KCJS Virtual Summer Program in Modern Japanese 2021

Overview

In 2021, KCJS Summer Program in Modern Japanese will be offered virtually.

KCJS offers summer programs in various levels of modern Japanese: 2nd, 3rd, 4th year and above.The eligibility requirements are as follows.

• Open to undergraduates and graduate students in good academic standing. Recent graduates may also apply.
• For Second Year Japanese: must have completed one year of college-level Japanese or the equivalent.
• For Third Year Japanese: must have completed two years of college-level Japanese or the equivalent.
• For Fourth Year: must have completed three years of college-level Japanese or the equivalent.
• For Fifth Year Japanese: must have completed four years of college-level Japanese or the equivalent.
• Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.
• Minimum 3.0 average GPA in Japanese language courses.

Please note that depending on the results of the placement test, the students may be placed in a different level than they apply for.

KCJS reserves the right to cancel or modify the courses of instruction or to change the instructors as may become necessary.

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Placement

Summer 2021 students will be required to take the online placement test between Tuesday, June 1 and Monday, June 14 (Japan Standard Time).

Tentative schedule (All dates are in JST; Subject to change)

Tuesday, May 18: The information about the online placement test will be sent to the primary email address provided in the application. The students can verify or change their email address to receive the placement test information at this point.

Tuesday, May 25: The test message from the automated email system will be sent to the email address verified by the students.

Tuesday, June 1: At 12AM, the login ID and password will be sent to the email address verified by the students.

Monday, June 14: At 12PM, the online placement test will be closed.

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Schedule

For Summer 2021, the program is scheduled to start on Monday, June 21 and end on Tuesday, August 17. All dates are in Japan Standard Time.

Please note that the following calendar is tentative and subject to change.

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Virtual Class Hours

KCJS Summer: Modern Japanese will include both synchronous and asynchronous modules, Monday-Friday.

The tentative class hours in Japan Standard Time.

**Please consider how the class hours in JST listed above will coincide with your expected time zone.**

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Levels Offered

KCJS offers summer programs in various levels of modern Japanese: 2nd, 3rd, 4th year and above.

KCJS reserves the right to cancel or modify the courses of instruction or to change the instructors at any time.

2nd Year Japanese

The 2nd year Japanese program (O4201 & O4202; 8 points or 2 semesters) is designed for those who have completed at least one year of college-level Japanese or the equivalent (around 150 hours of Japanese study).

Students who want to take this course are expected to be at least at the Novice-High level of the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Proficiency Guidelines at the beginning of the course.

For a more detailed description, please follow the links provided below:
ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines Novice: Speaking | Writing | Listening | Reading
(see the section of “NOVICE HIGH”)

This class will cover Genki II (The Japan Times) and intermediate materials such as Hiyaku (Routledge). The coverage and materials will be contingent on the levels of students and finalized by the instructors.

The goal of this course is to achieve Intermediate-Mid level or higher proficiency according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Upon successful completion of the course, the students will:

• have a command of basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary (equivalent to JLPT N5-N4);
• be able to communicate with others effectively in Japanese in familiar situations/about familiar topics at a sentence-level;
• understand written texts about familiar topics related to everyday life and personal interests in Japanese.

Syllabus of 2nd Year Japanese for 2021 (virtual program)

Syllabus and Schedule of 2nd Year Japanese A Class for 2019 (onsite program)

Syllabus and Schedule of 2nd Year Japanese C Class for 2019 (onsite program)

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3rd Year Japanese

The 3rd Year Japanese program (O4205 & O4206; 8 points/2 semesters) is designed for those who have completed at least two years of college-level Japanese or the equivalent (around 300 hours of Japanese study).

Students who want to take this course are expected to be at least at the Intermediate-Mid level of the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Proficiency Guidelines at the beginning of the course.  Please note that depending on the results of the placement test, the students may be placed in a different level than they apply for.

For a more detailed description, please follow the links provided below:
ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines Intermediate: Speaking | Writing | Listening | Reading
(see the section of “INTERMEDIATE MID”)

Using Tobira (Kuroshio), the students will develop four skills of language (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) and learn cultural knowledge necessary to communicate in Japanese. Authentic materials and handouts created by the instructor will supplement the textbook.

The goal of this course is to achieve Intermediate-High or above of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Upon successful completion of the course, the students will:

• have a command of intermediate-level grammar and vocabulary (equivalent to JLPT N3-N2);
• understand both spoken and written Japanese correctly about a variety of topics;
• be able to express his/her opinions at the paragraph level in socially appropriate manner.

Syllabus of 3rd Year Japanese for 2021 (virtual program)

Syllabus and Schedule of 3rd Year Japanese A Class for 2019 (onsite program)

Syllabus and Schedule of 3rd Year Japanese B Class for 2019 (onsite program)

Syllabus and Schedule of 3rd Year Japanese C Class for 2019 (onsite program)

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4th Year Japanese and Above

The 4th Year+ Japanese program (O4217 & O4218; 8 points/ 2 semesters) is designed for those who have completed at least three years of college-level Japanese or the equivalent (around 450 hours of Japanese study).

Students who want to take this course are expected to be at the Intermediate-High level or above of the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Proficiency Guidelines at the beginning of the course. Please note that depending on the results of the placement test, the students may be placed in a different level than they apply for.

For a more detailed description, please follow the links provided below:
ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines Intermediate: Speaking | Writing | Listening | Reading
(see the section of “INTERMEDIATE HIGH”)

Authentic materials such as newspaper and novels will be used, alongside with instructor-created materials to study grammatical patterns equivalent to N1 and N2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). In addition, the students will have the opportunity to pursue an individualized project based on their own interests and give a presentation about their project at the end of the program.

The goal of this course is to achieve Advanced-Low or above of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Upon successful completion of the course, the students will:

• have a command of advanced-level grammar and vocabulary including kango vocabulary and idiomatic expressions (equivalent to JLPT N2-N1);
• understand more abstract and complicated ideas presented in both speaking and writing;
• be able to participate in discussions about a variety of topics;
• be able to narrate and describe effectively and at length.

Syllabus of 4th Year Japanese for 2021 (virtual program)

Syllabus and Schedule of 4th Year Japanese A Class for 2019 (onsite program)

Syllabus and Schedule of 4th Year Japanese B Class for 2019 (onsite program)

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Highlights of the Virtual Modern Japanese Program

Experienced Professional Instructors. All instructors in the KCJS Summer Program in Modern Japanese have earned either a master’s degree or Ph.D. in related fields, and have extensive experience in teaching Japanese as a second/foreign language. Our faculty are either full-time KCJS instructors or are drawn from consortium member schools such as Cornell University and the University of Virginia. Every instructor is dedicated to improving your Japanese ability and enriching your learning experiences in Kyoto.

Interactions with Japanese College Students. The KCJS Virtual Summer Program in Modern Japanese will incorporate synchronous discussion sessions twice a week with undergraduate or graduate students who are native speakers of Japanese. You will have abundant opportunities to practice authentic communication in Japanese and refine your Japanese language skills.

Workshops & Lectures. The KCJS Virtual Summer Program in Modern Japanese plans to offer online workshops and lectures. These workshops/lectures are elective, and the tentative topics are:

• – the Kansai dialect
• – Zazen
• – The Noh theater
• – Clay modeling

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