Japanese I: Basic Language Proficiency

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• communicate about studied topics using the standard level of politeness of Japanese
• use the basic polite inflections of Japanese copula, verbs and adjectives
• write and read the two phonetic scripts hiragana and katakana without much difficulty
• write and read about sixty of the most basic ideographical kanji characters
• explain the origins and basic structure of kanji characters
• pronounce sounds from Japanese so that they can make themselves understood
• describe how Japanese sounds differ from those of Swedish or English.

Through practical writing and reading exercises, students practise the ability to use the phonetic scripts. As such, they also practise sounds from Japanese, which are also studied in comparison with English or Swedish. Furthermore, students practise writing and reading the most basic ideographical characters and study their structure and historical origin. As they use Japanese, both orally and in writing, the students practise how to communicate in simple Japanese. They also study basic Japanese grammar and the cultural context in which various expressions and registers are used.

The course is assessed through oral and written assignments, web-based tests, assessment of participation in class and a final oral examination.

English or Swedish and Japanese are used as the language of tuition. Teaching is done in the form of class and group activities.

The Swedish grades U–VG.

To receive the grade of VG for the whole course, VG is required for module 2 and 3.

Reporting of grades:

• Module 1: Kana (3 cr)
• Module 2: Written Language Proficiency (6 cr)
• Module 3: Oral Language Proficiency (6 cr)

Replaces JP1041.