Curriculum
The Right Course for Each and Every One of You
Students with diverse background come to ICU to learn Japanese. Every student has his/her needs and purposes, so JLP offers two tracks and a variety of programs to cater for undergraduate students, exchange/one-year-regular students, and graduate students.
Japanese as a Foreign Language
The Japanese Program
This program covers all language skills, and students are expected to actively participate in classes which are kept relatively small. There are tutorial sessions where students can receive individual attention.
Students will be placed in courses according to the placement test, which is conducted during the university orientation program.
Students without previous knowledge of Japanese are welcome to pursue a degree at ICU. However, in order to graduate from ICU, students must fulfill the graduation language requirement. The graduation requirement for the Japanese Program students is to complete up to J7: Japanese, which will be a maximum of 35 credits.
In addition to the Japanese course, students can take other courses offered in the College of Liberal Arts.
| Course Title | Goal (CEFR level) |
Course Description | Hours/ Week | Credits | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese: Step by Step* | Al | This course aims to help students learn basic Japanese. At the end of the course, students will be able to communicate in daily life situations in simple Japanese, including basic written scripts. | 4 | 2 | Every term |
| J1: Japanese | Al | This is the CEFR A1 level course of spoken and written Japanese. It focuses on communication activities relevant to the learners themselves and their immediate surroundings. | 10 | 5 | |
| J2: Japanese | A1/A2 | This is the CEFR Level Al/ A2 course of spoken and written Japanese. It focuses on interactive communication activities which learners encounter. | |||
| J3: Japanese | A2 | This is the CEFR Level A2 course of spoken and written Japanese. It focuses on communication activities relevant to social contexts which learners encounter. | |||
| J4: Japanese | B1 | This course aims to help students learn spoken and written Japanese for academic purpose through variety of familiar topics about society and culture at CEFR B1 level. | 8 | ||
| J5: Japanese | B1 | This course aims to help students learn foundation in spoken and written Japanese for academic purposes through topics on society and culture at the CEFR B1 level. | |||
| J6: Japanese | B1/B2 | This course aims to help students learn spoken and written Japanese for academic purposes through a variety of social subjects or slightly professional topics at the CEFR B1/B2 level. | |||
| J7: Japanese | B2 | It is the first stage of advanced level to prepare students to participate in university lectures taught in Japanese with appropriate effort and help. It focuses on developing Japanese language proficiency. | 6 | ||
| Advanced Seminar in Japanese A, B (elective) | They are the second stage of advanced level and aims to develop near-native speaker competency.Seminar A places emphasis listening and speaking,while Seminar B emphasizes on reading and writing proficiencies. | 4 | 3 | A: Spring and Autumn terms only, Seminar B: Winter Term Only |
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*Note: "Japanese: Step by Step" is offered only for graduate school students and One-Year Regular students.
Common European Fremework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
JLP uses CEFR indicators to describe the learning goals of each course in Track 1
User and Proficient User.
For more information, please refer to the following.
Japanese as a First/Heritage Language
The Special Japanese Program
This program is mainly for native/heritage speakers of Japanese who can communicate orally but lack literacy skill in Japanese. If you use the Japanese language at home with family members regularly, then you may be on this track.
The goal of Special Japanese Program is to facilitate students gain sufficient Japanese competence and academic skills to participate in ICU classes and lead university life with ease. There are tutorial sessions where students can receive individual attention.
Students will be placed in courses according to the placement test, which is conducted during the university orientation program.
Unless exempted from Special Japanese courses, the graduation requirement for the Special Japanese Program students is to complete Special Japanese 3 and Special Japanese Kanji 3, which will be a maximum of 16 credits.
In addition to the Japanese course, students can take other courses offered in the College of Liberal Arts.
| Course Title | Course Description | Hours/ Week | Credits | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Japanese for First / Heritage Language Speakers | It will serve as the foundation for continuous learning of Japanese at JLP. It will focus on basic linguistic knowledge as well as study skills. | 6 | 3 | Autumn term only |
| Special Japanese 1 | It is the first of three stages of Special Japanese Program, and it aims to provide reading skills focusing on structure and keywords, presentation both written and orally of summaries and one's opinions in appropriate manner. | 5 | 4 | Every term |
| Special Japanese 2 | It is the second stage of Special Japanese Program, and it consists of reading various texts from different fields, writing reports and making oral presentations. | 5 | 3 | |
| Special Japanese 3 | It is the third stage of Special Japanese Program, and it focuses on reading various texts with purposes and writing essays using appropriate sources. | 4 | 3 | |
| Special Japanese Kanji 1 | It provides the first 600 kanji and vocabulary related to them. | 1 | 1 | Spring and Winter terms only |
| Special Japanese Kanji 2 | It covers another 500 kanji and vocabulary related to them, 1100 kanji in total.. | |||
| Special Japanese Kanji 3 | It covers further 500 kanji and vocabulary related to them, 1600 kanji in total. | |||
| Special Japanese: Research Writing (elective) | It is for students who have completed or have been exempted from Special Japanese 3 and Special Japanese Kanji 3. It provides students with instruction and experience in research writing | 2 | 2 | Spring term only |