The course is designed to provide a wide range of knowledge and skills that are necessary to develop communication in Japanese at the beginner’s level, and to establish a basis for further study of the language.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Recognise and pronounce all 46 basic sounds and other derived sounds of the Japanese scripts, and be able to read phrases and simple sentences smoothly.
2. Read and write all 46 basic sounds and other derived sounds in hiragana, and be able to write and comprehend simple sentences in hiragana.
3. Use an active vocabulary of around 400 items, and a passive vocabulary of around 1000 items.
4. Use the sentence structures and grammatical points required to conduct basic conversations on everyday topics such as introducing oneself, asking for directions, weekly routine, making offers and invitations, making comments and stating activities during holidays.
5. Use appropriate communication strategies to produce basic colloquial Japanese. The strategies include fillers, back channeling, subject omission and the use of sumimasen and chotto.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural communication practices in interpersonal relationships (greetings and address terms) and knowledge of Japan (geography, seasonal celebrations and sports).

Research-Led Teaching

A large portion of the course is adopted from research outcomes of the course convenor and other teaching staff members of the ANU Japanese program, whose research interests are in grammar, spoken conversation, discourse analysis, and sociocultural linguistics in Japanese. Many learning objectives and teaching materials, including the textbook, are based on their research findings that are latest and innovative in the literature of Japanese linguistics/education, such as particle omission, subject omission, responsive tokens, address terms, etc.

Examination Material or equipment

Final exam: No materials are permitted.

Required Resources

Nihongo ga Ippai ('Japanese Ippai')

• Author: D-Y Lee, et al
• Publisher: Hituzi Shobo
• Edition: There are first and second editions. Either is fine.
• ISBN: 978-4-89476-449-1
• Availability: Harry Hartog ANU Shop (Kambri) ; Intextbook https://www.languageint.com.au/search/ippai/ ; Kinokuniya https://australia.kinokuniya.com/events/2
• Notes: Available in other online bookshops; search for "Nihongo ga Ippai"
• Price: $70 - $100 vary among sellers

Recommended Resources

For overview of Japanese grammar, Japanese language: 

• Akiyama, C. & Akiyama N., 2012. Japanese Grammar. Barrons Educational Series.
• Alfonso, A., 1966. Japanese Language Patterns. Sophia University.
• Backhouse, A. E. 1993. The Japanese Language: An Introduction. Oxford University Press.
• Gottlieb, N., 2005. Language and society in Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Hoffmann, J. J., 2017. A Japanese Grammar (Classic Reprint). Forgutten Books.
• Ichikawa, Y., 2001. Japanese, a comprehensive grammar. London: Routledge.
• Ishiguro, Teruhiro & Kang-kwong Luke (eds), 2012. Grammar in Cross-Linguistic Perspective: the Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics of Japanese and Chinese. Bern ; New York : Peter Lang.
• Johnson, Y., 2003. Modality and the Japanese language. Center for Japanese Studies.
• Kimura, T., 1976. The syntactic and semantic structure of Japanese adverbials. University of Hawaii.
• Kiyose, G. N., 1995. Japanese grammar, a new approach. Kyoto University Press.
• Kuno, S., 1988. The Structure of Japanese Language. MIT Press.
• Lammers, Wayne P. 2005, Japanese the manga way : an illustrated guide to grammar & structure. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press.
• Lee, D., 2002. The function of the zero particle with special reference to spoken Japanese, Journal of Pragmatics 34: pp. 645-682. [particle omission]
• Lee, D., 2007. Involvement and the Japanese interactive particles Ne and Yo. Journal of Pragmatics 39: pp. 363-388.
• Martin, S. E., 1975. A Reference Grammar of Japanese. Yale University Press.
• Morimoto, J., 1988. On Japanese adverbs of a speaker's subjective attitude. Kuroshio Shuppan.
• Ogi, N., 2017. Involvement and Attitude in Japanese Discourse, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/ Philadelphia.
• Ono, H., 1973. Japanese Grammar. Hokuseido Press,.
• Onodera, N., 2004. Philadelphia : John Benjamins.
• Rubin, J., 1992. Gone Fishinf. Kodansha International.
• Sato, E., 2021. Practice Makes Perfect Complete Japanese Grammar. McGraw-Hill.
• Shibatani, M., 1990. The Language of Japan. Cambridge University Press.
• Suzuki, S., 2006. Emotive communication in Japanese. Amsterdam ; Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
• Tsujimura, N., 1999. The handbook of Japanese linguistics. Blackwell.

