Teaching Japanese is an advanced Japanese course that develops students’ knowledge and skills for teaching Japanese to English-speaking learners in Australia and beyond. Students critically engage with selected information to determine what to teach, how to teach, or both, as required. The course also enhances Japanese proficiency, enabling students to communicate effectively, understand relevant technical terminology, engage with academic literature, and produce written reports in Japanese—or in English if Japanese is the student’s first language. The course is offered in two complementary strands, Teaching Japanese A (Content) and Teaching Japanese B (Method), which are offered in different academic years.
Teaching Japanese A focuses on what to teach, drawing on insights from linguistic studies. It surveys key content areas in Japanese classes—sound, writing, vocabulary, grammar, sentence, discourse, and culture—while critically analysing selected linguistic topics and common learner errors. Students are required to demonstrate their expertise in Japanese, both orally and in writing. Teaching Japanese B focuses on how to teach, drawing on insights from applied linguistics. It develops students’ skills in course design, lesson delivery, and reflective practice, and includes a teaching practicum in which students act as teachers, teaching Japanese to learners. Students are expected to use Japanese actively—explaining, modelling, and communicating—both orally and in writing, further strengthening their proficiency.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Demonstrate understanding of linguistic features and cultural topics in the context of Japanese language education.
- Identify and analyse challenges faced by English-speaking learners of Japanese and consider strategies to address them.
- Analyse, evaluate and/or design content, materials and/or activities for teaching Japanese.
- Critically evaluate texts and academic publications related to Japanese language education, in Japanese (or in English if Japanese is the student’s first language).
- Communicate effectively in spoken and written Japanese (or English if Japanese is the student’s first language), individually or collaboratively.
Other Information
Proficiency level
Students who successfully complete this course will typically achieve a level of proficiency roughly equivalent to JLPT N3 to N2, depending on their performance and degree of engagement.
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On successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to engage at an Independent level of Japanese.
Students with native speaker proficiency (may include cognate languages and dialects) must review the language proficiency assessment site and contact the CAP Student Centre for appropriate enrolment advice. Students with previous “language experience or exposure” are required to undertake a language proficiency assessment to ensure enrolment at the most appropriate level.
Relevant past experience includes:
- Previous study of the language (both formal and informal, for example but not limited to, at school, or, home, or through online activities, etc.)
- Being exposed to the language in childhood via a family member or friend
- Travel or living in a country where the language is spoken
- The language being spoken in your home (even if you do not speak it yourself)
Students who are not sure if they need to undertake a language proficiency assessment should seek advice from the course or language convenor. Students who intentionally misrepresent their language proficiency level may be investigated under the Academic Integrity Rule 2021 as having failed to comply with assessment directions and having sought unfair advantage. This may results in a penalty such as reduced grades or failure of the course.
Students are not permitted to enrol in a language course below one that they have already successfully completed, except with permission of the language and/or course convenor.
Indicative Assessment
- Participation (5) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Short Knowledge Demonstration Task ([A] Quizzes (5% x 5) or [B] Teaching Demonstrations (10% & 15%)) (25) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Summative Performance Task ([A] Interview Q&A (20%) + Presentation (25%) or [B] Teaching Practicum) (45) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Final Essay (3000 characters in Japanese or 1500 words in English if Japanese is the student’s first language) (25) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
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.
Workload
This course requires a total of 130 hours of work on the following activities: class-activities, online activities and independent study.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
N/A
Preliminary Reading
[Teaching Japanese A: Content]
Primary Texts
- Backhouse, A. E. (1993). The Japanese Language: An Introduction. Oxford University Press.
- Moriyama, S., & Mukoyama, Y. (Eds.). (2016). Daini gengo to shite no Nihongo shutoku kenkyu no tenbo: Daini gengo kara tagengo e [Prospects for Japanese as a second language acquisition research: From second language to multilingualism]. Koko Shuppan.
Supplementary Texts
- Gottlieb, N. (2005). Language and Society in Japan. Cambridge University Press.
- Ichikawa, Y. (2001). Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge.
- Kiyose, G. N. (1995). Japanese Grammar: A New Approach. Kyoto University Press.
- Kuno, S. (1988). The Structure of Japanese Language. MIT Press.
[Teaching Japanese B: Method]
Primary Texts
- Lightbown, M. P., & Spada, N. (2013). How Languages Are Learned. Oxford University Press.
- Endo, S. (2020). Shin Nihongo Kyoiku o Manabu: Naze, Nani o, Do Oshieruka [New Learning Japanese Language Education – Why, What, and How to Teach]. Sanshusha.
Supplementary Texts
- Derewianka, B., & Jones, P. (2016). Teaching Language in Context (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Additional materials will be provided as necessary.
Majors
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 to 12 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
| 7.00 | 0.14583 |
| 8.00 | 0.16667 |
| 9.00 | 0.18750 |
| 10.00 | 0.20833 |
| 11.00 | 0.22917 |
| 12.00 | 0.25000 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $750 per unit |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $970 per unit |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching Japanese A (Content) focusing on "what to | ||||||
| 3517 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | In Person | N/A |