Language Outreach Programmes Japanese Courses

JAPANESE BEGINNER

For the Academic Year

40 hours class contact¹ over a 20-week period.

Maximum intake of 15 participants.

Textbook: Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture : Starter A1 Rikai by the Japan Foundation

This course is designed for adult learners with no previous knowledge of the language. There is no formal assessment for this course but participants will receive a certificate on successful completion of the course, including a minimum of 60% attendance record in both terms.

Course objectives:

The present course aims at:

Providing participants with the relevant speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in a variety of basic topics related to family, daily activities, city life, etc.
Introducing participants to the three Japanese alphabets with an emphasis on Hiragana and Katakana,
Beginning to develop an awareness of Japanese culture,
Encouraging autonomous learning,
Developing personal learning strategies.

Teaching methodology:

Classes are interactive and based on oral communication. Japanese will be used for teaching purposes as much as possible and activities will be varied giving intensive practice in all language skills with an emphasis on speaking and listening. Material used in class will be drawn from a variety of sources, including textbooks, audio and video material, websites, etc. Homework is given every week. It reflects and the lesson content covered in class and prepares participants for the material to follow.

¹Please note that an hour is an academic hour, i.e. 50 mn

‘Can do’ statements – Beginner level*

This grid of ‘can do’ statements has been designed to help you assessing your progress during the course of the programme. It succinctly presents the main learning aims of this course at beginner level (note that it is possible that due to time restrictions, not every aspect of this grid content might be covered in class). This grid might also reveal your weaker areas, thus highlighting topics you can improve on your own. To use it, simply tick the statements corresponding to your ability. You can review your progress on a regular basis.

Speaking: I can…
1. introduce myself and use basic greeting and leave-taking expressions.
2. ask people for things and give people things.
3. use simple phrases and sentences to describe where things are.
4. ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics (e.g. nationality, job…).
5. interact in a simple way provided the other person is prepared to repeat, rephrase, or speak slowly.
Listening: I can…
1. recognize and understand familiar words and basic phrases concerning myself, people I know and things around me when people speak slowly and clearly.
2. understand everyday basic questions.
3. understand numbers, prices, dates and times.
4. follow speech which is very slow and simple with long pauses for me to get the meaning.
Reading: I can…
1. understand the general idea of simple information documents especially if they contain pictures which help the understanding of the text.
2. understand very short texts which include familiar names, words and basic phrases.
3. recognise a few kanjis
4. recognise familiar names, words and very simple phrases on notices in the most common everyday situations.
Writing: I can…
1. fill in forms with personal details (e.g. name, date of birth, nationality...).
2. describe where things are and where places are in relation to each other.
3. write Hiragana and Katana alphabets in Japanese characters.
4. write simple isolated phrases and sentences on everyday topics.
Pronunciation/Fluency: I can…
1. manage to pronounce very short, isolated mainly pre-packaged utterances.
2. articulate less familiar words with much pausing and false starts.
3. repeat the correct pronunciation of less familiar words if need be.
4. repair communication by reformulated misunderstood utterances.
Vocabulary: I can…
1. use a very basic repertoire of words related to personal details.
2. use a limited range of vocabulary to talk about particular concrete situations.
3. use a small range of ready-made expressions and phrases related to everyday topics (introductions, leave-taking, apologies…)
4. imitate formulas and phrases encountered and explained in class.
5. use the vocabulary I know and some shared international words to understand the general idea of simple statements about everyday situations.
Grammar: I can…
1. show a limited control of a few simple grammatical structures (present tense, articles...)
2. reproduce simple sentence patterns that I have memorised.
3. link words or groups of words with very basic connectors such as ‘and’.
4. recognise present and past tenses in a text.

(* Beginner level corresponds to A1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This grid is adapted from DIALANG self-assessment statements and CEF self-assessment grid)

Japanese Elementary

For the Academic Year

40 hours class contact¹ over a 20-week period.

Maximum intake of 15 participants.

