Locations:
UWO: Polk 116B/Lab Clow 221
UWSP: Communication Arts Center Room 116B/Lab:TBA
Professor:Dr. Fumiko Fukuta
Office:Radford 314
Phone: (920) 424-7271(Direct #)
(920) 424-4004 (Dept. Office)
Fax: (920) 424-7289
E-mail: Fukuta@uwosh.edu
Address:
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
800 Algoma Boulevard
Oshkosh,WI 54901-8693
Office Hours: Mondays and Thursdays 10:10-11:10 or by appointment
Intern in Oshkosh:Ms. Yuki Niino (niino@uwosh.edu) Office: Clow F #3 Phone: (920)424-1099
Facilitator in Stevens Point:
Ms. Tomoko Sugio (Tomoko.Sugio@uwsp.edu)
c/o Judi Pitt, Distance Learning Scheduling Coordinator
University Telecommunications, CAC 110
1101 Reserve St. UW Stevens Point
Phone: (715) 346-3036
Fax: (715) 346-4215
text / grading / language lab / tentative schedule
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Welcome to Beginning Japanese! Japanese 44-110/101 is a semester course on the fundamentals of modern Japanese with equal emphasis on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The class is divided into regular class sessions (4 hours a week) and a one-hour-lab session a week. You will be exposed to three different Japanese speakers by the end of the course. It is important that you come to class on time. (If you have a legitimate excuse for being late or absent, you must inform your instructor and get her approval ahead of time. Otherwise, it will be counted against your attendance points.) Attendance in class and lab sessions is absolutely mandatory.The Main Goals of the Course:1.To be able to create your own new world with the language: ask and answer simple questions on familior topics, and handle simple situations or transactions such as introducing one’s self, ordering a meal, asking directions, making purchases, etc.2.To be able to understand complete sentences in a limited number of content areas. Content refers to basic personal background and needs, social conventions and routine tasks, such as getting meals and giving/receiving simple instructions and directions.
3.To be able to understand main ideas and/or some facts from the simplest connected texts dealing with
basic personal and social needs; to be able to get some main ideas and information from a limited number
of texts featuring description and narration.4.To be able to meet a limited number of practical writing needs such as writing short messages, postcards, and taking down simple notes; to be able to write about other topics related to a personal experience.
TEXTS:Nakama:Japanese Communication, Culture, Context by Makino,
Nakama Workbook/Laboratory Manual by Yukiko Abe Hatasa and
Kazumi Hatasa (1998) - Required
How to use the Textbook:You should read the textbook before and/or after class. Be sure to bring the textbook and the workbook to class everyday.
The Japanese Writing System: Hiragana and Katakana: You will learn to read and write in the Hiragana syllabary in the first and second weeks. You will be expected to read and write Hiragana completely, at latest, by the first lesson quiz in the fifth week. You will also learn another syllabary Katakana during this semester.
PREREQUISITES: None
GRADING:A=100-92 AB=91-88 B=87-82 BC=81-78 C=77-72 CD=71-68 D=67-58 F=57-0
Final course grades will be based on the results of:Regular, on time attendance 5%
Class participation 5%
Final exam 20%
Mid-term exam 15%
End-of-lesson tests 20%
Hiragana/Katakana & Vocab. tests 10%
Other pop quizzes 5%
Oral Tests 10%
*Homework assignments 10%*Assignments turned in by the due dates .... 10 points
One point deducted for each day late.Homework Assignments:
1.Your completed homework should be turned in to your instructor (Oshkosh)/ facilitator (SP) at the beginning of class on the due date to be accepted for full credit.2.Incomplete work turned in by the due date will not be accepted for credit. One point will be deducted each day for homework turned in after the due date.
3.UWSP: Make copies of all of your assignments before submitting them to your facilitator. Your facilitator will be responsible for mailing them to the Oshkosh campus on the due date immediately after the class period. Assignments mailed by individual students later will not receive full credit.
