AP Japanese Language and Culture Curriculum Night
Overview Handout
AP Japanese Language and Culture Teacher:
Kyoko Vaughan---kmvaughan@fcps.edu
World Language Department Chair:
Sarah Swihart---seswihart@fcps.edu
AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam:
Section
QQ Type and Knowledge/Skills Assessed
Section I
Multiple Choice
Part A:
Listening
Conversation, debate, instructions, message,
presentation, public announcement, radio
broadcast
Email, instructions, letter, news article, short
story, travel brochure
Part B:
Reading
Section
Section II
Free Response
Part A:
Text cat
Writing
Compare & Contrast Article
Part B:
Conversation
Speaking
Cultural Perspective Presentation
d
Knowledge/Skills Assessed
# of Qs and % Weight of
Final Score
70 Questions
50%
Time
30-35
questions
25%
1 hour and 30
minutes
20 minutes
35-40
questions
25%
60 minutes
4 tasks
6 questions
1 question
4 questions
1 question
50%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
12.5%
45 minutes
10 minutes
20 minutes
3 minutes
7 minutes
All AP Exams are scored on a 5 point scale. These scores are used to assess student success in the course but
are NOT tied to student course letter grades. Students take the AP Exam in early to mid-May and receive their
scores from College Board in July.
Number of Questions and
Textbook: “Yookoso! Continuing with Contemporary Japanese” Third Edition, by Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku, McgrawHill Higher Education
Course Description: AP Japanese Language and Culture course is designed to be comparable to
college/university Japanese courses that represent the point at which students complete approximately 300 hours of
college-level classroom instruction. Like the corresponding college courses, the AP course suppers students as they
develop the productive, receptive, and cultural skills necessary to communicate with native speakers of Japanese.
Student’s proficiency level at the end of the course are expected to reach at least the Intermediate Low to Intermediate
Mid range, as described in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines.
This course’s primary goals are to:
 Communicate in Japanese
 Understand other cultures
 Connect with other disciplines and acquire information
 Develop insight into their own languages and culture
 Participate in the global community
Course Themes:
 Travel/ Transportation
 At home/ Automobiles
 The Body and Health
 Life and Careers
 Communication and Media
 Nature and Culture
Kanji: At AP level, students are expected to be able to interpret and produce texts using the kanji list. There are 410
kanji on this list and the list of kanji are based on a survey of commonly used textbooks and represents the point at which
students complete approximately 300 hours of college level classroom instruction.
Student Expectations: In this course, students will learn how to use the four language
skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) in real-life situations. Students will
also study the language skills as a whole through content-based themes such as
Japanese history, tradition, contemporary culture, and social issues.
The students:
 must have an access to Internet and Japanese IME
 will have an e-mail based reflective journal/essay throughout the course
 need to be ready for a large amount of homework or projects
 are demanded an independent learning and considerable critical thinking skills
 need to have a positive attitude and actively participate in class
Any questions??
Please do not hesitate contact me kmvaughan@fcps.edu