J10B: Intermediate Japanese B (5 Units)

The goal of this course is to further deepen individual and lifelong interests in socio-cultural aspects of Japan to foster intercultural communication in a global society. Covered cultural aspects include pop-culture, traditional arts, education, convenient stores, haiku, and history. This course aims to develop language skills to reflect on abstract concepts in a culturally appropriate manner. Students will learn to integrate grammar and vocabulary acquired previously and learn new intermediate expressions to perform various communicative functions. A major component of the course is the final project, providing students the opportunity to showcase their language proficiency and critical thinking skills. More advanced reading and writing will be covered, including approximately 200 new kanji. Prerequisites: J10A, or consent of instructor. 

*This course may be in-person or in mixed modality mode.

Can-Do Statements:

• To be able to think critically and express agreement or disagreement with others’ opinions with an attitude respectful of other perspectives.
• To further broaden perspectives by learning Japanese culture and comparing to their own and other cultures with an attitude respectful of others.
• To be able to communicate in more various contexts in all four skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) by applying a variety of knowledge and newly acquired skills.
• To be able to explain problematic situations and express complaints and dissatisfactions.
• To be able to praise and compliment others and receive words of praise in a modest manner.
• To be able to obtain and confirm new information and convey that information to others.
• To be able to read and appreciate authentic texts and literature and grasp basic ideas even when some words and expressions are unfamiliar.
• To be able to write a short expository or argumentative essay on topics of one’s interests.
• To acquire the attitude and develop further skills to become a lifetime learner of Japanese.

Open to students with a passing grade in Japanese 10A at UCB. New and transfer students who have taken 4 years of high school Japanese or a 3rd-semester college Japanese course elsewhere should contact the instructor before the first meeting of the course.

During J10B, we study the second half of Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese Learning Through Content and Multimedia (Mayumi Oka, et al. Kurosio Publishers, 2009).