Japanese is the national language of Japan, a nation that is not only one of Australia's major trading partners, but is also a country with which many young Australians have deep personal ties. Japanese is a popular foreign language in Australian schools and the depth of the ties between Australia and Japan means that knowledge of the language will be a valuable asset for many years to come.
Studying Japanese as an advanced minor has many linguistic and cultural benefits and in today’s globalised world a strong understanding of Asia, and Japan as one of our most important bilateral partners, is vital. Employers across business, government, the arts and various sectors actively recruit graduates who can demonstrate knowledge of and experience in Japan.
The Advanced Japanese Language Minor is for students who already have a high level of competence in Japanese. It deepens students’ knowledge and critical understanding of Japanese language and culture, continuing to improve their proficiency in reading and listening comprehension as well as oral and written expression. The courses included in this Advanced Minor allow students to examine in more detail cultural, social, and linguistic aspects of the Japanese-speaking world.
Students in this advanced minor can spend time studying at one of the twenty-five tertiary institutions in Japan with which the ANU has ties. This can be done either through intensive in-country study in the summer break, or through the Semester in Japan program. Competitive scholarships are available to qualified students.
Learning Outcomes
On satisfying the requirements of minor, students will have the knowledge and skills at an Advanced level of Japanese to:
1. Express themselves confidently – both verbally and in writing – in modern Japanese in a variety of settings;
2. Demonstrate independent reading and listening skills to engage with real-world materials and infer authors' meaning in newspapers, magazines, and literary texts in Japanese;
3. Demonstrate the appropriate linguistic skills to respond spontaneously in both speaking and writing to contemporary issues, to state opinions, compose formal essays, and make presentations at a sophisticated level;
4. Engage with authentic media such as television news broadcasts, movies, literature, academic essays, and critical discourse by summarising, analysing, evaluating and criticising their content, individually and in groups;
5. Confidently use polite, neutral or informal registers, appropriate to the genre and the audience;
6. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of socio-cultural issues in past and present Japanese society, including such topics as gender issues, social structures, consumer societies, traditional arts and crafts, and Japan’s position in the world.
Other Information
A student may not take a course that is a prerequisite or a lower level than a course which they have already passed.
To gain entry into this sub plan, students who are commencing language studies will be required to take a proficiency placement test before enrolling for the first time. Students will not be permitted to enrol in a course at a lower than the level they achieve in the placement test, and may be exempted from compulsory courses.
Relevant Degrees
- Bachelor of Art History and Curatorship (BAHCR)
- Bachelor of Arts (BARTS)
- Bachelor of Asian Studies (BASIA)
- Bachelor of Development Studies (BDEVS)
- Bachelor of International Relations (BIR)
- Bachelor of International Security Studies (BINSS)
- Bachelor of Languages (BLANG)
- Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) - Asia and the Pacific (APASP)
Requirements
This minor requires the completion of 24 units, which must consist of:
A minimum of 6 units from completion of courses from the following list:
JPNS3002 Japanese 6
JPNS3005 Advanced Japanese: Issues in Contemporary Japan
JPNS3006 Advanced Japanese: Language in Context
JPNS3007 Advanced Japanese: Readings in Culture and Society
JPNS3008 Advanced Japanese: Readings in Literature
JPNS3023 Research Topics in Japanese: History & Society
JPNS3024 Research Topics in Japanese: International Relations & Politics
A maximum of 18 units from completion of courses from the following list:
JPNS3001 Japanese 5
JPNS3013 Japanese - English Translation
JPNS3012 Teaching Japanese: Content
JPNS3014 Teaching Japanese: Method
JPNS3102 Debating Japan: Contemporary Intellectual Debates
