JPNS 201: 1
COURSE SYLLABUS
JPNS 201: Intermediate Japanese
Manuscript page from a short piece by Mori Ōgai (d. 1922)
Classroom: LA 243 M-F 1:10-2:00pm
Instructor: Prof Janice Shizue Kanemitsu
Office: LA 320
Office Hours: TBA Phone: 243-5101
Email: janice.kanemtsu@mso.umt.edu
This course is designed to follow Jpns 102 (or the equivalent) for the emerging-intermediate
Japanese second-language student. As in Jpns 101-102, this course continues to focus
simultaneously on the four skills of speaking, listening, writing, and reading, while introducing
aspects of modern Japanse culture and society that are essential for language competency and
appropriate social interactions with Japanese people.
Learning Objectives: Students taking this course can expect to~
1) increase their range of Japanese vocabulary (and idiom)
2) master the grammar covered in Chapters 13 to 18 of the Genki II textbook.
3) augment their knowledge of kanji, both passive and active
4) gain more confidence in using dictionaries and online resources
Banno, Eri, et al. Genki II: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. Second edition. Tokyo:
The Japan Times, 2011.
vocabulary
6) learn about Japanese society and culture in the modern age
7) and find the inspiration to continue to study Japanese independently
Required Texts for Purchase
Banno, Eri, et al. Genki II: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. Second edition. Tokyo:
The Japan Times, 2011.
Banno, Eri, et al. Genki II Workbook: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. Second
edition. Tokyo: The Japan Times, 2011.
Kano, Chieko, et al. Basic Kanji Book Vol. 2. Fifth Edition. Tokyo: Bonjinsha, 2004.
Recommended Texts:
Makino, Seiichi, et al. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Tokyo: Japan Times, 1991.
Course Requirements
Students are expected to arrive on time to class and be well-prepared every time, so that they can
contribute thoughtfully to class readings/discussions. Students are expected to take notes during
each class.
It is imperative that you attend every class; new materials are presented every day and mastery of language
is accomplished through sustained daily effort and speech contact with other learners and the teacher.
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This course has a Moodle supplement. Please go to your professor’s Moodle page DAILY to obtain
additional information on your section’s activities and to check attendance, download course materials
(including handouts used in class on any given day), or to send an email to the professor.
Also, please see the Japanese section’s website for information about the Japanese program at UM. The
Japanese section welcomes new majors, double majors, and minors. Students wishing to declare a major or
minor in Japanese can pick up a major/minor declaration form from their professor. It may be changed or
revoked at any time without a fee. Declaration locks in the current (2015) curriculum requirements and any
changes in future years will not be applied.
TODAY, FIRST ASSIGNMENT: Log on to Moodle. Find the ‘supplement’ for this course. Enter the
course site. Anyone who has registered for this course is included on the Moodle class list and can enter the
course module.
(1) Using your official UM email address, send your professor a short biography (one paragraph)
introducing yourself. Where are you from? What are your interests? Where did you go to high school?
What are your academic goals? What interests you most about Japan and Japanese? Please let us know.
This is a good way to practice contacting your teacher via email from your UM mail account. Do not use a
private email account (Gmail, Yahoo, etc) for this purpose. This self-introduction is required and will be
counted as homework for day 1 of this course.
(2) Download a copy of the course syllabus and the full schedule from the Moodle documents posted near
the top of the supplement for your course.
(3) Make sure you have purchased all course materials required for the course. Do not delay. Books will be
returned to the publisher if not purchased, and it is not realistically possible to take the course without the
textbooks.
GRADING CRITERIA
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Chapter Exams (4 total, 50 mins. each)
Final Exam (2 hours): includes out-of-class Oral test given
during last week of class, worth 20% of value of final exam. To
be given on the date set in the 2015-2016 Calendar; no changes
in time or date are permitted by the Provost
Quizzes (11 total; your lowest score on one quiz will be
dropped); no make-ups as a rule.
Homework (mandatory daily assignments, 5-point grade scale;
lowest 3 assignments dropped; no make-ups).