 

Dictionaries: 

• A dictionary of basic Japanese grammar. Makino, S. et al. The Japan Times.
• Japanese - English grammar dictionary for standard modern Japanese. J. Jeliek Rochester: Integrated Dictionary Systems.
• Basic Japanese-English dictionary. Japan Foundation. Bonjinsha.
• Kanji & kana. W. Hadamitzky et al. Rutland.

 

If you wish to obtain further information of references/readings on particular topics, please let the course convenor know.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, focus groups

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

• Students are expected to attend all classes (FS and CL classes in particular) during the teaching period. Majority activities of these classes are based on group or pair work with student-to-student and teacher-to-student interaction, both of which are essential for mastering oral communication skills in Japanese.
• New learning objectives in each lesson are often further developed on the basis of the content of previous weeks, and students who do not attend whole or part of classes risk failing to a gain good result from the course, or even failing it entirely.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction and basic hiragana Lecture (Mon): Welcome GE (Tue): Japanese writing system FS1 (Wed): Greetings and names FS2 (Thurs): Hiragana (Basic 1) CL (Fri): Listening-Prac orientation, Hiragana (Basic 2)	No assessment Roma-ji (Roman scripts) are used for the first 4 weeks. Students need to memorise Hiragana during this period.
2	Lesson 1 (of the textbook) and special hiragana (1) Lecture (Mon): Grammar intro; Hiragana (Special 1) GE (Tue): Grammar-Expressions (GE) practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Expression practice / Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Communicative exchanges CL (Fri): Did you know?, Listening practice	Vocab quiz L1 (GE class; Tue; L1 trial only) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri; Week 1 trial only) Online assignment L1 opens (Homework; L1 is trial only)
3	Lesson 2 and special hiragana (2) Lecture (Mon): Grammar intro; Hiragana (Special 2) GE (Tue): GE practice, Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Expression practice / Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Communicative exchanges CL (Fri): Did you know?, Listening practice	Vocab quiz L2 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L2 opens (Homework)
4	Lesson 3 Lecture (Mon): [Canberra Day] no class; Self-study (pre-recorded grammar points on wattle) GE (Tue): GE practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Expression practice; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Communicative exchanges CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	Vocab quiz L3 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L3 opens (Homework) Last week of using Roma-ji
5	Lesson 4 and special hiragana (3) Lecture (Mon): Grammar intro; Hiragana (Special 3) GE (Tue): GE practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Communicative exchanges; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Comprehensive Exercises; Natural Conversation CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	Vocab quiz L4 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L4 opens (Homework) Only Hiragana is used from Week 5 Sign up for Oral test 1 opens: see Wattle for details
6	Oral Test 1 Review and oral test preparation (Mon and Tue); No FS class (Wed, Thurs) and CL (Fri) are offered	Oral Test 1
7	Lesson 5 Lecture (Mon): Grammar and Expressions intro GE (Tue): GE practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Communicative exchanges; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Comprehensive Exercises; Natural Conversation CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	Vocab quiz L5 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L5 opens (Homework)
8	Lesson 6 Lecture (Mon): Grammar and Expressions intro GE (Tue): [Anzac Day] no class; Self-study (pre-recorded expression points on wattle); No vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Communicative exchanges; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Comprehensive Exercises; Natural Conversation CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	No Tue GE class, thus no vocab quiz L6 Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L6 opens (Homework)
9	Lesson 7 Lecture (Mon): Grammar and Expressions intro GE (Tue): GE practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Communicative exchanges; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Comprehensive Exercises; Natural Conversation CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	Vocab quiz L7 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L7 opens (Homework)
10	Lesson 8 Lecture (Mon): Grammar and Expressions intro GE (Tue): GE practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Communicative exchanges; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Comprehensive Exercises; Natural Conversation CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	Vocab quiz L8 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L8 opens (Homework)
11	Lesson 9 Lecture (Mon): Grammar and Expressions intro GE (Tue): GE practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Communicative exchanges; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Comprehensive Exercises; Natural Conversation CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	Vocab quiz L9 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L9 opens (Homework)
12	Lesson 10 Lecture (Mon): Grammar and Expressions intro GE (Tue): GE practice; Vocab quiz FS1 (Wed): Communicative exchanges; Dialogue FS2 (Thurs): Comprehensive Exercises; Natural Conversation CL (Fri): Did you know?; Listening practice	Vocab quiz L10 (GE class; Tue) Class participation (FS and CL classes; Wed, Thurs and Fri) Online assignment L10 opens (Homework) Sign up for Oral Test 2
13	Oral Test 2 Three or four days between May 30 (Tue) - Jun 2 (Fri)	Oral test 2 Students who plan to take "Japanese 2: Spoken" in Semester 2 need to work on Katakana during the break.

