JAN 114 - Introduction to Japanese Language and Culture

Please Note: Level 100 courses are ONLY open to first-year students.

Type: In-Person
Course Meeting Days & Times: MTThF, 9:00 AM-11:45:00 AM

Instructor(s): Uehara, Naoko
Email: nuehara@tmarys-ca.edu
Fee: $30

Course Description: Do you want to travel to Japan? Or maybe study abroad in Tokyo? Eat amazing sizzling ramen at half price! Eat authentic sushi far beyond your expectations! Understand Anime without subtitles!

Step into an express Japanese immersion in January, an ambitious, highly interactive course covering both language and many aspects of culture, with many games, activities, songs, awards, and prizes. Communicative ability is the focus of the course. You’ll take a field trip to a Japanese restaurant where we will order in Japanese, make a skit as a group, and have a chance to become a celebrity among the SMC Japanese community.

You will love “tasting Fridays” for Japanese foods and drinks, on top of daily Japanese treats. Taste the flavor of stinky and sticky fermented soybeans, or the texture of chewy and stretchy Mochi. In a short month, you will be as big a fan of Japanese Snacks as of Anime and Manga! Whether you know Demon Slayers, One Piece, Naruto, or the classics of Studio Ghibli like Totoro and Princess Mononoke, we will enjoy a weekly film review and you will be able to appreciate new details for the first time.

We will have great fun learning a language most Americans may not recognize, yet is vitally important for both the global economy and to U.S. pop culture. Rejoice as strange squiggles quickly become an alphabet. Real conversations with native speakers are arranged to practice communication. Imagine your sense of achievement making basic conversation in just one short month! Whatever your major, Japan has something to inspire you!

Prerequisites & Notes
None

Credits: 3