, accept, or refuse invitations in culturally appropriate ways orally and in writing
B. gather and/or request information with a variety of interrogative strategies orally and in
writing
C. express spatial relationships (far, near, front, back, next to, around, right, left, etc.)
D. use culturally authentic maps and timetables
E. ask for, read, understand, and write simple street directions
F. make purchases in stores and perform transactions in culturally authentic ways
G. function successfully in basic cultural interactions that involve buying tickets
H. discuss in simple terms their likes and dislikes and inquire in culturally sensitive terms into
the likes and dislikes of others orally and in writing
I. describe, orally and in writing, simple physical ailments to pharmacists and doctors
J. narrate simple events in past, present, and future orally and in writing
K. make physical descriptions of people and things orally and in writing
L. count, understand, and write numbers, and be sufficiently comfortable with numbers for
simple financial transactions in Japanese currency.
6. The following aspects of Japanese grammar:
A. Inflective forms of basic verbs (polite and plain forms, present, past, and past negative)
B. Variations of the basic particles (de, made, kara, ni, to)
C. Constructions of request, volition, permission, and prohibition
D. Subordinate clause constructions and quotations (toki, aida, mae, to iu)
E. Compound verbs
F. Na-nouns
7. Further study of Japanese phonetics for good pronunciation.
LABORATORY
1. Activate lecture content using interactive audio and audiovisual programs on CDs, DVDs, CD
ROMS, target language websites, etc., featuring culturally authentic and contextual guided
speaking, reading, and writing activities such as cued repetition of native speech, dictations, cued
oral responses, listening comprehension, and interactive realia (culturally authentic texts).
2. Organized laboratory activities including conversation groups.
3. Fundamentals of Japanese writing (hiragana, katanaka, and kanji) and pronunciation:
A. Writing and pronunciation of the forty-six hiragana characters
B. Writing and pronunciation of katakana characters.
C. Japanese phonetics, including voiced and unvoiced consonants, short and long vowels,
double consonants, glides, and pitch (high and low) accents
D. Writing and pronunciation of the most common kanji characters, including those derived
from pictures and symbols
Methods of Presentation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choral/individual repetition of model speech
Re-creation of dialogues and improvisation
Lecture/Discussion
Group Activities
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
1. Typical Assignments
A. Practice kanji characters presented in the textbook
B. Personalize textbook stories, modify them creatively, and write the new version using
hiragana, katakana, and kanji characters studied
C. Prepare a travel itinerary to a famous castle in a central prefecture of Japan, read maps,
train information, and timetables, and make a reservation at a minshuki inn.
D. Write a composition about a student’s family members or close friends and recite it from
memory in front of the class.
E. Laboratory assignment: Make a recording of an extract from the Tale of the Genji.
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
A. Exams/Tests
B. Quizzes
C. Interviews to evaluate the four language skills in relation to material presented
D. Class Participation
E. Oral Presentation
F. Homework
G. Final Examination
H. Midterm Examination
I. Recording from the language laboratory to evaluate pronunciation skills
Textbooks (Typical):
1. Toosaku, Yasuhiko (2006). Yookoso (3rd/e). McGraw Hill.
2. Yokiko Abe Hatasa, Seiichi Makino, and Kazumi Hatasa (2009). Nakama 1 Introductory Japanese:
Communication, Culture, Context (2nd/e). Boston, New York Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Company.
Special Student Materials