BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The goal of the Japanese Language III course is to bring students to the B1(threshold) Language Proficiency level.
The first part of the course aims to complete knowledge of basic grammar, and to improve communicative skills in both speaking and writing. Students will be able to express assumptions and conjectures, report the speech of others, give instructions, and interact using simple expressions of Japanese honorific language.
The second part of the course aims to introduce intermediate-level structures and vocabulary, sharpening communicative skills in both speech and writing. Using the formal or colloquial register depending on the communicative context, students will be able to introduce themselves in more detail, describe their country of origin, places or events of cultural interest, give reasons for their choice or desire to study/travel in Japan, write an email to make requests or express gratitude, and book Japanese accommodations.
Course Prerequisites
The course is a continuation of the Japanese Language II course. Students must have acquired the Japanese language target skills of the Japanese Language II course (a.y.2024-2025) and studied units 21-40 of the textbook “Minna no Nihongo I-II.”
International and ERASMUS students are required to be proficient in Italian (B1) and Japanese at an N4 level (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) corresponding to CEFR level A2.
Teaching Methods
The course includes weekly lectures with Power Point support. The grammar and structures of the Japanese language will be explained in Italian. Various written and oral comprehension exercises will be carried out in Japanese. Particular attention will be given to the translation of various A2-level (module A) and B1-level (module B) texts into Italian.
Students can access language learning activities (AAL) provided as part of the weekly timetable for their proficiency level, taught by native Japanese speakers. The attendance to the Japanese language AAL is highly recommended, as they facilitate the consolidation of language skills essential for attaining the requisite competencies at the conclusion of the course. More information on language learning activities is available at this link:https://www.unibg.it/studiare/frequentare/apprendimento-linguistico/giapponese
Assessment Methods
The final exam for the Japanese Language III (9credits) course is written, consists of a translation from Japanese to Italian, without the aid of a dictionary, and will be graded in thirtieths.
In order to enter the final exam, it is necessary to first pass a written Japanese language proficiency test. This test consists of three parts: kanji writing and listening (30 points), grammar (40 points), and essay (30 points). Only those students who pass the Japanese language proficiency test in all three parts qualify for the oral Japanese language proficiency test. The oral test consists of a presentation in Japanese on a set topic and role-plays with use of honorific language with the teachers, who taught the AALs.
The final evaluation will be in thirtieths and will take into account the result of the translation test and the overall grade of the written and oral Japanese language proficiency tests.
Grades out of thirty correspond to these five bands:
- Excellent (30 cum laude): excellent knowledge of all course content and linguistic proficiency acquisition. Precision, correctness, and effectiveness. Zero errors.
- Very good (30-27): very good knowledge of all course content and very good proficiency in all linguistic abilities for the course. Errors are light and not recurring.
- Good (26-24): good knowledge of the course content and linguistic proficiency. Errors are of limited severity and do not appear to be systematic.
- Sufficient (23-18): acceptable knowledge of the course content and linguistic proficiency. There are some evident errors. Genral understanding of the course content is just above sufficient (23-21) or nearly sufficient (20-18).
- Insufficient (less than 18): partial and superficial knowledge of the course content; numerous errors and low understanding of linguistic rules and functions.
N.B. For students who still have to take the Japanese Language III exam (5 credits), the old syllabus still applies.
Please note that, according to the provisions of the Teaching Regulations - Regulatory Part of the Bachelor of Arts in Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures, in order to take the Japanese Language III exam, it is necessary to have already passed and verbalized in your career both the Japanese Language II and Japanese Literature I exams scheduled in the second year of the course. Failure to comply with the propedeuticities and related constraints will result in ex officio cancellation of the exam taken.
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Contents
The course will provide for the acquisition of the following content:
- new verbal forms and grammatical structures (expressing preferences, assumptions, conjectures, reporting information, giving instructions, using humble and polite language) corresponding to Units 41-50 of Minna no Nihongo II;
- new intermediate-level structures (honorific/colloquial language, self-presentation and presentation of a topic, writing an email for requests or thanks, arguing choices, expressing doubts and perplexities, requests) corresponding to Units 1-4 of Quartet: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills I;
- 114 new kanji (Units 41-50 Minna no Nihongo Kanji Eigo ban II);
- 100 new kanji (Units 1-4 of Quartet: Intermediate Japanese I);
The tutorials provided by the CLA are an integrating part of the course and attendance is warmly encouraged.
Online Resources
More information
- Attendance is strongly recommended. AALs are indispensable for adequate preparation. Information on Japanese language AALs for the 3rd year is available on the Language Competence Centre website (https://www.unibg.it/studiare/frequentare/apprendimento-linguistico Japanese section).
- The list of exam texts for the official course is final and contains the titles whose study is essential for exam preparation, both for attending and non-attending students. However, non-attending students are urged to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course to establish assignments and possible in-progress testing. The list is available in this same program under Online Resources - Leganto - Examination Texts.
- Should the course be taught in blended or online-only mode, changes may be made to the syllabus in order to make the course and examinations accessible in these modalities as well.