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Language IV: Modern Japanese

Code: 101568 ECTS Credits: 12
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500244 East Asian Studies OB 2
2500244 East Asian Studies OT 4

Contact

Name:
Sandra Ruiz Morilla
Email:
sandra.ruiz@uab.cat

Teachers

Takato Shi Hanawa

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

This subject requires prior knowledge obtained through the following subjects: Language I, II, and III: Modern Japanese.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of this subject is, on the one hand, to consolidate basic language competencies acquired through Language I, II and III so that the students can begin to apply them; and on the other hand, to continue to develop knowledge and understanding of the graphic, morphological, lexical, semantic and syntactic structure of the Japanese language  (equivalent to A2.1 level). To that end, it is important that students have assimilated the content they worked on in the previous courses (Language I, II and III), knowledge of which is necessary to continue learning on the degree programme (A2.1; A2.2; B1 levels).


Competences

    East Asian Studies
  • Apply knowledge of East Asian culture in order to be able to communicate.
  • Developing self-learning strategies.
  • Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
  • Produce oral texts in one of the languages of East Asia.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Solving problems of intercultural communication.
  • Understand oral texts in one of the languages of East Asia.
  • Understand texts written in one of the languages of East Asia.
  • Write texts in one of the languages of East Asia.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply knowledge of lexis, morphosyntax, texts, rhetoric and linguistic variation.
  2. Apply strategies to produce oral texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
  3. Apply strategies to produce written texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
  4. Apply strategies to understand oral texts from various different contexts.
  5. Apply strategies to understand written texts from various different contexts.
  6. Apply strategies towards acquiring knowledge of East Asian culture in order to be able to communicate.
  7. Deal with interferences between the working languages.
  8. Developing self-learning strategies.
  9. Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
  10. Identify the need to activate knowledge of East Asian culture in order to be able to communicate.
  11. Integrate cultural knowledge to solve problems in communication.
  12. Possess knowledge of East Asian culture in order to be able to communicate.
  13. Produce oral texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
  14. Produce oral texts that are appropriate to the context and linguistically correct.
  15. Produce written texts for different contexts and for specific communicative purposes.
  16. Produce written texts that are appropriate to the context and linguistically correct.
  17. Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  18. Solving problems of intercultural communication.
  19. Understand the communicative intent and the meaning of oral texts from various different contexts.
  20. Understand the communicative intent and the meaning of written texts from various different contexts.

Content

-Continue enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the morphological, lexical, semantic, and syntactic structure of the Japanese language.

-Differentiate between the levels of expression of humility, respect, and courtesy, and understand their basic conceptions (implicit interpersonal relationships, use of register, etc.).

-Enhance the basic and necessary linguistic and cultural knowledge in various everyday scenarios (asking for advice, complaining, asking for permission, conveying what a third person has said, etc.)

-Verbally express familiar events (daily life, university life, hobbies, etc.) or the contents of the textbook.

-Make short and simple descriptions of facts and activities.

-Understand the most common expressions and simple comments made in class and respond appropriately. 

-Read short and simple didactic texts without using the dictionary frequently. Read specific texts such as instructions, simple messages, and informal and short emails. Devote time to reading complex texts with the help of a dictionary.

-Write long essays on familiar topics in formal and informal styles.

-Students will learn some 110 new kanji


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Listening comprehension 10 0.4 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12, 18, 20
Oral communication exercises 15 0.6 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20
Oral expression 5 0.2 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Oral/Written grammatical exercises 15 0.6 1, 5, 7, 20
Theory (new content explanation) 30 1.2 1
Type: Supervised      
Listening comprehension exercises 10 0.4 1, 6, 10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 20
Reading comprehension exercises 17 0.68 1, 5, 8, 19, 20
Written expression exercises 20 0.8 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16
Written grammatical exercises 15 0.6 1, 8
Type: Autonomous      
Self-study 150 6 8

Students will work on the grammatical content of Minna no nihongo II, from lesson 38 to 50.

To achieve the established objectives, this subject mainly involves practical classes.

