Scroll down to read descriptions of the Japanese courses offered at Carthage, or click on the following links for additional resources.

Introductory Japanese I (MLA)

JPN 1010 / 4 credits 
The course is an introduction to the Japanese language and culture, stressing both spoken and written Japanese. It teaches listening, speaking, visual recognition, and writing skills through active participation by the students in communicative situations. By the end of the course, the students are able to initiate and, to some degree, sustain oral communication in Japanese, gaining recognition and writing ability of Hiragana, Katakana, and some Kanji, the three sets of symbols used in written Japanese, while understanding some fundamentals of Japanese social values and ways of thinking.
Fall

Introductory Japanese II (MLA)

JPN 1020 / 4 credits 
This course continues to engage students in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. An interpersonal mode is stressed in communicative contexts. By the end of the course, the students are able to initiate and, to a greater degree, sustain oral communication with some cultural nuances. Kanji recognition and writing is increased via email, calligraphy, and simple handwriting. The students are expected to learn approximately 80 Kanji in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPN 1010
Spring

Elementary Japanese I

JPN 2010 / 4 credits 
This course proceeds with an integrated approach and rebalances the four language skills. Speaking and listening continue to be a focal point while more emphasis is placed on writing and reading. Listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are developed into an interpretative mode while expanding the interpersonal one. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to perform communicative tasks such as description, interpretation, comparison, giving suggestions, and asking questions in a culturally acceptable manner. Students are expected to recognize and master 150 Kanji.
Prerequisite: JPN 1020 or equivalent Corequisite: JPN 2011
Fall

Elementary Oral Japanese I

JPN 2011 / 1 credits 
This course must be taken concurrently with Japanese 2010 and enhances the oral aspect of Japanese 2010. It meets once a week to expand students’ oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in Japanese.
Prerequisite: JPN 1020 or equivalent Corequisite: JPN 2010
Fall

Elementary Japanese II

JPN 2020 / 4 credits 
The class engages students in more complex communicative contexts. The four basic language skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, are now entering into a preliminarily interpretative mode while we continue to expand the interpersonal one. Basic grammar patterns will be thoroughly taught. By the end of the course, orally in a communicable manner, the students are expected to have the basic survival abilities to live in Japanese society using fundamental Japanese language structures and common vocabulary related to everyday and communication needs. Some basic Japanese honorific forms will also be introduced. Students are expected to master 200 Kanji and to be able to write greeting letters, career objectives, diaries, and memos among other simple writings.
Prerequisites: JPN 2010 and JPN 2011 Corequisite: JPN 2021
Spring

Elementary Oral Japanese II

JPN 2021 / 1 credits 
This course must be taken concurrently with Japanese 2020. Japanese 2021 is an oral class and enhances the speaking aspect of Japanese 2020. It meets once a week to expand students’ oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in the regular Japanese 2020 class.
Prerequisites: JPN 2010 and JPN 2011 Corequisite: JPN 2020
Spring

Calligraphy and Japanese Language

JPN 2070 / 4 credits 
This course integrates language and cultural studies through calligraphy, the writing of Japanese Kanji. It is open to both language and nonlanguage students. It is conducted in English.
Fall or Spring

Intermediate Japanese I

JPN 3010 / 4 credits 
This course will complete the study of basic Japanese grammar and syntax. The four basic language skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, are mainly in an interpretative mode. The communicative context is idea- or opinion-oriented and requires interpretative, subjective, and emotional expressions and responses. Orally in a culturally and pragmatically appropriate manner, the students are expected to initiate, sustain, and expand conversations on various topics beyond their daily lives. Cultural differences and social relationships will be introduced and brought to discussions in Japanese as vital aspects of cultural studies. By the end of the term, the students will have been introduced to all the basic grammar patterns of Japanese and will have mastered a total of at least 300 Kanji.
Prerequisites: JPN 2020 and JPN 2021 Corequisite: JPN 3011
Fall

