Japanese is an introductory course to the Japanese language and culture. Students will learn the first writing system of Hiragana and will be introduced to Katakana and Kanji.

The emphasis of level one is spoken communication with the development of listening, reading and writing skills. Students will be able to discuss basic details of one's own life including family, school, hobbies, daily activities, likes and dislikes. Students will study aspects of traditional and modern Japanese culture including geography, history, music, education and anime culture.

Japanese 2 begins with a brief review of level one material. Students will continue to study the Kanji writing system, in addition to securing proficiency in Katakana. Japanese 2 continues to build on the basic language skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Spoken communication will include invitations, and a discussion of daily life activities, as well as respond to short written communication with the goal of mid-level fluency. Students will continue their study of traditional and modern Japanese culture and history.

Japanese 3 extends the four basic language skills with depth and complexity. Students will be provided with communicative enrichment so that they are able to participate successfully with mid to mid-high fluency. Students will be able to distinguish between politeness and formality usage in most uncomplicated communicative tasks and social situations. They will read selected authentic Japanese with comprehension and recognize main ideas in higher level readings. The study of culture will continue with emphasis on Japanese history, literature, and artistic traditions. This course is taught with increasing usage of Japanese language. Students may select the dual credit option through Ball State University (Japanese 101 and 102) earning 8 college credits at a reduced tuition.

Japanese 4 students will study language in greater depth, as they will be able to tell stories, ask and give directions, make comparisons, express the conditional, and talk about cause and effect, with the goal of mid-high fluency. Students will be able to understand and use basic informal, formal and gender speech, as well as right informal and introductory letters. Kanji with it’s components will be studied, so that students can read authentic Japanese with a greater level of comprehension. The study of traditional and modern culture will continue with an emphasis on Japanese literature and important historical persons. This course is taught primarily in Japanese. Students may select the dual credit option through Ball State University (Japanese 201 and 202) earning 8 college credits at a reduced tuition.

Castle High School Japanese Club: Membership is open to all Castle high School students. We have one fundraiser in October, which supports our activities and charitable donations. Business meetings are during the ECA in the school day and most club activities are scheduled after school. Club members may earn participation in the Castle High School International Day. The purpose of the club is to introduce or enrich Japanese language and culture among club members and to support the Japanese department. Offer elections are held in the spring of each year.

Japanese National Honor Society: Students are eligible to join after their third semester of Japanese with a Japanese GPA of 3.5 and an overall GPA of 3.0. This is a scholastic and honorary society. They will receive a certificate of membership. Students may purchase cords for graduation with membership after their 5th semester of Japanese.

Volunteer Tutors in Japanese: Interested students may volunteer to tutor Castle students during their Super-study for a short period of time. This is a very valuable service which benefits the tutored student and the volunteer. They may sign up in the Guidance Office or see Mrs. Fields.

Biannual Trip to Japan: 9-11 day tour to Japan departing late May/early June every two years. We will be touring Tokyo and Kyoto, among other cities. See Mrs. Fields or visit the Japan Trip tab on the CHS Japanese website for information about our currently scheduled trip and future trips.