HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

COURSE SYLLABUS

1.  / Course Title
Japanese I
2.  / Course Code
JPN1010
3.  / No. of Units
3
4. / Prerequisite
None
5. / Offering Department
Language Centre
6. / Aims & Objectives
This foundation course is designed for absolute beginners who have never studied Japanese before. The Japanese phonetic system, writing system, basic greetings, sentence structures and practical vocabulary that are suitable for beginners will be introduced in this course. It also provides opportunities for students to understand Japanese culture, and to develop the ability to communicate in basic Japanese such as introducing oneself, daily expressions, telling the time and the date and talking about one’s daily life. Students’ active participation in classroom activities and role-plays is expected.
7. / Course content
Part 1. The characteristics of Japanese language
1. Communication
-  Introducing oneself or each other in a group
-  Greeting a person with daily expressions
-  To make requests in a formal way
2. Grammar
-  Simple affirmative sentence (NはNです N is N: I am a student).
-  Simple negative sentence (NはNでは ありません N is not N: I am not a teacher).
3. Vocabulary
-  Daily expressions
-  Numbers from 0-100
4. Pronunciation
-  Japanese Sound system (voiceless sounds, voiced-sounds, p-sounds, double consonants, long vowels, contracted sounds, N-sounds)
-  Introduction to Japanese pitch accent

Part 2. About people, things, places and prices (textbook chapter 1- 3)

1. Communication
-  Talking and asking about persons, things and places
-  Talking and asking about prices
2. Grammar
-  Affirmative form and negative form
-  Interrogative questions （誰 who, 何 what, どこ where, どちら which direction）
3. Vocabulary
-  Countries (日本 Japan, 中国 China, アメリカ America, イギリス England…)
-  Objectives (本 book, 机 desk, ノート notebook, コンピューター computer…)
-  Occupations (先生 teacher, 学生 student, 会社員 company worker…)
4. Pronunciation
-  Question sentence intonation
Part 3. About time, day of the week and date (chapter 4- 5)
1.  Communication
-  To provide and ask for information such as time, days of the week, days and one’s
telephone number
2. Grammar
-  Regular verbs in polite form (行きますgo, 寝ますsleep, 働きます work…)
-  Irregular verbs in polite form (来ます come, します do)
-  Tense of verbs (past tense/ non-past tense)
-  Negative form of verbs (行きません do not go, 行きませんでした did not go…)
3. Vocabulary
-  Time (時 o’clock, 分 minute) and day of the week (月曜日 Monday, 火曜日 Tuesday…)
-  Month and date (１月 January, ２月 February…)
-  Transportation (飛行機 airplane, バス bus, タクシー taxi…)
4. Pronunciation
-  Interrogative intonation
Part 4. About food, drink, and transportation (chapter 6)
1. Communication
-  To discuss and ask about what one drinks and eats
-  To discuss and ask about which transportation one uses
2. Grammar
-  Making a formal invitation (～ませんか shall we~)
-  Accepting someone’s invitation (～ましょう let’s ~ together)
3. Vocabulary
-  Foods and drinks (パン bread, 卵 egg, お茶 tea, ビール beer…)
4. Pronunciation
-  Intonation suggesting an invitation
8. / Course Intended Learning outcomes (CILOs)
CILO / By the end of the course, students should be able to:
CILO 1 / demonstrate a foundation knowledge in reading and writing Japanese characters;
CILO 2 / demonstrate a basic understanding of oral communication and listening skills in the Japanese language;
CILO 3 / use simple Japanese to obtain and provide limited information, such as names, numbers, daily schedules, families and basic personal information;
CILO 4 / demonstrate a basic knowledge of Japanese culture and understanding of potential problems in intercultural interaction with Japanese.
9. / Teaching & Learning Activities (TLAs)
CILO No. / TLAs
CILO 1 / Students will:
l  write HIRAGANA and KATAKANA characters;
l  complete listening comprehension tasks such as vocabularies and daily expressions;
CILO 2 / l  practise language drills and pair tasks to express time, days of the week and months of the year;
l  practise listening comprehension tasks on daily expressions;
CILO 3 / l  deliver brief self-introductions;
l  participate in group activities to inquire and briefly explain the names and locations of various objects;
l  practise role-play to make a purchase after confirming the price and place of origin of a product;
l  explain one’s daily schedule;
CILO 4 / l  learn about Japanese culture and ways of thinking through DVD appreciation;
l  gain new insights into cultural differences between Japan and Hong Kong
10. / Assessment Methods (AMs)
Type of Assessment / Weighting / CILOs to be addressed / Description of Assessment Tasks
Hiragana and Katakana Vocabulary test / 5% / 1 / Vocabulary test will assess students’ ability to read and write Japanese characters.
Mid-term test / 20% / 1, 3 / Mid-term test will assess students’ reading and writing skills.
Listening comprehension test / 5% / 1, 2 / Listening comprehension test will evaluate students’ listening skills, as well as grammatical knowledge.
Quiz (6) / 5% / 1, 3 / Quizzes will measure students’ learning outcomes.
Assignments (8) / 10% / 1, 3 / Assignments will give both the instructors and students valuable feedback to monitor students’ progress.
Active participation in class / 15% / 2, 3, 4 / Active participation in class is encouraged in order to gain a better understanding of the complexity of inter-cultural communications. Students’ interactions and communication skills will be assessed.
Final examination / 40% / 1, 3 / Examination will assess students’ ability to write and read Japanese, as well as grammatical knowledge.
11. / Textbooks / Recommended readings
Minna-no Nihongo Elementary 1 (大家的日本語 初級1) 大新書局.
1.  3A Corporation. (1999) Minna no Nihongo (elementary I). Taiwan: Dah-Hsin Publishing House.
2.  3A Corporation. (2002) Minna no Nihongo Workbook (elementary I). Taiwan: Dah-Hsin Publishing House.
3.  3A Corporation. (2001) Minna no Nihongo Videotape (elementary I). Taiwan: Dah-Hsin Publishing House.
4.  Kobayashi Noriko, Tanba Junko, Takahashi Junko, Fujimoto Izumi, Miyake Kazuko. (1998) Mastering Japanese by Ear 99 Listening Work Sheets. Tokyo: Bonjin-sha
5.  Bunka Institute of Language. (1989) Bunka Shokyu Nihongo Work book-Elementary Japanese Workbook of Bunka. Tokyo: Bunka Institute of Language.
6.  Takahashi Miwako, Hirai Etsuko, Miwa Sachiko. (1994) kurasu katsudou shu 101-class activities 101- (elementary I). Japan: 3A Corporation.
7.  CAG Teaching Materials Development Group. (1993) 80 Communication Games for Japanese Language Teachers. Japan: The Japan Times.

Syllabus prepared by:Ms. Takako Mochizuki & team members

Date: 24 March 2010