Japanese Course Offerings

JAPN 101
First-Semester Japanese    4.0 Fa/Spr

Introduction to the Japanese language and culture. Emphasis on the development of fundamental skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing with clear understanding of basic sentence structures. Acquisition of Hiragana and Katakana characters (phonetic symbols). 3.0 hours discussion, 2.0 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. CAN JAPN 2.

JAPN 102
Second-Semester Japanese    4.0 Fa/Spr
Prerequisites: JAPN 101 or faculty permission.

Continuation of JAPN 101. Special attention to different verb forms and essential auxiliary expressions. Appropriate language use in a variety of social settings. Acquisition of 110 Kanji characters (ideographic symbols). 3.0 hours discussion, 2.0 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course. CAN JAPN 4.

JAPN 201
Third-Semester Japanese    4.0 Fa/Spr
Prerequisites: JAPN 102 or faculty permission.

Review of major grammatical structures and further development of the student’s cultural awareness and proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. Special attention to logical discourse development. Acquisition of 200 Kanji characters (ideographic symbols). 3.0 hours discussion, 2.0 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course.

JAPN 202
Fourth-Semester Japanese    4.0 Fa/Spr
Prerequisites: JAPN 201 or faculty permission.

Continuation of review of major grammatical structures and further development of the student’s cultural awareness and proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. Special attention to refining and expanding discourse. Acquisition of 300 Kanji characters (ideographic symbols). 3.0 hours discussion, 2.0 hours activity. This is an approved General Education course.

JAPN 330
Japanese Culture and Civilization    3.0 Spr

An introduction to Japanese history and geography, as well as Japanese art forms, literature, philosophy, education, economy, customs, language, and politics. Course also includes a comparison of Japanese and American organizational theories. This is an approved Non-Western Course.

JAPN 398*
Conversational Japanese 3.0 Fa/Spr
Prerequisites: JAPN 101 or faculty permission.

Practice of conversational patterns in a casual format aiming at improving fluency in day-to-day interactions with native Japanese speakers. In an attempt to bring real need for communication, there are hands-on activities, such as singing, cooking, observing tea ceremony, story telling, watching popular Japanese TV programs, etc.

JAPN 399*
Advanced Writing and Reading 3.0 Fa/Spr
Prerequisites: JAPN 102 or faculty permission.

Intensive training in writing and reading of Kan-ji characters in context. A variety of reading materials are reviewed such as newspaper, magazine, literature, business correspondence, etc. Writing exercises focus on increasing use of Kan-ji characters.

JAPN 498*
Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language 3.0 Fa/Spr Prerequisites: JAPN 202 or faculty permission.

This course is for native speakers of Japanese and the students who attained beyond intermediate level of fluency in Japanese. While this course explores a variety of teaching methodologies, students analyze the gap between syntax and semantics to formulate concise explanations and develop skills best suited for teaching Japanese to non-native learners. Activities include practicum.

Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
California State University, Chico
400 West First Street
Chico, CA 95929-0040
530-898-5388
cdbumgarner@csuchico.edu