31070 - Japanese Language and Linguistics 1

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will acquire basic skills in grammar, vocabulary and spelling through lectures and conversation sessions with native speakers. They will be able to manage simple conversations (self-presentation, everyday life) and to read and write basic texts with a full competence of hiragana and katakana, and a limited number of kanji. Acquired skills are slightly below the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level N4 organized by the Japan Foundation.

Course contents

Students acquire the necessary language skills of the first year through a syllabus divided into three main steps: 1) grammar and Japanese-Italian translation leaded by Prof. Vitucci, 2) conversation, reading and comprehension of Japanese texts with Prof. Kounor, 3) kanji module leaded by the native Japanese tutor. Students will deal with the above mentioned contents through diversified teaching materials which will be calibrated on the actual level of their Japanese knowledge.

Readings/Bibliography

Basic Textbooks

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

-          Kanji Look and Learn – The Japan Times, Tōkyō (2009).

(textbooks must be purchased in advance)

 

Lecture notes

-          Prof.Kōno lecture notes from Manabou! Nihongo (1).

-          Prof. Arakawa lecture notes.

-          Hiragana and Katakana lecture notes.

(lecture notes will be available during the course at ECRIRE Via Cartoleria, 18 / A - Tel 051 238 424)

 

Dictionaries

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

-          Shogakukan Japanese - Italian and Italian-Japanese Dictionaries – Shogakukan, Tōkyō.

-           Kanji wo oboeru Jiten – Ōbunsha, Tōkyō (nuova edizione 2011).

-          Bilingual Dictionary - Hoepli, Milan (2013).

-        Il Giapponese coi Manga - Kappalab, Ferrara (nuova edizione 2013).

 

Subsidiary manuals and textbooks

-          Grammatica giapponese –Mastrangelo M., Ozawa N., Saito M., Hoepli, Milano (2006).

-            A dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar – Makino S., Tsutsui M., The Japan Times, Tōkyō (1986).

-          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.

Assessment methods

Final exam: written and oral.   
 
The written test will be divided into the four following sections: grammar test  (45 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 fourth test 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 (Ex. Nichikyoukai). Students who are in possession of the Kudan Language School certificate will not have to take the oral exam.

The vote will be processed by assigning to each individual exercise within the test a specific score depending on the objectives to achieve. 

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 Francesco Vitucci