Basic Kanji Book Exercises
Pop Quizzes/Preparation for Class (the average of your pop
quiz scores; lowest daily grades for any 3 days will be dropped)
Total
35%
25%
15%
15%
5%
5%
100%
GRADING SCALE
100 – 93 A
79 – 78 C+
62 – 60 D-
92 – 90 A77 – 73 C
59 – 0 F
89 – 88 B+
72 – 70 C-
87 – 83 B
69 – 68 D+
82 – 80 B66 – 63 D
NOTE: THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT USING A TRADITIONAL GRADING SCHEME ONLY. It is not
possible to change to credit/no credit at any time, for any reason. If you are majoring or minoring in Japanese,
you must obtain a grade of C- or higher in this course. Students taking the course for GEN ED credit must
receive a C- or higher in order to meet Gen Ed performance requirements. As a general guideline, we urge you
not to continue if you do not earn at least a C, since a “C” (2.0) average is required for all first and second year
Japanese language and other required courses, if you are a Japanese major or minor in our program. A higher
2.5 GPA is required for all upper division coursework in the major.
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ABSENCES/TARDINESS
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Absences: three absences for illness or any other reason will be excused. Three missing/lowscoring homework grades will also be dropped accordingly from your final homework record.
Each absence beyond these excused absences will result in a two-point deduction from your final
course grade. As an example, a student with a raw score of 84 and six absences will receive a final
grade of 78 (three allowed absences not counted, then -2 for each of the three subsequent ones, for
a total of -6). Please keep track of your own attendance record; your professor is not responsible
for sending out notices or reminders.
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Late arrivals: please take care not to come late to class; if you arrive 15 or more minutes late it will
be considered as ‘half’ an absence (equivalent to a one-point penalty) and if you are more than 30
minutes late, you will be marked ‘absent’ in the attendance record. When you arrive late, you miss
important announcements as well as review/warm-up activities and disturb the entire class. If you
arrive late, please do not request that test time be extended or that missed dictations be repeated.
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Early departures, without permission, will be treated in the same way as late arrivals (see above).
Do not leave the classroom if you finish a test early.
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Leaving class for breaks. Please do not leave class for restroom breaks, drinks, or to take/make
phone calls, unless you have a valid medical issue or emergency and have gained your professor’s
approval in advance for such a practice. Leaving and returning during the class hour disrupts the
lecture and pair-work activities. Such disruptions will be noted and will result in a lower
performance evaluation.
HOMEWORK PREPARATION
The majority of your homework consists of listening and writing exercises provided in the Workbook/
Laboratory Manual that accompanies the Yookoso! textbook.
(1) Homework is assigned almost daily and collected for marking daily when assigned.
(2) Homework is to be turned in promptly at the beginning of the class on the date it appears in the weekly
schedule, not the day after. Please do not request that your instructor accept late work for any reason, and
do not attempt to hand in work at the end of class.
(3) You may do either of the following when you complete your homework:
(a) Fill in, detach, staple and submit the pages needed for your workbook homework directly from
your Workbook.
(b) Photocopy (in a dark, clear tone) your homework pages from the workbook and fill in those,
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instead of ripping out the pages directly from the workbook. Please keep in mind that workbook
pages have material written on both sides, and each surface may be used at a different time
for homework assignments.
(4) Arrange the pages of your homework in “advancing” order, lower page numbers coming before higher;
staple (not clip) all homework sets with your name on each sheet.
(5) Three missing/low-scoring homework grades will be dropped from your final homework record, as
noted above.
Many students lose valuable homework points unnecessarily because they have not checked their work
against the actual assignment with sufficient care. Please check your work each time.
Homework sets will be graded with one numerical figure as follows:
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5 points: for complete, tidy, and highly accurate work, assembled and stapled in the correct sequence;
“outstanding.”
4 points: same as above, showing a decent effort, but requiring a somewhat larger number
of corrections; “good”
3 points: for work that is acceptable and complete but has a higher incident of errors and/or is not
as legibly written. “Good” work that has 1 missing/incomplete portion (1) will default to
this evaluation. Please see your professor if you are not doing well on homework.
2 points: for work that is not considered passable and shows a lack of care or comprehension; shows
more numerous errors, or a general messiness or illegibility, or has incomplete portions (more than one
missing section or a long, complex section, such as writing). Assignments that are
ripped/torn/incomplete or that are not stapled or placed in ascending order will also be graded as “2”
after a warning on the first occasion. Please see your professor if you are not doing well on homework.
1 point: for grossly incomplete work, missing numerous assigned sections; work that does not
demonstrate an adequate level of care or comprehension of material; work that is highly disorganized
and/or very difficult to read. Please see your professor if your homework has been marked as deficient.
