A Review of the Second Semester’s Classes
I gave all you guys the low-down on last semester’s classes, so I figured it would be a good idea to tell how you how things went this time around. Overall, this semester was just as successful as the last was and I had a good time in all of my classes. Once again, they centered around the Japanese language and the culture of Japan. So, let me give you the run down!
Upper Elementary Japanese IA and IIA
This class was the continuation of last semester’s Japanese class, Elementary Japanese. The class used the second half the of the textbook series, Minna No Nihongo. The class served to finish off the last of the grammar points that, supposedly, bring one up to an intermediate level of Japanese ability. The structure of the class was very much like that of last semester – separate grammar and kanji classes. However, there was one exception this time around: there was a reading class for one period a week. In this class, we would have a short essay typed up by the professor handed out to us, which we would have the course of a week to read. Then, in class the following week, we would have a quiz and a class discussion on the contents of said essay. Generally, these were pretty easy and took into consideration what we had studied in the grammar class. If we had done a new chapter’s worth of material, the essay was sure to include that new grammar.
On the whole, I found this class fairly easy. Being in Japan and studying using my own regimen (which will be the subject of a future post) ensured that I wasn’t encountering anything totally alien in class. The thing that undoubtedly gave people the most trouble was the kanji class. This time around, instead of just studying individual kanji, this class took it to the next level by introducing about 10-15 new kanji, and then as a class we would come up with at least a couple of compound words using the new kanji and those we had previously studied. This brought the total number of kanji/words expected of us to remember to 50+ a week. I found Anki to be a tremendous help to this end. I will go into the details of this program in a later post, but just know for now that it is a flashcard program that uses the computer to intelligently help you study. It was written by a guy studying Japanese, so there is a lot of Japanese-specific functionality in the program. I would enter each week’s set of words into Anki the night that I got them and by the following Friday (when we had the weekly test) I could pass with flying colors, often getting over 100% because the professor allowed us to write additional kanji for extra credit. The great thing too, about Anki, is that over the course of the semester, I was constantly seeing those kanji I had studied from lessons past, so that nothing would fall out of my memory. The final test in kanji included all kanji we had learned that semester, so when the final test came around I got nearly a 100% on it.
Modern Japanese Literature
Drawing on texts from the Meiji period onward, Modern Japanese Literature was conducted in a manner quite similar to literature courses I’ve taken in semesters past . The books we read included those by Dazai, Shimazaki and Kenzaburo, all famous Japanese authors of the past 100 years or so. The main theme of the class was authors who wrote about life from the fringes of Japanese society, literally – all of these authors were born and raised in the countryside of Japan and their perspectives on what life is like in a rapidly changing Japan formed the basis of our study.
Being that this course was intended for foreign students, the class was taught bilingually and the original Japanese texts and English translations were available. But since it was a literature course, the discussions in class were the most important aspect of the course, so if one wasn’t fluent in either Japanese or English this class would be extremely difficult, if not downright impossible. The main way I was graded was by a final five page paper, where we had to compare two of the books we had read and see how the authors were similar or different. I’m an English major and enjoy reading literature and discussing it, so if you don’t think you could handle reading a book every week or two, then this class certainly wouldn’t be for you.
“Cool Japan” and Consumer Culture
The focus of this class, as one might be able to guess, was about modern Japanese popular culture. We watched anime, television, listened to a lecture by manga artists who came in to our class and wrapped up the semester by giving a presentation about how Japanese culture affects or is present in our respective countries. I discussed the effects of the Japanese video game industry on that of the U.S. and I posted the transcript of the Japanese translation in a previous post. I found this class to be quite fun, but be warned we didn’t just spend the whole time reading manga or watching anime. Professor Suwa gave us commentary on everything we looked at and explained how it tied back to ancient Japanese culture.
Topics in Japanese Society
This class, taught by professor Sawada as was the literature course, was about the specifics of what you experience as a Japanese person throughout life. We started with birth and then went on to the various aspects involved with childhood, education, adulthood, marriage, old age and then death. I learned a lot
from this class and it helped me to much better understand some of the everyday things I see here in Japan. We also discussed various issues facing Japan, like education reform, freeters and NEETs and the rapidly aging population. As part of my evaluation, I worked with other classmates in a group to produce a presentation about the recent stress-free education reforms and bullying. At the end of the semester, we took a class trip out to a local Buddhist temple to learn from the head monk about how funerals are performed. If I was to recommend any of the class I took besides Japanese, I would recommend this one because I think anyone would enjoy it and it really is important to understand what it means to be Japanese if you are going to be here.
Hello, I am a new reader to your blog! Sadly, since I just found it, I haven’t been able to keep up with your stay. From all that I have read, however, it sounds awesome!
I have been considering some study abroad programs in Japan lately but I have always been a bit apprehensive. Your posts are greatly detailed and very insightful. Thank you for the help that you have unknowingly given me! ^^
Well, take care and continue to enjoy your stay. Be safe and so long! Thanks again!
Sincerely,
miz