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JPN 113
Prerequisites:
JPN 113 is the third in the sequence of third-year Japanese courses at UCD. The course is designed for students who completed JPN112 at UC Davis with a grade of C- or better and students who are placed into this level based on the placement test and have the instructor's permission to enroll.
NOTE: This page is out-of-date for 2009-2010 because a new textbook will be used. The new textbook is listed in the COURSE MATERIALS section below. Other information on this page will be revised shortly.
Objectives:
In the third-year sequence of Japanese courses, students focus on presenting sets of information and opinions in connected, coherent ways. They also gain skill at retelling series of connected events and explaining how these events relate to each other. In JPN 113 these skills are developed through expressing complaints and making apologies, discussing symptoms of illnesses, telling about past experiences, stating and supporting opinions, and explaining Japanese terms in formal and informal ways. Students are expected to develop skills for dealing with unpredictable situations and unanticipated complications (with a host family, for example, or concerning one's health), narrating past events (difficult experiences with the Japanese language, etc.) and discussing social issues (such as the status of women in Japan and the internationalization of Japan).
Reading in Japanese about these topics and the social conventions involved is an important part of the course. Written styles needed for different purposes and different audiences are also studied and practiced. Students are expected to retain the 774 kanji introduced by the end of JPN 112 and learn an additional 174 kanji during JPN 113.
In each unit of the course, students learn to:
Chapter 11: Problems with a host family
- Address concerns and complaints
- Suggest possible solutions to a problem
- Explain why a certain situation arose and apologize for it
- Talk about possible problems that might arise between a Japanese host family and an American homestay student
- Reading: Read a host mother's impressions of an American exchange student
- Writing: Write an essay that evaluates advantages and disadvantages of homestay and your position for or against it
Chapter 12: When you get sick
- Describe symptoms of an illness
- Seek medical help at a doctor's office
- Discuss the differences between the Japanese and American medical systems
- Compare different ways particular illnesses are treated in Japan and the U.S.
- Talk about your own experiences with illness
- Reading: Read a Japanese doctor's account of interacting with patients in the medical office
- Writing: Write an e-mail to your Japanese friend telling about a recent illness and its symptoms, treatment, and prognosis
Chapter 13: Experiences with the Japanese language
- Talk about the reasons for and circumstances of your starting to learn Japanese
- Talk about embarrassing mistakes you have made trying to communicate in Japanese
- Talk about katakana words that have lost their original English meanings
- Talk about what makes learning Japanese difficult
- Reading: Read Donald Keene's autobiographical account of how he started studying Japanese
- Writing: Find a katakana word that has developed a different meaning in Japanese from the original English; write a script for a short speech that explains how the word has changed and what it now means in Japanese.
Chapter 14: Women in Japan
- Talk about the different roles of men and women in Japan
- Compare the roles at home and work of women in Japan and in the U.S
- State and support your opinions about the status of women in Japan
- Express your choice of preferred marital status
- Talk about your ideal for sharing housework between husband and wife
- Reading: Read a newspaper article on the results of a survey of single Japanese women; read a book excerpt about the struggles of working women in Japan
- Writing: Write a response to a letter written by a woman seeking advice about difficulties she has balancing her duties as housewife, mother, and professional in her field of work
Chapter 15: Internationalization of Japan and Cultural Conflicts
- Explain the meanings of difficult Japanese words
- Talk about cultural differences between Japan and America and possible conflicts caused by these differences
- Discuss possible ways to reduce or eliminate cultural conflicts
- Discuss ways to make Japan a more internationalized country
- Talk about the concepts of honne and tatemae
- Reading: Read an op-ed article by a foreign resident in Japan about how Japanese treat foreigners; read a book excerpt about how the Japanese concepts of honne and tatemae have caused misunderstandings for a Japanese living in America and might also cause problems for non-Japanese
- Writing: Write an essay on what "internationalization" means to you and how Japan might become a truly internationalized society
Additional Reading:
- Read and discuss the story "Hashire Melos" by Dazai Osamu
- Summarize the story so you can retell it to the class
- Read and discuss the story "Toshishun" by Akutagawa Ryunosuke
- Write a Japanese friend a letter telling the outline and impressions of a book you recently read
Course Materials:
- M. Oka et al. TOBIRA: GATEWAY TO ADVANCED JAPANESE (Kuroshio, 2009)
- J. Halpern. KODANSHA KANJI LEARNER'S DICTIONARY (Kodansha, 2001)
After Completing JPN 113 If you plan to continue studying Japanese beyond JPN 113, it is strongly recommended that you keep up with your Japanese over the summer break. Click here for a page with recommended activities that will help you maintain and improve your skills.