Intermediate Oral Japanese I

JPN 3011 / 1 credits 
This course must be taken concurrently with Japanese 3010. Japanese 3011 is an oral class and enhances the speaking aspect of Japanese 3010. It meets once a week to expand students’ oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in the regular Japanese 3010 class.
Prerequisites: JPN 2020 and JPN 2021 Corequisite: JPN 3010
Fall

Intermediate Japanese II

JPN 3020 / 4 credits 
In this course we further practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing to attain a more authentic and more native language acquisition. While listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are still developed in an interpretative mode, they progress toward a presentational direction. The communicative context at the 3020 level represents a bridge for students to cross back and forth from the interpersonal to the interpretative and to the presentational. Orally, the students are expected to initiate, sustain, expand, and deepen conversations on various topics in a culturally appropriate manner. Cultural components will be emphasized and significant individuals and some historic/philosophic/literary aspects are studied together with language acquisition. Approximately 400 Kanji are expected to be recognized and put into use for thematic writing.
Prerequisites: JPN 3010 and JPN 3011 Corequisite: JPN 3021
Spring

Intermediate Oral Japanese II

JPN 3021 / 1 credits 
This course must be taken concurrently with Japanese 3020. This is an oral class and enhances the speaking aspect of Japanese 3020. It meets once a week to expand students’ oral competence in dealing with topics and themes presented in the regular Japanese 3020 class.
Prerequisites: JPN 3010 and JPN 3011 Corequisite: JPN 3020
Spring

Japanese Culture and Language

JPN 3070 / 4 credits 
Culture is manifested in language and language verbalizes culture. This course studies how Japanese languages and cultures reflect this symbiotic relationship. Students are engaged in an intercultural dialogue with a linguistic approach. Open to both language and nonlanguage students, it is conducted in English.
Fall or Spring

Japanese Literature and Culture (HUM)

JPN 3080 / 4 credits 
In this course students will critically read and interpret translations of literary, filmic, and other texts originally written in Japanese. By studying issues such as the spread of classical cultures, cultural relationships throughout antiquity to the modern age, anxiety toward modernization and Westernization, colonialism and imperialism, national identities, ethnicity, gender, East-West relations, popular culture, labor issues, and environmental problems, students will better understand the ways that literature and culture intersect and interact with each other throughout the long, intertwined history of the two cultural spheres. Students will develop their intercultural understanding and refine their skills in critical thinking and oral and written expression.
Prerequisite: None

Senior Seminar in Japanese

JPN 4010 / 4 credits 
Students have two options to take this course: Senior Project/Thesis in the discipline of Japanese language and culture within the Department of Modern Languages or Interdisciplinary Senior Project/Thesis between the Department of Modern Languages and other departments/programs.
Prerequisites: Senior standing or consent of instructor and GNR 3510

Advanced Japanese

JPN 4070 / 4 credits 
The course is typically designed for students who have declared their majors (optional for minors) in Japanese, and who are planning (or occasionally, have already done) study abroad. Students are expected to perform advanced-level tasks. The four basic language skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, are honed with the purpose to present a theme, a topic, or to make a point. Authentic materials will be incorporated into reading and listening. Cultivating students’ awareness and appreciation of the richness of the culture of the Japanese-speaking world is thematically structured and is the foundation of this class. About 500 Kanji are expected to be recognized and put into use for thematic writing.
Prerequisites: Japanese 3020 and 3021 or GNR 3510
Fall/Spring

Immersion Abroad

GNR 3510 / 12-16 credits 
Linguistic and cultural immersion abroad for one term in an academic setting in a country speaking the target language. Classroom instruction for all courses, regardless of discipline, will be in the target language. (In exceptional cases, approval may be granted for substituting two summers for the term.) P/ F
Prerequisites for applying study abroad to the major in any modern language: MLA 2200, 3010, 3110, and one of 3080 or 3090

Cultural Awareness

MLA 2200 / 1 credits 
Preparation for encountering cultural differences that will be part of the linguistic and cultural immersion experiences (either in the U.S. or abroad). The focus of the course will include values clarification, cultural diversity, multicultural awareness training, and culture shock orientation. Majors who have returned from study abroad will give presentations on their experiences and be contributors to course content and activities.
Prerequisite: 2020 or equivalent in target language