Abstract
Many CUHK students are interested in Japanese culture but not all of them are able to commit a long-term Japanese language studying plan at the beginning due to various reasons. In order to provide an opportunity for students who wish to experience the learning process at the beginning before they decide whether to commit a long-term study plan, this project aims to develop a 1-unit course for elementary Japanese language.
Course Objective:
1. This course places emphasis on providing a first learning experience of Japanese language, in other words, a ‘tasting’ opportunity for those who have no Japanese language learning experience before.
2. This course will cover pronunciation of Japanese alphabet ‘Kana’(假名), basic grammar points and vocabularies (e.g. self-introduction, expressing personal interest, shopping) which are essential in daily conversation with Japanese people.
3. For students who opt for further study in Japanese language, this course will provide a good foundation for them to have a smooth transition to the upcoming elementary course. On the other hand, for students who do not opt for further study, this course will also provide essential language knowledge for daily conversation with Japanese people while visiting Japan in the future.
Brief write-up
Project objectives
This project aims to develop a 1-unit course for elementary Japanese language. This course places emphasis on providing a first learning experience of Japanese language, in other words, a ‘tasting’ opportunity for those who have no Japanese language learning experience before.
Activities, process and outcomes
This course will be an asynchronous online course in principle (with real time online meeting sessions for tutorial and oral practice purpose). This course will cover pronunciation of Japanese alphabet ‘Kana’ (假名), basic grammar points and vocabularies which are essential in daily conversation with Japanese people.
Deliverables and evaluation
The deliverables are 7 modules. There will be an online final examination (in the format of multiple choice) as the course assessment, and online exercises (in the format of multiple choice) for revision purpose. Students will receive a ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail’ in this course without letter grade.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
All lecture materials (including class videos, handouts, exercise, examination, etc.) will be stored in the online KEEP (CU eLearning) platform for students to use. In order to arouse students’ learning interest, some well-selected topics which students will mostly likely have the opportunity to experience when they are visiting Japan, will be included in this course.
Impact on teaching and learning
Since there is no such ‘Tasting’ elementary Japanese language being offering by the Department of Japanese Studies and other units in CUHK, this 1-unit course will bring a brand new experience in teaching and learning of Japanese language in CUHK.
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