Tutorial Registration

The course consists of 5 hours of classes to attend each week: 1 hour of Lecture (Mon), 1 hour of Grammar-Expression (GE) class (Tue), 2 hours of Functional-SItuational (FS) class (1 hour on Wed and 1 hour on Thurs) and 1 hour of Culture-Listening (CL) class (Fri). Students need to choose their group for four classes: GE class Tue, FS Wed, FS Thurs, and CL Fri. Sign-up links are available in MyTimetable

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Weekly assignments (Homework)	10 %	12/03/2023	28/05/2023	3, 4
Vocabulary quizzes	10 %	07/03/2023	23/05/2023	2, 3
FS Oral Test 1	15 %	29/03/2023	05/04/2023	1, 3, 4, 5
FS Oral Test 2	20 %	30/05/2023	07/06/2023	1, 3, 4, 5
Final Exam	35 %	01/03/2023	29/06/2023	2, 3, 4, 6
Class Participation	10 %	19/05/2023	29/06/2022	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

See "Class Participation" above, for details.

Examination(s)

See "Final exam" above, for details.

Assessment Task 1

Weekly assignments (Homework)

• Each assignment contains various types of questions which are based on what we will study in each lesson; One assignment per lesson.
• Assignments are online tasks and can be accessed through Wattle.
• Results are given immediately upon the completion of each assignment.

Assessment Task 2

Vocabulary quizzes

• These are online quizzes that will take place in the Tuesday Grammar-Expression Practice class.
• Each vocabulary quiz contains 10 questions on vocabulary listed in the corresponding chapter of the textbook (Vocab list can be found at the end of each chapter).
• The first quiz on Lesson 1 will be trial only. Your results will formally be counted from that in Lesson 2. (No Lesson 6 vocab quiz due to the public holiday.)

Assessment Task 3

FS Oral Test 1

• This first online oral examination will be held in Week 6.
• Each student talks with an instructor in selected situations.
• Students are required to sign up for their oral test time.
• Detailed information including tasks to do and links for sign-up will be provided in Week 4.
• Marks and written feedback will be provided in the following week of the test.

Assessment Task 4

FS Oral Test 2

• This second online oral examination will be held in Week 13 (after the teaching finishes).
• Each student talks with an instructor in selected situations.
• Students are required to sign up for their oral test time.
• Detailed information including tasks to do and links for sign-up will be provided in Week 10.
• Marks and written feedback will be provided in the following week of the test.

Assessment Task 5

Final Exam

• There will be a 1.5-hour exam during the examination period, consisting of (i) listening comprehension sessions and (ii) grammar and expression sessions.
• Further details will be provided in Week 12.
• The exam will be an online exam.

Assessment Task 6

Class Participation

• It will be based on your contribution to every FS (Wednesday and Thursday) and CL (Friday) classes from Week 2.
• During class, your tutor will check your participation in class through teacher-to-student(s), group and pair tasks/activities.
• In each class, you will gain a full mark "1" unless otherwise you fail to demonstrate your active participation in class.
• Your marks will be shown on Wattle.
• Since it is based on your in-class contributions, it cannot be substituted by any other means or excuses such as doctor certificate, family business and sickness, etc.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Refer to above assessment descriptions, for details.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Re-submission is in principle not allowed for any assessment items in this course, unless otherwise permitted by the course convenor.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students