J100B: Advanced Japanese B (5 Units)

The goal of this course is to further develop and refine four skills (reading, writing, listening, and reading) and cultural awareness. Authentic readings and audiovisuals from a variety of Japanese texts and media, including newspapers, magazine articles, poetry, short stories, excerpts from novels, essays, as well as news clips and films will be used for students to gain deeper insight into Japanese language, culture, and society. Students will continue to be exposed to a wide range of materials and interactive exercises, including discussions, in-class activities, and group/individual projects to acquire linguistic skills and sociocultural knowledge and develop critical thinking and intercultural competence. Prerequisites: J100A, or consent of instructor.

Can-Do Statements:

• To be able to develop further context-specific skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
• To be able to use language appropriately in various social contexts.
• To be able to communicate and express opinions in unfamiliar circumstances.
• To be able to discuss not only concrete but also abstract matters in depth.
• To be able to efficiently grasp the main points of spoken Japanese at its natural pace.
• To be able to efficiently skim and grasp the general idea of complicated written Japanese.
• To be able to develop further insight into Japanese culture and society and cultivate critical linguistic and cultural awareness.
• To be able to develop further critical thinking and intercultural competence through reading and discussions.
• To be able to cultivate further the ability to study Japanese independently.

Open to students with a passing grade in Japanese 100A at UCB. New and transfer students who have taken a 5th-semester college Japanese course elsewhere should contact Chika Shibahara before the first meeting of the course.

During J100B, we study the second half of New Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced (Osamu Kamata et al., The Japan Times, 2013).