jfbp-01-07.syl-b1
Soko Gakuen
Japanese Language School
415-928-9608
sokogakuen.org

COURSE SYLLABUS

Term (Contact hours) ................. WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, & FALL (33 hours each)
Class & Section ............................... BEGINNING 1  SM, SA, ME, or WE,
Instructor .......................................... TBA
Meeting day & Time ...................... Saturday 9-12noon, Saturday 1-4pm, Monday 6-9pm, or Wednesday 6-9pm

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this level, you should be able to:introduce yourself and others, talk about nationalities, give your name at the reception desk of a place you visit; ask for telephone numbers, ask for words to be repeated when you do not understand; talk about opening times and closing times, ask the prices of items in a store and make a purchase, place an order at a restaurant; ask for the location of a facility or a shop,  tell the shopkeeper what you want to buy;  talk about where, when, and with whom you will go/went somewhere,  at the bus stop  ask if the bus goes to onefs destination;  talk about the date and day of the week of an event or meeting.

TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS
1.  Required:  a)  Japanese For Busy People  I   Romanized VERSION  (Lessons 1-7, 4th ed.) by Kodansha USA / AJALT. 
b) Shimazu, Y. M. (2022). Handy Katakana Workbook.  Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Pub. [also available at Kinokuniya Bookstore, San Francisco--Geary at Webster. Phone 415-567-7625].

2.  Recommended:  Mizutani, O., & Mizutani, N. (1977 & 1979). nihongo notes (Vols. 1 & 2). 

3.  Audio files.
Visit https://www.kodanshausa.com
and locate Japanese for Busy People I
and click on corresponding Audio Lessons.

4.  Practice online.
http://www.realkana.com/hiragana
http://www.ajalt.org/sfyj

EVALUATION
1. One final exam (2.5 hours).
2. Upon successful completion (80% or higher attendance rate and 80% or higher final exam score) of the course, a STUDENT PROGRESS REPORT will be written if requested at the time you take the final exam.
3. Your final exam score (%) and attendance (%) will be kept in a digitized form @STUDENT GRADES AND INFORMATION REPOSITORY.

TEACHING STYLE
The instructor will create a relaxed, low-anxiety atmosphere through which you can acquire the previously mentioned course objectives with less effort and with ease. The instructor will use an eclectic teaching method.

PROCEDURES
1. The instructor will follow the CALENDAR /Weekly Schedule printed on the back page.
2. In class, student and teacher (and student and student) will engage in interactive language activities, a variety of exercises, using Japanese as much as possib le. The instructor, however, will use some mechanical and meaningful drills, when necessary, to develop your kinetic memory for the training of the perceptual motor skills.
3. Students will reinforce and develop vocabulary, structure, listening (CDs available in the textbook) and conversational skills through weekly assignments.
4. The class, however, may be conducted in accordance with the needs of the students in class within the course objectives.

CALENDAR / Weekly Schedule

Week 1.  Introduction, orientation & Lesson 1 .................. HIRAGANA: a,i,u,e,o, ka,ki,ku,ke,ko ga,gi,gu,ge,go,

Week 2.  Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 ..........................................sa,shi,su,se,so, za,ji,zu,ze,zo ta,chi,tsu,te,to, da, de,do,

Week 3.  Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 ......................................... na,ni,nu,ne,no, ha,hi,fu,he,ho ba,bi,bu,be,bo, pa,pi,pu,pe,po

Week 4.  Lesson 3 and Lesson 4 ......................................... ma,mi,mu,me,mo, ya,yu,yo,

Week 5.  Lesson 4 and Lesson 5 ......................................... ra,ri,ru,re,ro, wa,wo,n

Week 6.  Lesson 5 and REVIEW QUIZ .............................. Double Consonant Sounds

Week 7.  Lesson 6 ................................................................. Contracted Sounds

Week 8.  Lesson 6 and Lesson 7.......................................... Long Vowel Sounds

Week 9.  Lesson 7 and REVIEW ......................................... Practice Long Vowel Sounds. Review and Practice Quiz

Week 10.  FINAL EXAM

Week 11.  Lesson 8 (Last Day of Class).

*Weekly assignments on specific dates will be available from your instructor in class.

PLEASE NOTE
1. You are expected to listen to the audio files, memorize new words, read the grammar explanation in the textbook and to complete all assignments before coming to class.
2. From time to time short KANA quizzes may be given in class.
3. Please be on time for class; otherwise, you interrupt the lesson for others. Regular class attendance and participation are essential for language learning.
4. Excessive absences (more than 3 class meetings) may be cause for repetition of the course.
5. When you obtain a score of 80% or higher on the final exam, you move up to a higher level class. Soko Gakuen's exit criteria for each class/level are based on the 1987 ACTFL Japanese Language Proficiency Guidelines.
6. The teacher expects a lot of errors from you in class, and accepts those errors as a natural phenomenon integral to the process of learning a new language. You should not be marked down for each minor speaking and writing error because this practice destroys your confidence and forces you to expend so much effort on details that you may lose the overall ability to use language (Walker, 1972).

POLICY ON FINAL EXAM
If you are unable to take the final exam on the scheduled date due to circumstances beyond your control, the exam will be given only in a similar test-taking situation (under supervision of an instructor at Soko Gakuen). Unless the final exam is made up, NO CERTIFICATES can be issued.


ALL THE ENDEAVORS OF THE TEACHER WILL FAIL TO INSURE SUCCESS UNLESS YOU
PREPARE WITH DILIGENCE AND CONSTANCY THE EXERCISES TO BE GIVEN IN CLASS.

YOUR PROGRESS IS OUR CONCERN.