JAPN 401: Structural Japanese (Spring 2015/MLO 1)
Course Description
This course aims to develop basic understanding of structural features of Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic phonological, morphological, syntactic, and discourse analysis of Japanese.
Reflective Narrative
Just by looking at the title, one could mistake this class for being just another grammar class taught at the advanced levels. However, the reality of this class was it was one of the most beneficial courses which looked not only at similar grammar points and how to properly utilize the nuances between them, but also studied the importance of pitch-accent when speaking in the Japanese language. Through this class, we learned how to identify pitch patterns in words and learned to understand that a word like ame(あめ) could be pronounced two different ways for different words (雨=rain、飴=candy). Furthermore, we expanded upon the basics of a self-introduction(自己紹介)in order to leave a more lasting impression on the people we introduce ourselves to.
As my last language content course taken during my college career, there is plenty to build off of in the future. Cultural aspects aside, the next most important factor to being able to communicate in a target language is understanding vocabulary and grammar and being to expand upon that knowledge. I feel that after taking this class, I have been given several tools towards future grammar and vocabulary study. For instance, I learned in this class how to properly use the internet to look up intricacies between several grammar points. Looking towards the future as a JET participant, expanding my knowledge of Japanese may not be vital to my ability to teach English, but it will help in being able to communicate with students in less academic settings (ex. club activities, etc.).
This course aims to develop basic understanding of structural features of Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic phonological, morphological, syntactic, and discourse analysis of Japanese.
Reflective Narrative
Just by looking at the title, one could mistake this class for being just another grammar class taught at the advanced levels. However, the reality of this class was it was one of the most beneficial courses which looked not only at similar grammar points and how to properly utilize the nuances between them, but also studied the importance of pitch-accent when speaking in the Japanese language. Through this class, we learned how to identify pitch patterns in words and learned to understand that a word like ame(あめ) could be pronounced two different ways for different words (雨=rain、飴=candy). Furthermore, we expanded upon the basics of a self-introduction(自己紹介)in order to leave a more lasting impression on the people we introduce ourselves to.
As my last language content course taken during my college career, there is plenty to build off of in the future. Cultural aspects aside, the next most important factor to being able to communicate in a target language is understanding vocabulary and grammar and being to expand upon that knowledge. I feel that after taking this class, I have been given several tools towards future grammar and vocabulary study. For instance, I learned in this class how to properly use the internet to look up intricacies between several grammar points. Looking towards the future as a JET participant, expanding my knowledge of Japanese may not be vital to my ability to teach English, but it will help in being able to communicate with students in less academic settings (ex. club activities, etc.).
Self Introduction | |
File Size: | 336 kb |
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