0 points: assignment missing or not submitted on time, at the beginning of class.
POLICIES
1. Most students will need to do a minimum of at least two hours of homework and review daily. Deep
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engagement with the text/materials provided, mental focus and frequent (daily) review will be required
to activate memory and build long-term retention. If you come to class cold, having done only the
homework (i.e. without reviewing the previous lesson and also pre-reading the new lesson’s materials),
you will not gain nearly as much as the student who has prepared himself or herself to receive new
information.
There will be no make-up homework opportunities, quizzes, or tests; the only exceptions (at your
professor’s discretion) will be cases of documented major emergencies, such as an accident,
hospitalization, the death of a primary relative or partner, the need to testify in court, or an important
documented UM official (and mandatory) event. All other personal situations and impediments,
including colds, influenza, and other ailments, problems with roommates or in the home,
car/bus/traffic/parking troubles, band practice, weddings, a doctor’s appointments or similar, should be
covered by the scheme permitting 3 excused absences/homework assignments and one dropped quiz.
Homework must be submitted upon your arrival to the classroom. Please do not complete your
homework after class has started and do not ask to submit it after class or by email. If you forget to
bring your homework or miss class, do not leave the homework assignment on your professor’s door
or in his/her mailbox.
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4. Quizzes and exams start as soon as class begins. If you are late, missed portions of quizzes cannot be
repeated.
5. If you are unable to attend class on a chapter test day and wish to ask your instructor to consider giving
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you a make-up, a legitimate and compelling reason, involving the sort of dire emergency defined
above, must be presented before the time the test is given. Make-ups will be considered only in the
event that a student presents documented evidence involving compelling circumstances. Weather or
traffic delays, parking problems, personal travel, or the kind of events mentioned in no. 2 (above) are
not a suitable cause for requesting a makeup test.
Please speak only Japanese in class (and with your speaking partner), unless you seek and are granted
permission to speak English in class for a particular purpose.
Please do not eat or drink during class or chew gum.
Please turn OFF and put away any laptops, smart phones, or cell phones during class.
Recording or videotaping the class is not permitted except in cases where special permission has been
granted in advance.
Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated and will be dealt with according to University
regulations. Please read and understand the JPNS 101 special statement on academic dishonesty
(available on the Moodle website), and also make sure you have read and understood the Student
Conduct Code. The Student Conduct Code is available for review online. Note that it is your
responsibility to make sure you have understood the course policies on academic misconduct; if you
are at all uncertain, contact your instructor ahead of time.
If you are a student with a disability and wish to discuss reasonable accommodations for this course,
please meet with Disability Services for Students (DSS) in Lommasson 154 for assistance in
developing a plan to address reasonable modifications. If you are already working with DSS, arrange
to meet with your instructor during his/her office hours to discuss modifications that may be necessary.
For more information, visit the DSS website.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POLICIES
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Please use only your official UM email address when writing emails to your professor. This is a UM
requirement, in line with US Federal privacy laws for students and faculty; emails from private
accounts, such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc will not be answered. If you do not know how to use the UM
student email service, please seek assistance immediately.
The last day to drop the course is the 45th instructional day of the semester. If you wish to receive a
drop with a refund, however, you will need to meet an earlier deadline. Please consult Griz Central.
After the 45th day, the Japanese section will not sign petitions to drop (W/P or W/F) except in cases of
documented and unforeseen hardships or emergencies.
This course is offered only on a traditional grade basis. It is not possible to switch to credit/no credit
later, no matter your circumstances (this is a University regulation).
Students who are registered for a course but do not attend the first two class meetings may be asked to
drop the course to make room for attending wait-listed students, as per the UM calendar.
Self-taught students and students restarting Japanese in university after a gap of one semester or longer
or else transferring to UM from another university should ask to have their proficiency level assessed
by the instructor. In most cases, a placement test will be given.
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6.
Students majoring or minoring in Japanese must follow the Japanese BA requirements listed in the UM
Catalog for the first semester during which they were enrolled at the university. This catalog may be
viewed online at any time. Students enrolled from earlier years have the option of following the old or
the new requirements. Students wishing to declare a major or minor in Japanese can pick up a
major/minor declaration form from their instructor. Please note that the form can be changed or
revoked at any time without a fee. Declaration locks in the current (2015-2016) curriculum
requirements; any changes in future years will not apply to your program of study.