Welcome to the UC Berkeley Japanese Language Program!
Teaching of all of the three major East Asian languages in the United States commenced in the University of California, Berkeley's Oriental Languages Department: Chinese in 1872, Japanese in 1900, and Korean in 1943.
During the 1960s and 70s, the Japanese Language Programs grew steadily, replenished with three years of instruction. In the 1980s, demands upon the East Asian Languages and Cultures Department were unprecedented, largely due to the rapid economic growth in East Asia.
All three language programs continued to expand during the 1990s and 2000s. The overall enrollment in the Japanese Language Program was 852 in the 2000-01 academic year, and escalated to 1,028 in 2009-10. Its fourth-year course commenced in 1994, and fifth year in 2000. In addition to the regular course offerings, the Program also provides summer sessions that cover two-semesters of material in 10 weeks: Japanese J1, J10, and J100.
Placement Guidelines
If you have studied Japanese elsewhere, read this page and try sample placement tests. If you can answer about 80% of questions with confidence, you are qualified to take the course. Contact the instructor in charge if you are unable to determine your proficiency level.
Advice from Senpai
Senpai means one's senior at school, in his/her work place, or in martial art and other training clubs, where experience is highly regarded. In traditional Japanese culture, a senpai is expected to teach, guide, and support his/her kohai 'new-comers, junior'. Here is valuable advice from your senpai about how to study the Japanese language.
Study Aids
This section provides various instructional materials to aid your study of the Japanese language.
Staff
This page introduces our teaching team.
Links
Useful links, including Errata for Elementary Japanese 1st Printing.
New Course in the Spring 2012
J100X: Advanced Japanese for Heritage Learners
Heritage Learners of Japanese who have completed J10X or J10B (or equivalent) will find this course helpful in developing further their linguistic and cultural competencies. Heritage Learners are those who have acquired the language of and from their family heritage, typically at home. More sophisticated linguistic forms are introduced and reinforced while dealing with various socio-cultural topics. Close reading knowledge and skills, formal and informal registers, and different genres of Japanese reading and writing are practiced. The materials covered are equivalent to those of J100A/B. Upon completion, students are well prepared to take our fourth-year reading courses. If interested, please contact Noriko Komatsu Wallace.
To Transfer Students in Our Program
Are you a transfer student who is taking, or has taken, our Japanese language course? How was your experience during the transition from your previous Japanese courses to ours? Was there anything particularly challenging? Do you have some ideas that might make the transition smoothier? Please share your advice in writing like that found in the Advice from Senpai section, but target specifically prospective transfer students. If interested in this project, please contact Kayoko Imagawa.
チューター求む
カリフォルニアの経済危機（けいざいきき）のため、チューターの予算（よさん）が削（けず）られました。 チュートリアル・セッションは、UCB日本語プログラムの重要（じゅうよう）な一部です。お金がないからと言って、なくすわけにはいきません。 ですから、一週間に２ー４時間ぐらい、ボランティアで教えてくれる方を探（さが）しています。一年から四年までのどのレベルでも結構（けっこう）です。 協力してくださる方は、今川香代子先生に連絡してください。
