Japanese is the national language of Japan, a nation that is not only one of Australia's major trading partners, but is also a country with which many young Australians have deep personal ties. Japanese is a popular foreign language in Australian schools and the depth of the ties between Australia and Japan means that knowledge of the language will be a valuable asset for many years to come.
Studying Japanese as an advanced minor has many linguistic and cultural benefits and in today’s globalised world a strong understanding of Asia, and Japan as one of our most important bilateral partners, is vital. Employers across business, government, the arts and various sectors actively recruit graduates who can demonstrate knowledge of and experience in Japan.
The Advanced Japanese Language Minor is for students who already have a high level of competence in Japanese. It deepens students’ knowledge and critical understanding of Japanese language and culture, continuing to improve their proficiency in reading and listening comprehension as well as oral and written expression. The courses included in this Advanced Minor allow students to examine in more detail cultural, social, and linguistic aspects of the Japanese-speaking world.
Students in this advanced minor can spend time studying at one of the twenty-plus tertiary institutions in Japan with which the ANU has ties. This can be done either through intensive in-country study in the summer break, or through the Semester in Japan program. Competitive scholarships are available to qualified students.
Learning Outcomes
- Express themselves confidently both verbally and in writing in modern Japanese in a variety of settings;
- Demonstrate independent reading and listening skills to engage with real-world materials and infer authors' meaning in newspapers, magazines, and literary texts in Japanese;
- Demonstrate the appropriate linguistic skills to respond spontaneously in both speaking and writing to contemporary issues, to state opinions, compose formal essays, and make presentations at a sophisticated level;
- Engage with authentic media such as television news broadcasts, movies, literature, academic essays, and critical discourse by summarising, analysing, evaluating and criticising their content, individually and in groups;
- Confidently use polite, neutral or informal registers, appropriate to the genre and the audience;
- Apply critical thinking skills to a range of socio-cultural issues in past and present Japanese society, including such topics as gender issues, social structures, consumer societies, traditional arts and crafts, and Japan's position in the world.
Other Information
Students with previous “language experience or exposure” are required to take a language proficiency assessment to ensure enrolment at the most appropriate level.
Relevant past experience includes:
- Previous study of the language (both formal and informal, for example, but not limited to, at school, or, home, or through online activities, etc.)
- Being exposed to the language in childhood via a family member or friend
- Travel or living in a country where the language is spoken
- The language being spoken in your home (even if you do not speak it yourself)
Students who are not sure if they need to take a proficiency assessment should seek advice from the course or language convenor.
Students who intentionally misrepresent their language proficiency level may be investigated under the Academic Integrity Rule 2021 as having failed to comply with assessment directions and having sought unfair advantage. This may result in a penalty such as reduced grades or failure of the course.
Students are not permitted to enrol in a language course below one that they have already successfully completed, except with permission of the language and/or course convenor.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This advanced language minor requires the completion of 24 units, which must consist of:
18 units from completion of the following sequence of Japanese language course
JPNS3204 Japanese 6
JPNS3005 Advanced Japanese: Issues in Contemporary Japan
JPNS3006 Advanced Japanese: Language in Context
A minimum of 6 units from the completion of the following list of associated language and research courses
ASIA2100 Linguistic Histories in Asia and the Pacific (L)
ASIA2103 Language in Asia and the Pacific (L)
JPNS3007 Advanced Japanese: Readings in Culture and Society
JPNS3008 Advanced Japanese: Readings in Literature
JPNS3012 Teaching Japanese: Content
JPNS3013 Japanese - English Translation
JPNS3014 Teaching Japanese: Method
JPNS3023 Research Topics in Japanese: History & Society
JPNS3102 Debating Japan: Contemporary Intellectual Debates
JPNS2024 Japanese Grammar and Expressions
ASIA3525 Learning Language Locally (6-12 units)
Students who receive an exemption through a Language Placement Assessment (LPA) may choose from the above list of associated language courses to complete their advanced language minor.
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