Interaction with Japanese (general)

• Language of instruction: Japanese

• Quota: max. 10 students / each level

• Meets 3 times a week

• Credit: 3 KUIS credits

• Material: original material used

This course aims to assist students to acquire three types of competence which are necessary for interacting with Japanese speakers in everyday contact situations, namely linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence and socio-cultural competence. In the spring semester of 2021, this course also includes some new content featuring online communication.

In the class, besides activities that focus on understanding, preparation and practice for the interaction with Japanese, there will also be several “performance activities” (abbreviated as PA) with the help of Japanese speakers as opportunities for authentic use of Japanese.

By completing this course, students are expected to improve their communicative competence through interacting with Japanese speakers even while they are staying in their own countries. This course is highly recommended to students who wish to be more fluent in Japanese using the vocabulary and grammar that they have acquired.

Grading Policy

Evaluated based on the participation in activities, performance, assignments and reflections. No mid-term or final exams.

Level and Target

Interaction with Japanese 2

• Level: 2

• Instructor: Wataru Takahashi

This course is targeted at students who completed half of the beginner's level (approx. JLPT N5). This course aims to familiarize students with interacting with native Japanese speakers online. In the class, we will think of when and in what context we can use the grammar that students have learned so far. It also has a lot of pair or group work. Through interacting with native speakers, students will review their performance and acquire more practical competence.

Contents (plan)

1. Simple email writing

2. Conversations about hobbies and favorite things

3. Interviewing Japanese university students

(e.g. how to spend time at home, young people's language)

4. Interacting on social media

5. Short presentations about students' culture

*The contents may be changed depending on the number of participants.

The target of this course is the Performance Activity (PA) which is the compilation of what students have learned. Students will not only do some conversation practice using some sentence patterns but also study new expressions useful for the PA and conversation strategies. Students will practice together with other students and active class participation is expected.

For the PA, students will set a challenging goal along with the target set by the instructor and reflect on themselves about what they were and were not able to do by listening to and reviewing the recordings of the PA. The recordings and reflection sheets will be checked by the instructor.

Message from the Instructor

Some of you might not have spoken with native Japanese speakers. You may feel a little upset to talk with Japanese university students through the screen. However, you will become confident in interacting with them at the end of the semester. Let's work hard together!

Interaction with Japanese 3

• Level: 3

• Instructor: Sayuri Suzuki

This course is targeted at students who completed the beginner's level (approx. JLPT N4). This course covers interactions that learners of Japanese would encounter in daily life and university life. Students are expected to be able to express their feelings and opinions about themselves and familiar topics using acquired knowledge with the partner's support.

Five topics will be covered through the semester. Students will discuss, practice, prepare and set their target of the Performance Activity (PA). This course will have a lot of pair work and group work, and therefore active participation is expected. Students will experience real interactions in Japanese with class visitors of KUIS students. Students will review their performance after each PA and think of the attainments and challenges. The evaluation will be made comprehensively based on the participation, assignments and the PA.

The course contents may be changed depending on the number of participants.

Planned: self-introduction, introducing familiar things, email writing, presentations with slides, chatting with friends

1. Introducing

Introduce yourself to the person you meet for the first time and introduce your university. You will also learn how to make friends by drawing information from the other party.

2. Chatting

Talk with students of similar age about hobbies and daily life. We will exchange information about what they have in common and differences, and what is popular in their own country.

3. Email writing

Use e-mail or social media to write and send Japanese messages while paying attention to your style. Learn how to write a subject and idiomatic expressions.

4. Exchanging opinions

Explain the topic you are interested in using data such as charts. We will exchange opinions with visitors about it.

5. Consulting

We will research and present topics of interest in Japan. Talk to your visitors during the preparatory stage and get support for a better presentation.

Message from the Instructor

It is recommended for students who wish to have strong conversation skills and want to improve their communication skills. If you are feeling like "I studied Japanese, but I have no chance to speak", "I don't have the confidence to speak", and "I don't know how to speak", let's take this opportunity to enjoy speaking Japanese with Japanese learners and KUIS students from all over the world.

Interaction with Japanese 4

• Level: 4

• Instructor: Yumiko Uehara

This course is targeted at students who completed half of the intermediate level (approx. JLPT N3). It aims to enable intermediate students to deliver their feelings and thoughts and keep relatively longer conversations about daily life and university life. It also includes thinking about somewhat abstract concepts such as society and culture and expressing their opinions.

Planned: introducing university life, group discussions, chatting with friends, writing formal emails, interviewing, presentations with slides

Contents (plan)

Students will learn one topic in a couple of weeks. At the end of each topic, we will have the performance activity (PA) to experience the actual situation with Japanese university students and classmates. In the PA, discussions, presentations, chats, interviews, etc. are held, but the content should be from your own interests. Through the preparation of PA, you will also study expressions and strategies to convey what you want to say. We also think about society and culture through activities with classmates in various parts of the world and Japanese university students. After the PA, we will review what we have learned.

1. Introduce your university and college life.

2. Write a polite email.

3. Make friends through chatting and social media.

4. Research and present about Japan.

5. Discuss "New Normal"

6. Interview Japanese university students about their future work and give a presentation about it.

*The contents above may be slightly changed.

As one of the intermediate level tasks, you will learn Japanese in both formal and casual situations so that you can properly use formal expressions for people you meet for the first time and teachers, and casual expressions for friends and close people.

Message from the Instructor

In this class, you will have a lot of opportunities to talk with your classmates and Japanese university students. It may seem a little difficult at first, but by the end of the semester, you will surely feel the ability and confidence to express your thoughts and opinions in Japanese.

Interaction with Japanese 5

• Level: 5

• Instructor: Ayako Seto

This course is targeted at students who completed the intermediate level (approx. JLPT N3-N2). Simulating interactions in daily life and university life, students are expected to be able to express what they want to say only in Japanese. In particular, It aims to enable students to keep longer conversations about familiar topics and personal interests, to report the facts and deliver their thoughts based on the information gathered, and to give their opinions on somewhat abstract concepts such as the society and culture with reasons.

Planned: conversations among university students, presentations, debates

Details

>>>Japanese version

Interaction with Japanese 6

• Level: 6

• Instructor: Tomoko Murakami

This course is targeted at students who completed half of the advanced level (approx. JLPT N2-N1). Students will experience interactions in daily life and academic situations. It aims to enable students to actively participate in discussions on familiar topics, to explain some general topics and expertise clearly and concretely, and to present and explain their viewpoints.

Planned: chatting online, discussions, presentations, interviews

Details

>>>Japanese version

Interaction with Japanese 7

• Level: 7

• Instructor: Sachiko Kitagawa

This course is targeted at students who completed the advanced level (approx. JLPT N1). It simulates various interactions with other Japanese speakers to improve students' linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence and socio-cultural competence, and to enable students to use Japanese appropriate for each situation. It mainly focuses on the production and output of what students can do in each scene, and students will do activities after recognizing what they can do and what their target is. After each activity, students will review their performance and think of what was good and what should be improved.

This course is recommended to advanced students of the Japanese language who wish to speak more fluently or who are struggling to understand how to use what they have learned.

Details

>>>Japanese version