Japanese

The study of Japanese focuses on developing the language skills necessary to understand Japanese ways of life, and how the past affects the present, linguistically and culturally. It also aims to facilitate intercultural understanding and competence for the increasingly globalised world and workplace.

Students may begin their Japanese language studies at the Beginner or Intermediate levels depending on their language proficiency. Students with no previous study of Japanese and those who took Japanese Beginners or Continuers at NSW HSC level (or equivalent in other states) commence their studies at the Beginner level (JAPA141) in autumn semester. Students who took Japanese Extension at the HSC level enter at the Intermediate level (JAPA261) in autumn semester. All students who wish to enter directly into Intermediate level must consult with the Convenor of Japanese. Some students will need to take a placement test.

Elective: Japanese language studies are also available as an elective for all non-native background students. Students with no prior Japanese language studies who wish to take Japanese as an elective may take JAPA141 in autumn session, or JAPA101 in summer session (if available). JAPA102 (if available) and JAPA103 (if available) are offered in spring semester for students who are interested in basic Japanese for either teaching or business purposes respectively. JAPA101, JAPA102, and JAPA103 are all terminating subjects, and are not considered as prerequisites for any subject in a Japanese major or minor nor can they be counted towards a minor or major in Japanese. In other words, students can only receive credit for one of these subjects (that is, JAPA101, JAPA102 or JAPA103) and students who complete any of these subjects will need to take JAPA141 in autumn semester.

In addition, students whose degree program only allows for a limited number of elective subjects can enrol in the Diploma in Languages (see below for further details) if they wish to take more subjects than their degree program allows.

JAPA216 (Language and Political Change) is a compulsory cultural subject for all students majoring in Japanese. JAPA216 is also available as an elective subject for students from other disciplines who wish to familiarise themselves with Japanese civilisation and society.

Study Abroad opportunities are available to students wishing to pursue language or Japan related studies in Japan. Scholarships, awarded on academic performance, are available.

Suitably qualified graduates with a major in Japanese wishing to pursue further language studies at a Japanese university may apply for the Graduate Diploma in Arts (Japanese).

Major Study

The major in Japanese consists of language subjects, a civilisation subject (JAPA216) and an elective subject. The Beginner stream assumes no prior knowledge of the language. For students commencing studies at the Beginners level, the major in Japanese consists of 66 or 68 credit points depending on the elective chosen, whilst for Intermediate level students the major consists of 68 or 70 credit points. As an elective, students may choose one of the following: ELL 110 (Language in Social Life); ELL 210 (Communication across cultures); JAPA271 (Kawasaki In-Country Study) or HIST253 (Japan in the Twentieth Century: a socio-cultural history of change). Students cannot cross-count any of these electives to a minor or major in another discipline.

Minor Study

The minor in Japanese consists of 28 or 32 credit points of language study, depending upon the level of entry. Students may take a minor consisting of any four sequential language subjects in Japanese (that is, JAPA141, JAPA142 and JAPA243, and JAPA261) for Beginner entry students or JAPA261, JAPA262, JAPA361 and JAPA362 or JAPA310 for Intermediate level entry. Students may not cross-count any subjects from the language minor in any other minor or major study. Whilst the minor will not be stipulated on the students' testamur at graduation, it will be recorded on the academic transcript.

Diploma in Languages (Japanese)

To qualify for award of the Diploma in Languages (course code 1002) in Japanese a student must complete a total of at least 48 credit points from subjects listed in the Japanese study program below.

Students will complete a minimum of 6 subjects. These subjects will predominantly be language acquisition subjects and may include study in Japan as part of an exchange program or a short term study abroad program. Other subjects may be included with the permission of the Convenor of the Japanese program and the Director of the Language Centre.

Students entering at the Beginners level may include one culture subject; students entering at Intermediate level may include 2 culture subjects and students entering at the Advanced level may include up to 4 culture subjects.

As an example: a beginner entry level student could complete the Diploma by studying JAPA141, JAPA142, JAPA243, JAPA261, JAPA262, JAPA361 and JAPA362.

A student who studied Japanese at HSC Extension level and is commencing university Japanese at the intermediate level could complete the Diploma in Languages in Japanese by studying JAPA261, JAPA262, JAPA271, JAPA361, JAPA362 and JAPA310.

Subjects can be counted only in one course, that is, subjects counted towards the Diploma cannot be counted towards another degree. Students who complete the Diploma will not receive a testamur or attend a graduation ceremony specifically for the Diploma. However, when students do the Diploma concurrently with a Bachelor Degree course, they will have the Diploma listed in their Bachelor degree subject transcript upon graduating.

Honours

Honours in Japanese (JAPA470) is available to high-achieving students with a major in Japanese, and may be incorporated into or alongside a program of study in Japan.

See Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Study Program

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credit Points	Session
Beginners entry
JAPA141	Beginners' Japanese	6	Autumn
JAPA142	Transitional Japanese	6	Spring
JAPA243	Pre-Intermediate Japanese	8	Not offered 2013
Intermediate or equivalent entry
JAPA261	Intermediate Japanese I	8	Autumn
JAPA262	Intermediate Japanese II	8	Spring
JAPA271	In-Country Japanese Session	8	Winter
200 level subjects - All students may enrol if they meet the pre requisites
JAPA215	In-County Language Study	8	Autumn/Spring
JAPA216	Japan: Language and Political Change	8	Not offered 2013
300 level subjects - All students may enrol if they meet the pre requisites
JAPA361	Advanced Japanese I	8	Autumn
JAPA362	Advanced Japanese II	8	Spring
JAPA363	Advanced Japanese III	8	Not offered 2013
JAPA364	Advanced Japanese IV	8	Not offered 2013
JAPA310	Advanced Readings in Japanese	8	Spring
LANG371	Advanced Studies in Language/Culture A	8	Autumn/Spring
LANG372	Advanced Studies in Language/Culture B	8	Autumn/Spring
LANG391	Language Study Abroad A	8	Autumn/Spring
LANG392	Language Study Abroad B	8	Autumn/Spring
LANG393	Language Study Abroad C	8	Autumn/Spring
Elective Only subjects
JAPA101	An Introduction to Japanese	6	Not offered 2013
JAPA102	Japanese Studies for Educational Purposes	6	Not offered 2013
JAPA103	Japanese Studies for Business Purposes	6	Spring

Other Information

Further information is available at http://coursefinder.uow.edu.au/ or email: Arts - fac-arts@uow.edu.au