LA1PJ3-IWLP Japanese Level 3

Module Provider: Inst-wide Lang Prog
Number of credits: 20 [10ECTS credits]
Level: 4
Terms in which taught: Autumn, Spring and Summer
Module Convenor: Ms A Furukawa
Pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded: JA2BJ2
Module version for: 2009/0

Email: a.furukawa@reading.ac.uk

Aims:
This course aims to enable students:
- to cope in a wide range of everyday situations in Japan;
- to develop strategies for coping with a wide range of linguistic, social and cultural situations;
- to develop the ability to read and write commonly used kanji characters, and to write essays on selected topics relevant to the level;
- to extend their cultural awareness.

Assessable learning outcomes:
At the end of the course students may expect to achieve competence in the use of the most important grammatical structures of the language for their level and a knowledge of the vocabulary which is required to read, write and talk about the everyday topics and situations covered in the course. Students may expect to be able to present themselves well and interact adequately with sympathetic native speakers. They should also be able to read and write texts/essays containing commonly used kanji.

Additional outcomes:
Students will be involved in regular group activities and role playing and will gain experience in oral presentations and joint activities. They will make progress through developing skills of self-study and application and will develop an awareness of and sensitivity to a foreign culture. They should be able to understand the main points of written or spoken text dealing with common topics covered in class.

Outline content:
Students will learn:
- to discuss selected topics of both personal and wider interest, including current issues;
- to express their opinions orally and in writing;
- to interact with native speakers comfortably in social, practical and business contexts;
- to extract information from a standard spoken or written text appropriate to the level;
- to read and write texts that contain commonly used kanji characters.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
The course provides a systematic approach to acquiring essential grammar structures in a communicative context. Teaching methods are based on interactive language development tasks, such as group work and role playing, and include the study of short texts, oral development work and listening comprehension exercises. Learning activities are supported by various media, such as audio and, where appropriate, computer software. The module is taught as far as possible in the target language.

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures
Tutorials/seminars
Practicals	32	40	8
Other contact (eg study visits)
Total hours	32	40	8
Number of essays or assignments
Other (eg major seminar paper)	Weekly exercises	Weekly exercises	n/a

Assessment:
Coursework:
Assessed assignments (Term 1: listening comprehension, written assignment, oral test. Term 2: written assignment, listening comprehension).
Relative percentage of coursework: 45%
Examinations: Oral examination 20% (end Spring term), 2 hour written examination 35% (Summer term)
Requirements for a pass:
Min. 40% overall.
Reassessment arrangements:
re-sit in August/September examinations period.

Last updated: 7 December 2009