KCJS Summer Program in Modern Japanese 2025

Overview

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

In eight weeks, the KCJS program covers the curricular equivalent of one academic year of Japanese language study at US universities. Hence, students are expected to spend six hours and more per day on attending classes, reviewing and preparing for lessons, as well as doing homework. If you want to jump-start your Japanese language study in a fast-paced, intensive, and immersive learning environment, this program is just for you!

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.
• 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

After the application deadline has passed, applicants will be given instructions to take an online placement test. Results will be used for admissions purposes and in order to place students in the appropriate course level.

Monday, February 3: Application deadline

Monday, February 10: Login ID and password to take the online test will be sent to the students who have submitted the application by the deadline.

11:59AM on Friday, February 21: End of the online test

(Tentative; All dates are EST)

Notes

• • If applicants fail to take the online test by the deadline, their applications will not be considered.
  • Applicants will receive the login ID and password to take the online test at the email address they provided in their application as their primary email address.
  • By taking the online test, it is understood that applicants may be placed in a level different from the applied level, depending on the results of the online test.

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Schedule

For Summer 2025, the program is scheduled to start on Thursday, May 29 and end on Friday, July 25.

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

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Class Hours

All classes of KCJS Summer: Modern Japanese will meet 3 hours a day, Monday-Friday.

The tentative class hours

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Levels Offered

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

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.

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 and Schedule of 2nd Year Japanese for 2024

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3rd Year Japanese

 
The 3rd Year Japanese program (H4205 & 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.

Using a wide variety of materials, the students will develop four skills of language (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) and learn cultural knowledge necessary to communicate in Japanese.

In 2024, 3rd year Japanese will use Quartet I and II.

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 and Schedule of 3rd Year Japanese for 2024

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4th Year Japanese

 
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.

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 and Schedule of 4th Year Japanese for 2024

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