Textbook: Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture : Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai by the Japan Foundation

This course is designed for adult learners who have a basic understanding of the language including phonetics, vocabulary, simple grammatical concepts ans the three Japanese writing scripts: Hiragana, Katakana ans some Kanji. Typically chapters one to nine of the book will be covered during the 20-week course. There is no formal assessment for this course but participants will receive a certificate on successful completion of the course, including a minimum of 60% attendance record in both terms.

Course objectives:

The present course aims at:

Providing participants with the relevant speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in a variety of basic topics related to everyday life (making simple statements, giving / understanding directions, booking accommodation, etc.)
Developing participants knowledge in the three Japanese writing scripts with an emphasis on Hiragana, Katakana and some Kanji,
Revising basic phonetics and vocabulary,
Revising the present tense and other simple grammatical structures,
Introducing new tenses, use of particles, etc,
Communicating in simple and routine tasks,
Expanding knowledge of Japanese culture,
Encouraging autonomous learning,
Developing personal learning strategies,

Teaching methodology:

1 Please note that an hour is an academic hour, i.e. 50 mn

‘Can do’ statements – Elementary level*

Speaking: I can…
1. manage simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics in everyday situations.
2. describe everyday aspects of my environment e.g. people, places, job…
3. make plans and arrangements and deal with common aspects of everyday living such as travel, eating and shopping.
4. talk about my daily routine, pastimes and past activities.
5. exchange ideas, opinion and information on familiar topics.
Listening: I can…
1. understand enough to manage simple, routine exchanges without too much effort.
2. catch the main points in short, clear, simple messages, announcements or news items.
3. understand simple directions: e.g. how to get from A to B (by foot, by car or public transport).
4. handle simple business in shops, post offices or banks.
5. understand the essential information from clear, slow standard speech on familiar matters (personal, family, etc) if I can ask for repetition or reformulation.
Reading: I can…
1. find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as ads, leaflets, menus and timetables.
2. understand everyday signs and notices in public places, such as streets, restaurants, railway stations, etc.
3. understand simple instructions on equipment encountered in everyday life.
4. read short, simple personal letters/emails and understand most of the information.
5. understand short, simple texts written in common everyday language.
6. read/recognise Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji in sentences.
7. use/recognise about 150 Kanji characters which are categorised as ‘Pictographs’,’ logograms’, ’ideographs’, ‘semasio-phonetic’ and related to everyday life (family, food, seasons, health, culture, business trip, etc.)
Writing: I can…
1. briefly describe my family, living conditions, job, likes and dislikes, hobbies…
2. write very simple personal letters for e.g. expressing thanks and apologies.
3. give short, basic descriptions of events and activities (past, present, future)
4. describe plans and arrangements.
5. can write short, simple notes and messages relating to matters of everyday life using Hiragana, Katana and some Kanji.
Pronunciation/Fluency: I can…
1. be understood in short utterances despite a noticeable foreign accent.
2. articulate most words but pauses and false starts are still common and my conversational partners will need to ask for repetition or reformulation at times.
3. hear the correct pronunciation of less familiar words and correct myself.
4. rehearse utterances on my own to improve my pronunciation.
5. spell a word if its mispronunciation prevents communication.
Vocabulary: I can…
1. use a basic repertoire of words to deal with everyday transactions.
2. use a range of vocabulary sufficient to cope with simple daily needs.
3. use everyday polite forms of greetings and address to respond to invitations, suggestions and apologies.
4. imitate and adapt formulae and phrases encountered and explained in class.
5. guess the meaning of some unknown words from a familiar context.
Grammar: I can…
1. use a few grammatical structures correctly to deal with everyday situations.
2. expand learned phrases through simple re-combinations of elements.
3. link groups of words with basic connectors such as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘because’ in order to build a text (e.g. a story or a description…).
4. use a few tenses and agreements even though I still make basic mistakes.
5. start to identify my own basic mistakes in written texts if the errors are pointed out to me.

(*Elementary level corresponds to A2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This grid is adapted from DIALANG self-assessment statements and CEF self-assessment grid).