Tests/Quizzes and Exams:
1.There will be vocabulary quizzes and Hiragana/Katakana tests throughout the semester. A lesson test is scheduled to be given once at the end of each lesson. Always be prepared for the quizzes. You will be responsible for quizzes and exams and are expected to know when they are given. (Refer to the tentative schedule.)2.Make-up quizzes/tests and exams are not given except for extraordinary cases (sickness or official activities). In such cases, unless the student presents a memo from the doctor, instructor, or a person who is responsible for the activity, 10% of the score will be deducted. In any case, students should contact the professor in advance of the scheduled test time.
3.UWSP: Write your name on the top of every page of a test/exam, in case pages get separated.
How to Study Everyday:Japanese 44-110/101 ( Fall 2000 )Students are expected to study Japanese everyday to fulfill the course requirement. Trying to cram at the last minute does not work for this class!! Here are some suggestions on how to study Japanese.1.Review constantly. Go back to the earlier lessons from time to time to keep your memory reactivated. By going back to the earlier lssons frequently you will readily acquire the vocabulary and useful expressions, and eventually master them. Make vocabulary and Hiragana/Katakana cards if necessary.2.Preview the chapter to be covered before class. You are expected to have listened to the dialogue part of the accompanying tape with each lesson and match the character lines in the dialogue with frames of the manga (cartoon). Moreover, you should have read the language notes in your textbook. After the instructor goes over grammatical points, go to the language lab during the open hour period and practice the drills and the dialogue given in the chapter. Then, in class, you will practice new and old grammar patterns in real life conversation. After each class review with the tapes again. It is very important for you to have practiced mechanical drills often with tapes before drill practice sessions so that the instructor can focus on more creative drills rather than mechanical ones in class.
Besides the one hour lab session on every Friday, you are encouraged to go to the lab during open lab hours on your own as often as possible.1.General GuidelinesTo the top
It is important that you are exposed to the Japanese sounds as much as possible. Go to the language lab and listen to the dialogues and drills as much as possible. If you listen to the tapes consistently and practice in an organized manner, the end result can be rewarding. You may find it more fruitful to go for two shorter periods than for one long one.2.Use of Audio Tapes
Here are some guidelines.a.General Rules
Speak. Do not just passively listen.Use the pause and rewind buttons. Do not just let the tape run on continuously. Develop good study habits. Set up a daily study timetable and stick to it. Spend at least thirty minutes every day working on the tapes.
b.Dialogue
The tape comes first. Listen to each conversation before you look at the textbook. Never read the translation part first. You will permanently condemn yourself to difficulty in comprehending new and unfamiliar words in Japanese. Divide and conquer. Listen to the dialogue and stop your machine to check that you understand what has been said. Look at the language and vocabulary list if you encounter new and difficult words or patterns. When you can understand what you are hearing, look at the manga and match it to the dialogue. Lastly, imitate the conversation after the voice on the tape. Imitate the conversation until you can say it fluently.
* * * * * *
Some Useful Information on the Japanese Language:
Japanese is very different from English and other Indo-European languages. There are some features of Japanese which we advise you to always keep in mind.Word Order: Japanese is typologically classified as an SOV (Subject + Object + Verb) language. Hence predicates, like adjectives, verbs or copula come at the sentence end and determine important factors such as tense, mood (imperative, statement, interrogative), the distinction between negative and affirmative, etc.
Particles: Compared with English, Japanese word order is relatively flexible. Grammatical relations such as ‘subject’, ‘direct object’, ‘indirect object’, ‘location’ are specified by particles. These particles are ‘post positional’ and are attached to a preceding noun. There is another type of particle which is called a ‘sentential particle’ which comes at the end of a sentence. These particles, wa, ne, yo, etc. express interpersonal feelings such as ‘assertion’, ‘confirmation’, ‘sympathy’, ‘anger’, etc.
Topic: "Topic’ indicates what the sentence is about: what the speaker is talking about. Topics in Japanese are mostly specified by a particle wa and normally come at the sentence’s initial position. Topics may be ‘subject of sentence’, ‘direct or indirect object’, ‘location’, ‘time’, etc.
