Courses

JAPA-100/0, First-Level Japanese
A yearlong commitment. Five class periods. Open to all students. Seniors may take the course, but in situations of high enrollment, priority will be given to younger students to fulfill language requirement. Students will learn to express themselves in a variety of conversational situations and to read and write hiragana, katakana, and about 15 kanji, or Chinese characters. Classroom instruction will be based on Adventures in Japanese, Book 1, and its corresponding workbook. Students will learn not only the basic grammatical structures but also important elements of Japanese culture.

JAPA-130, Introduction to Japanese
Not offered in 2009-2010. Four class periods. This course is designed for students who are thinking of traveling to Japan and/or studying Japanese as a second language at Andover or in college. In addition to developing survival-level speaking skills, students will learn to read and write using katakana, hiragana and 50-75 kanji, or Chinese characters. Students will also sing and perform short skits, and will follow at least one popular animated film in Japanese. Selections from the textbook Japanese for Busy People, karaoke songs, audio and video tapes, visits by Japanese-speaking guests, and materials developed by the instructor will support classroom instruction. In the last weeks of the course, students will research a social, cultural, or historical topic in which they are personally interested and then present it to their classmates.

JAPA-200/0, Second-Level Japanese
A yearlong commitment. Five class periods. Open to students who have successfully completed first-level Japanese or its equivalent. A continuation of JAPA-100, the instruction will be based on Adventures in Japanese, Book 2, and its workbook. In this course there is an increased emphasis on grammar and an additional 150 kanji.

JAPA-300/0, Third-Level Japanese
A yearlong commitment. Four class periods. Open to students who have successfully completed second-level Japanese or its equivalent. Instruction is given based on Adventures in Japanese, Book 3, and its workbook. Emphasis is placed on more conversational practice using the previously learned grammar and more advanced new grammar. Additional emphasis is placed on a significant increase in kanji characters. Students are expected to learn an additional 150 kanji by the end of the course.

JAPA-400/0, Fourth-Level Japanese
A yearlong commitment. Four class periods. Open to students who have successfully completed third-level Japanese or its equivalent. Using the advanced textbook of Adventures in Japanese, Book 4, and its workbook, students will learn to express themselves more creatively and to communicate with status-appropriate word usage. Students will learn an additional 150 kanji by the end of the course. Emphasis is placed on more advanced Japanese culture and understanding Japanese history and values. Projects include interviews, research, and the final papers.

JAPA-520/0, Ap Japanese Language and Culture
A yearlong commitment. This course is modeled on the AP syllabus, and is designed to be comparable to college/university Japanese courses where students complete approximately 300 hours of college-level classroom instruction. Like the corresponding college courses, the AP course supports students as they develop the productive, receptive, and cultural skills necessary to communicate with native speakers of Japanese. Students' proficiency levels at the end of the course are expected to reach the intermediate-low to intermediate-mid range, as described in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines.

JAPA-600/1, Advanced Topics in Japanese
Four class periods. This course focuses on the development of additional kanji, and on vocabulary expansion through the study of Japanese newspapers, short stories, and a feature-length film. Emphasis is placed on students' listening comprehension and speaking proficiency. Prerequisite: A successful completion of JAPA-400 and/or the approval of the instructor.

JAPA-600/2, Advanced Topics in Japanese
Four class periods. This course focuses on the development of additional kanji, and on vocabulary expansion through the study of Japanese newspapers, short stories, and a feature-length film. Emphasis is placed on students' listening comprehension and speaking proficiency. Prerequisite: A successful completion of JAPA-400 and/or the approval of the instructor.

JAPA-600/3, Advanced Topics in Japanese
Four class periods. This course focuses on the development of additional kanji, and on vocabulary expansion through the study of Japanese newspapers, short stories, and a feature-length film. Emphasis is placed on students' listening comprehension and speaking proficiency. Prerequisite: A successful completion of JAPA-400 and/or the approval of the instructor.