70381 - Basics of Japanese

Learning outcomes

Students are expected not only to learn the basic grammar and lexicon of the target language but also to acquire the beginning level of linguistic competence for both written and spoken Japanese in a limited number of communicative contexts.

Course contents

This is the first course for beginning learners.

The course concentrates on the use of the language in actual communicative situations. By the end of the course, the students will learn two of the three Japanese writing systems (hiragana and katakana) and some characters of the third (kanji). The students will also learn the basics of Japanese grammar and be able to conduct basic conversations, read and write simple Japanese texts. They also familiarize themselves with some aspects of the Japanese Culture.

Readings/Bibliography

Textbooks

Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese (Japan Times) - the third edition (pp. 20-101; pp. 296-307)
Genki I Work Book  (Japan Times) - the third edition (pp. 11-40; pp. 121-134)

Materials distributed in class
 
ATTENTION: the instructor will take a purchase order of textbooks in the second week of the second semester. 

Optional References

<Dictionaries>

Kodansha's Furigana English-Japanese Dictionary  (Kodansha International)

< Grammar >
Matilde Mastrangelo, Naoko Ozawa & Mariko Saito (2016).   Grammatica giapponese. (HOEPLI)

Teaching methods

Lectures, exercises, homeworks

Assessment methods

The final grades will be decided, based on the results of written & oral exams and composition assignments.


The modality of final exams will be determined and announced in the second semester by considering the development of the situation relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Teaching tools

Lectures, class handouts, audiovisual materials, Moodle, online resources

Office hours

See the website of Motoko Ueyama