Writing system: There are three writing systems in Japanese: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. Kanji are used for writing content words such as verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc. They usually represent meaning as well as sound. There are two kinds of readings:
(1) Kun-readings ‘those of native Japanese origin’ and (2) On-readings ‘those of Chinese origin’. There is a tendency for On-readings to occur within compound words rather than as independent words. Katakana are used primarily for writing loan words and onomatopoetic words, and for emphasizing native Japanese words, etc. Hence they are associated with sound. Hiragana are used for anything else which is not written in Kanji, such as inflectional endings and words which have a predominantly syntactic function as well as many ordinary verbs, nouns, etc. of Japanese origin.Pronunciation: Japanese pronunciation is relatively easy compared with English or Chinese:
(1) There are only five vowels in Japanese: /a/ /i/ /u/ /e/ /o/.(2) A Japanese consonant is usually followed by a vowel to make a unit of sounds which is usually called a mora or syllable, and consonants are usually not grouped together.
Honorific expressions: Politeness in Japanese may be realized in various ways. Basically, there are two ways; one is to elevate the speaker’s superior (e.g. A person is older than the speaker or is socially superior); the other is to lower the speaker himself/herself. In the former case, the subject of the sentence should not be the speaker (namely, I). It should also be noted that there are two styles independent of the honorific expressions; they are formal styles and informal styles. Formal styles are used in official contexts; in speaking to a person who is not an in-group member; or in speaking not personally or intimately. Informal styles are used in personal context; in speaking to your family members; or in speaking to your friends.
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Tentative Schedule
Weeks
Dates:
Tentative Schedule
1.
9/6(W)
Orientation & L.1 Hiragana
9/7(H)
Hiragana
9/8(F)
Orientation by the facilitator & intern/ D: Hiragana
2.
9/11(M)
Hiragana
9/12(T)
Hiragana
9/13(W)
Hiragana
9/14(H)
Hiragana
9/15(F)
Lab: Hiragana (Keiro no Hi: Respect for the Aged Day)
3.
9/18(M)
Hiragana Test # 1 & Useful Expressions
9/19(T)
L1
9/20(W)
L1
9/21(H)
L1
9/22(F)
Lab: L1
4.
9/25(M)
L1
9/26(T)
L1
9/27(W)
L1
9/28(H)
L1 & Hiragana Test #2
9/29(F)
Lab: L1
5.
10/2(M)
L.1
10/3(T)
L.1
10/4(W)
L1
10/5(H)
Lesson Test (Chapter 1)
10/6(F)
Lab: L1
6.
10/9(M)
L2 (Taiku no Hi: Health-Sports Day)
10/10(T)
L2
10/11(W)
L2
10/12(H)
L2
10/13(F)
Lab: L2
7.
10/16(M)
L2
10/17(T)
L2
10/18(W)
L2
10/19(H)
L2
10/20(F)
Lab: L2 Oral Test #1
8.
10/23(M)
L2
10/24(T)
L.2
10/25(W)
L.2
10/26(H)
Mid-Term Exam (Chapters 1 & 2)
10/27(F)
Lab: Review and Preview
9.
10/30M)
L3
10/31(T)
L3
11/1(W)
L3/ Katakana
11/2(H)
L3 / Katakana
11/3(F)
Lab: L3 / Katakana (Bunka no Hi: Culture Day)
10.
11/6(M)
L3 / Katakana
11/7(T)
L3/ Katakana
11/8(W)
L3 / Katakana
11/9(H)
L3 / Katakana
11/10(F)
Lab: L3 & Katakana Test #1
11.
11/13(M)
L3 / Katakana
11/14(T)
L3 / Katakana Test #2
11/15(W)
L3
11/16(H)
Lesson Test (Chapter 3)
11/17(F)
Lab: Review and Preview
12.
11/20(M)
L4
11/21(T)
L4
11/22(W)
Thanksgiving Recess
11/23(H)
Recess (Kinro Kansha no Hi: Labor Thanksgiving Day)
11/24(F)
Recess
13.
11/27(M)
L4
11/28(T)
L4
11/29(W)
L4
11/30(H)
L4
12/1(F)
Lab: L4 / Oral Test #2
14.
12/4(M)
L4
12/5(T)
L4
12/6(W)
L4
12/7(H)
L4
12/8(F)
Lab: L4
15.
12/11(M)
L4
12/12(T)
Lesson Test (Chapter 4)
12/13(W)
Review
12/14(H)
Review
12/15(F)
Final Exam (Chapters 1-4)