Basic Japanese 101
Synopsis

This module teaches situational-based communication skills. Students will acquire survival-level competencies in Japanese. Students will also have a lot of opportunities to attend Japanese-related activities and festivals organized by external organizations such as the Japanese Association. This highly interactive module will expand the students' horizons through the learning of the Japanese language.

Topics:
•  Meeting people
•  Carrying on small talk
•  Invitations
•  Going shopping
•  Communicating in a restaurant
•  Going to movies
•  Talking about yourself
• Grammar: Nouns, adjectives and verb structures in the present tense
•  Formations of negatives and questions with interrogatives
•  Hiragana reading and writing
•  Katakana reading

Assessments:
Speaking Test 30%
Reading Test 30%
Writing Test 30%
Class Participation Mark 10%

Module Leader
Yoko Hirata
Tel : 6460 8951
E-mail : hyo2@np.edu.sg


Basic Japanese 102
Synopsis

This is a beginners' course to be taken after Basic Japanese 101 or Basic Conversational Japanese (BCJ). Students will learn more basic sentence patterns, vocabulary, and grammar to continue building on their knowledge of the Japanese language. The module will enable students to speak about themselves and introduce their family and friends. Students will also learn to read and write Katakana, a Japanese writing system. Besides class notes, a textbook Minna no Nihongo Elementary 1-1(3A Corporation) will be used in class.

Pre-requisite
A pass in Basic Japanese 101 / Basic Conversational Japanese (BCJ) or relevant formal evidence (e.g. an official certificate or transcript) from an established institution of having completed a minimum of 30 hours of Basic Japanese. The School of IS will, however, evaluate applications on an individual basis. We reserve the right to refuse an application where entry requirements have not been satisfactorily met.

Topics
Chapters in the textbook Minna no Nihongo 1-1 to be covered: Lesson 1-Lesson 11

•  Counting for ages, time span, dates, and frequency
•  Family title, location nouns
•  Making invitations and replies
•  Giving and receiving things
•  Expressions indicating existence: animate and inanimate objects
•  Verbs - present and past tense, affirmatives and negatives
•  Adjectives - present and past tense, affirmatives and negatives
•  Sentence connectives -k ara, -ga
•  Comparative and superlative structures


Assessments:
Weekly Quiz 15%
Final Exam (Writing and Speaking) 70%
Homework Submission 10%
Class Participation 5%

Module Leader
Chishiho Muraoka
Tel : 6460 8260
E-mail : mch2@np.edu.sg


Basic Japanese 103
Synopsis

This module is grammar-based and students will learn to form sentence structures and vocabulary with various activities and games that are based on real Japanese lifestyle and way of thinking. Students will increase their knowledge of the Japanese culture and build their competencies in the Japanese language.

Pre-requisite
Basic Japanese 102

Topics
Lesson 12-16 of Minna no Nihongo 1 (3A corporation)

•  Adjective (Past form)
•  Verb conjugation
•  Verb groups
•  Te Form + kudasai, imasu, masyouka, mo iidesu, ha ikemasen
•  To connect verb sentences.
•  To connect adjective sentences.
•  Sentence patterns


Assessments
Kanji Test and Quiz 20%
Final Exam (Listening, Writing and Speaking) 70%
Homework Submission 10%

Module Leader
Yoko Hirata
Tel : 6460 8951
E-mail : hyo2@np.edu.sg


Basic Japanese 104
Synopsis

Students will build their competencies in grammar and vocabulary through various activities and games that are based on real Japanese lifestyle and way of thinking. Students will gain a deeper insight into Japanese culture as well as learn to write Kanji, a Japanese system of writing.

Pre-requisite
Basic Japanese 103

Topics

Lesson 17-21 of Minna no Nihongo 1 (3A corporation)
•  Verb conjugation
•  Verb groups
•  Nai Form + nai de kudasai, nakereba narimasen and nakutemo iidesu
•  Before-
•  Polite style and plain style
•  Proper use of the polite style or the plain style
•  Conversation in the Plain style
•  Plain form + to omoimasu, to iimasu and desyou


Assessments
Kanji Test and Quiz 20%
Final Exam (Listening, Writing and Speaking) 70%
Homework Submission 10%


Module Leader
Chishiho Muraoka
Tel : 6460 8260
E-mail : mch2@np.edu.sg


Intermediate Japanese 201
Synopsis

This is the last semester of learning Japanese using the textbook Minna no Nihongo 1, which means that students will complete the first half of the elementary level of Japanese language proficiency and be able to aim for the most elementary level of standardized proficiency tests – the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, Level 4 (JLPT Level 4). This module is grammar-based and students will build a strong grammatical foundation and a rich vocabulary in preparation for functional application in the Intermediate Japanese 202 module.

Pre-requisite
Basic Japanese 104

Topics

Lessons 22 – 25 of Minna no Nihongo 1 (3A corporation)
•  Noun modification by sentences
•  Connectives – toki and to
•  te form + agemasu, moraimasu and kuremasu
•  Conditional - tara
•  Reverse Conditional - mo

Assessments
Kanji Test and Quiz 20%
Final Exam (Listening, Writing and Speaking) 70%
Homework Submission 10%

Module Leader
Chishiho Muraoka
Tel : 6460 8260
E-mail : mch2@np.edu.sg


Intermediate Japanese 202
Synopsis

After having completed the text book Minna no Nihongo 1, this module focuses on functional application and integration of the strong grammatical foundation and vocabulary that students have acquired so far. Students will have an opportunity to participate in the Youth Forum organized by Waseda Shibuya Senior High School, a local Japanese high school, where they will make a presentation and interact with Japanese students. At the end of the semester, the students will give a speech on a topic of their choice to conclude three years of their Japanese learning experience at an in-house speech contest. It will also serve as a platform for selecting candidates for the annual Speech Contest in July organized by the Japanese Association.

Pre-requisite
Intermediate Japanese 201

Topics:
•  Perceivable phenomenon sentences
•  Objects to be seen or heard
•  Two different actions at the same time
•  Indicating somebody “turns” something into a certain state
• “Cooking”: Indicating somebody “turns” something into a certain state
• “Cooking”: Changing to Nouns
•  Onomatopoeia
•  In-house Speech Contest
•  Group presentation

Assessments
Quiz 15%
Mid-term Test (Writing) 40%
Speech 45%

Module Leader
Chishiho Muraoka
Tel : 6460 8260
E-mail : mch2@np.edu.sg