31070 - Japanese Language and Linguistics 1

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will acquire basic skills in grammar, vocabulary and spelling (kanji) through lectures and practice with native speakers. They will be able to manage basic  conversations and compose or read elementary texts. Acquired skills are located approximately between level N5 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test organized by the Japan Foundation.

Course contents

The course is divided into three essential moments:

1) Prof.ssa SPECCHIO (30 hours): Basic grammar lessons and Japanese - Italian translations (units from 1 to 16 from the textbook Manabou! Nihongo – Shokyū 1);
The precise schedule will be announced during the first lesson

2)  Prof.ssa Kono (100 hours): hiragana, katakana, grammar exercises, conversation, roleplay, sakubun, italian-japanese translation, listening ad kakitori.

3) Prof.ssa Arakawa (50 hours): hiragana, katakana and kanji.

Readings/Bibliography

Compulsory Textbooks

- Manabou! Nihongo – Shokyū 1 – Senmon Kyōiku Shuppan, Tōkyō (2008). Solo manuale.

- Kanji Look and Learn – The Japan Times, Tōkyō (2009): manuale e workbook.

(i testi devono essere acquistati in anticipo);

Compulsory Sources

- Dispensa tratta da Manabou! Nihongo (1) della Prof.ssa Kōno.

- Dispensa tutorato della Prof.ssa Arakawa

- Dispensa Hiragana e Katakana

- Dispensa Introduzione Kanji

(le dispense saranno disponibili a corso iniziato presso ECRIRE Via Cartoleria, 18/A – Tel. 051238424)

Dictionaries

- The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary - Jack Halpern - Kodansha, Tōkyō.

- Dizionario bilingue - Hoepli, Milano (2013).

- Dizionario Giapponese - Italiano e Italiano-Giapponese Shogakukan –Shogakukan, Tōkyō.

Suggested Sources

- Grammatica giapponese –Mastrangelo M., Ozawa N., Saito M., Hoepli, Milano (2016 - II edition).

- Nihon JP (1) – Takeshita T., Vitucci F., Ueyama M., Clueb, Bologna (2007).

- Nihon JP (2) – Takeshita T., Vitucci F., Ueyama M., Clueb, Bologna (2010).

- Eserciziario Orale di Giapponese moderno –Vitucci F., Clueb, Bologna (2012).

- Il Giapponese per viaggiatori – Vitucci F., Kappa Edizioni, Bologna (2011).

- La didattica del giapponese attraverso la rete - Teoria e pratica glottodidattica degli audiovisivi - Vitucci F., Clueb, Bologna (2013).

Teaching methods

Seminar classes with the teacher and Japanese conversation and writing practice with the Japanese lecturer and tutor. Classes will be characterized by an intense interaction. An active participation is required in order to develop a linguistic self-consciousness through all the exercises presented in class by the teacher.

Prof. Kono's site: http://www.unibo.it/SitoWeb/default.aspx?UPN=shiori.kono@unibo.it

 

A strong and active participation in class discussions by the students is warmly encouraged.

Assessment methods

Final exam: written and oral.

The written test will be divided intothe three following sections: grammar test (30 minutes); ideograms test (25 minutes), writing skills (80 minutes) reading comprehension, translation test (100 minutes). The final score will be the sum of each part of the written exam. For each test students need to exceed 60 percent in order to arrive at a final assessment. As far as grammar and ideograms are concerned, tests are aimed at testing the knowledge of grammatical, lexical and syntactictal contents together with the ability to contextualize and to effectively reutilize the topics with which students have dealt. As far as the third and fourht tests are concerned, they aim at testing oral abilities in terms of accuracy and appropriateness of language together with translation skills (Japanese-Italian and Italian-Japanese). In both cases, translations need to remain consistent with the tracks in the original language and cohesive in the target language.

THE WRITTEN EXAM REMAINS VALID FOR 4 SESSIONS.

The oral examination intends to determine: 1) the ability to read texts from the manuals without the support of hiragana, and 2) the ability to rework orally written contents (text, images), 3) the ability to manage free oral conversation by maintaining an adequate interaction, correct grammar and vocabulary through role play and presentation of themselves. Total time required: 20 minutes. A global knowledge of the topics will be evaluated as excellent, while an excessive dependence on texts and manuals without any interpretative support will be evaluated with a positive but low score. The proven and repeated difficulty in creating logical and descriptive connections between phenomena and contents will produce an insufficient evaluation. Students who have passed Level N5 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test or have attended a Japanese language course in Japan will be awarded with an evaluation bonus.

Examples of scores:

Maximum scores (30 - 30 cum laude) in case candidates have: 1) assimilated all the contents related to the grammar, 2) has achieved a full understanding of the ideograms, 3) been able to develop their own translation style balancing contextual elements of source language and target language, 4) successfully handled oral conversation.

Intermediate scores (24-29) in the case candidates have: 1) partially assimilated language contents, 2) have achieved a decent understanding of the module on the ideograms, 3) been able to develop their own translation style though showing slight difficulties, 4) discreetly managed oral contents.

Minimum scores (18-23) in the case candidate have: 1) sufficiently assimilated Japanese language contents, 2) achieved a sufficient albeit poor understanding of ideograms, 3) been able to develop their own translation style but showing adaptation difficulties, 4) have not demonstrated a sufficient ability in oral conversation.

Insufficient score (less than 18) in case candidates could not: 1) assimilate the contents related to Japanese grammar and syntax, 2) show a sufficient understanding of ideograms, 3) develop their own translation styles, 4) manage oral conversation in Japanese.

 

Teaching tools

Audio-visual materials and subsidiary material. Projector will be also utilized to display summaries, concepts, fragments of text, images and video excerpts.

Office hours

See the website of Anna Specchio