Japanese iv

Lectures: 4 sessions / week, 1 hour / session

Japanese III (21G.503), or placement exam and permission of the instructor.

This course uses the following text and its accompanying audio supplement. Students are also given a course packet covering kana and kanji, which is not available.

Jorden, Eleanor Harz. Japanese: The Spoken Language, Part 1. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987. ISBN: 9780300038347.

Noda, Mari. Japanese: The Spoken Language, CD-ROM. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780300075632.

This course covers JSL Lessons 17 through 22. It will further develop the four basic skills, speaking, listening, reading and writing, that students have acquired through Japanese I, II and III courses at MIT, with emphasis on oral communication skills in various practical situations. You will learn approximately 100 Kanji characters in this course.

The FACT classes cover grammar explanation, socio-cultural information and other important issues for using the language. The discussions will be primarily in English. Students must read the Structural Patterns (SP), Miscellaneous Notes (MN) and the Breakdowns (new vocabulary items) prior to each FACT class.

The ACT classes focus on the actual use of the language. The aim is to integrate students' knowledge so far learned with newly learned patterns, and to communicate within the frame given in the class. Students will be asked to perform the assigned Core Conversations (CC) and expected to be familiar with the Drills assigned for each class. The pace of the class and coverage of the material are influenced by the readiness of each student. So, come to class well prepared! The ACT classes will be conducted entirely in Japanese. This course emphasizes active command of Japanese, not passive knowledge of grammar. Your goal is not simply to acquire the grammar and vocabulary, but the ability to use Japanese with appropriateness and increasing spontaneity.

Important: Students should practice Core Conversations and Drills by listening to the tapes/audios (refer to Audio/Visual Materials). Reading the transcriptions in the textbook only is not sufficient.

One of the things you are expected to do in ACT classes is that you act out the assigned Core Conversations. Based on your performance of CCs and other activities involving the assigned CCs and Drills, you will be given a daily performance score:

10 = excellent performance; native-like fluency

9 = very good/strong performance with some minor errors

8 = fair performance with some mistakes or weakness

7 = prepared, but weak in major areas

6 = present, but evidently unprepared

0 = absent

The above grade scale also applies to your performance on assigned readings in class.

There are two oral interview exams, three Lesson Quizzes (25-30 minute long) and an one-hour long exam. A Vocabulary quiz is given in each FACT class, and there are also several Kanji quizzes throughout the semester.

* The 4 lowest daily grades will be dropped during the term.
** The lowest LQ score will be dropped at the end of the term.
*** The 4 lowest VQ and KQ scores will be dropped at the end of the term.

Supplementary course materials and other resources are available on the course site. You are expected to use these resources on your own as much as possible.

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