Each unit, in principle, is organised into three steps, so that students can gradually develop their language skills:

1. Introduction

2. Practice

3. Development 

Learning activities are organised into (1) directed activities; (2) supervised activities; (3) autonomous study; and (4) assessment activities (see “ASSESSMENT” section).

(1) Directed activities*

The essential points of each unit’s content will be explained and different types of exercises carried out.

*Including all the quizzes 

(2) Supervised activities

Supervised activities include the tasks that students carry out outside the classroom. All these tasks must be handed in to the lecturer before the specified deadline. No tasks will be accepted after the deadline.

(3) Autonomous activities

Autonomous activities include preparing new material (carefully reading instructions, looking up the meaning of new vocabulary, etc.), doing exercises, and reviewing previous content.

This subject also includes the study of kanji as an autonomous activity, although classroom time will very occasionally be spent looking at kanji that require additional explanation. Students will work on the content of Basic Kanji Book vol. 2. 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Grammar and vocabulary quizzes 40% (Various) 8 0.32 1, 3, 5, 8, 15, 16
Kanji quizzes 20% (Various) 3 0.12 8
Oral exercises 20% 1 0.04 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19
Written exercises 20% 1 0.04 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

 

Continuous assessment

Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. These activities are detailed in the table at the end of this section of the Study Guide. Task deadline will be indicated in the course schedule on the first day of class.

Assessment activities 

Fulfilment of the subject’s objectives will be assessed as follows: 

- Quizzes (grammar and vocabulary:40% kanji:20%): 60%

- Exercises (written exercises:20%; oral exercises:20%): 40% 

Quizzes on grammar and vocabulary and kanji will be conducted after every three and two lessons, respectively.

Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment activities

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5.

The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken orcompensated for. In case of retaking, maximum grade will be 5 (Pass[JM1] ).

Classification as "not assessable"

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

Misconduct in assessment activities

Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.

Single assessment

This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.

Students must make an online request within the period established by the faculty and send a copy to the teacher responsible for the subject, for the record.

Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.

On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).

Single assessment activities

The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:

 Grammars and vocabularies : 50%.

Kanji test : 25%

Writing test: 12.5%.

Oral presentation: 12.5%.

Grade revisionand resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide. 


Bibliography

1.Textbooks

     Minna no nihongo shokyū II, 3A Network, Tokyo 2012.

     Basic Kanji Book vol.2. Bonjinsha, Tokyo 2015. 

2.Dictionaries

(1) Spanish-Japanese

  • エンデルレ書店『西和辞典』(Seiwa jiten, Editorial Enderle Book Co.,Ltd.)

(2) Japanese-Spanish

  • 白水社『和西辞典』(Diccionario japonés-español, Hakusuisha)
  • 三省堂『クラウン和西辞典』　(Crown Diccionario japonés-español, Sansêdô)

 (3) English-Japanese

  •  KENKYUSHA: 『ふりがな英和辞典』Kenkyusha’s Furigana English-Japanese Dictionary

 (4) Japanese -English

  •   THE JAPAN FOUNDATION: Basic Japanese-English Dictionary

 (5) Kanji

  •  KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL: The Kodansha’s Kanji Learner’s Dictionary.

3.Reference books 

  • HIROSE, M. Effective Japanese Usage Guide. A Concise Explanation of Frequently Confused Words and Phrases. Kodansha.
  • MAKINO, S.; TSUTSUI, M.  A Dictionary of intermediate Japanese Grammar. 『日本語文法辞典・中級編』TheJapan Times.
  • MATSUURA, J. i PORTA, L. Nihongo, Japonés para hispanohablantes, Bunpô. Herder, Barcelona, 2000.
  • NAKAZAWA, Y. Manual de japonés básico para hispoanohablantes. Pearson Editorial Japan, Tòquio. 2008.

4. Websites of interest

(1) Online dictionaries

(2) Grammar exercises

(3) Exercises on vocabulary, conversations, grammar, etc.

 (4)  Tool for reading comprehension


Software

No special software is required for this level.


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed