Course Purpose:

This course can be looked at in one of two ways. (1) The final class needed to pass the General Education language requirement (2) A prerequisite class needed to prepare oneself for more challenging material encountered in later Japanese classes. Even if you are not a Japanese major, and this is your last Japanese class, you will start to work on certain learning outcomes expected of Japanese majors. If you have an interest in the full list of ten learning outcomes for Japanese majors, you can go on the Internet to the following address

http://asiane.byu.edu/japanese/index.php?content=major

On the learning outcomes listed below in boldface type, I have changed the numbering from the official list (1, 4, 5, 7, 10) and I have also paraphrased a few of the outcomes. Nevertheless, in Japanese 300 we will start working on the following learning outcomes:

1) A Japanese major is expected be able to present and interpret Japanese language and culture to others in a manner that will promote mutual understanding and respect.

2) A Japanese major is expected to be able to converse and act in Japanese in linguistically, socially and culturally appropriate ways.

This means that you will either be explaining the Japanese people to fellow gaijin (aliens or outsiders) or you will be presenting yourself to native speakers.
We will be speaking in Japanese on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in order to practice more authentic ways of conversing.
When you present yourself to native speakers, when you converse in Japanese, you must realize that you are conveying messages beyond the words themselves. When you open your mouth and speak in Japanese, you are telling your listener that you are willing to play the communication game according to the listener’s rules. You are telling your listener that you will make your best effort to mimic how Japanese people speak, act and feel.
Japanese words are inextricably linked to feelings in the hearts and minds of the Japanese people. Yet most foreign language learners are blissfully unaware of the effect that our speech patterns can have on native speakers. We all need to try harder to observe how Japanese people interact with others and try to imitate as best we can. For example, the Japanese language is probably the best language in the world for showing honor and respect. By showing honor and respect, you make people subconsciously feel better about themselves. You make people feel that you understand and appreciate their culture. You make a better impression. Sadly, Japanese 300 students typically need to make greater efforts in showing honor and respect. Therefore, we will discuss polite speech, honorific speech and humble speech—all of which are crucial in interacting with adult strangers in Japan.
When a native Japanese person learns that I teach returned missionaries, this Japanese person will sometimes plead with me. The Japanese person will say that returned missionaries are “fluent” in the sense that they can speak at a good speed and that they can usually get their point across. However, the way the returned missionary tries to get his point across does not resemble in any way how a native Japanese person would try to get the same point across. This native speaker pleads with me to do a better job teaching my students. So, I am asking you as a student to remember that when you open your mouth and speak in Japanese, you are telling your listener that you are willing to play the communication game according to the listener’s rules. It is the language learner’s job to make his words easy on the native listener’s ears. Therefore, we will also discuss dozens of grammar patterns and idioms that should make your Japanese sound more authentic to native speakers.

3) A Japanese major is expected to read and engage effectively texts . . .

In Japanese 300, you will begin to try to comprehend material presented from a native speaker who was writing for an audience of other native speakers.

When trying to comprehend material written for a Japanese audience, you will, of course, first need to know hiragana, katakana and kanji. I assume that you already know hiragana and katakana. But I assume no knowledge of kanji. Even if you did not study kanji on your mission, you can still take this class. You may have to study harder than your fellow students, but I have had students who began the class in circumstances similar to you and they successfully passed the course.
Now, let me talk to another type of student I have had a number of times in this class. When this type of student reads the above sentence: “I assume no knowledge of kanji,” this type of student feels disappointed, dismayed or even shocked. This type of student has put a lot of time and effort in memorizing every character in his missionary study manual: LEARN TO READ THE BOOK OF MORMON IN JAPANESE. This type of student feels a certain justifiable (President Benson would dislike my use of the word) pride in his hard-won accomplishments. Kind Japanese people have tried to encourage this type of student by saying “Nihongo ga sugoku o-joozu desu nee!” After hearing these complements over and over, the student naturally feels that he has moved far beyond the level of your typical, average beginning Japanese 300 student. This type of student feels that Japanese 300 is a shokyuu class for others and not the jookyuu class he was hoping would provide the finishing touches transforming him into a native speaker.
Now I have to say that some of these students do indeed turn out to be some of my best students, but not always. Those students who turn out to be outstanding students somehow gain the realization or enlightenment that language learning is a lifelong pursuit. These students do not begrudge review because they know that time spent in review is never wasted time. Those who turn out to be mediocre students feel a certain contempt for easy stuff that they already “know.” They do not prepare or study for class because they already “know” the material and would not “learn” anything new that they didn’t already know before. Somehow, outstanding students leave the class with better Japanese, prepared to engage harder texts. Mediocre students leave the class with the level of Japanese with which they entered the class. Sometimes, on class evaluation forms, they will even make the perceptive observation that “I didn’t learn a thing”.
Therefore, I will say something to “those with ears to hear.” You may indeed have a passing acquaintance with many kanji. You can indeed recognize kanji when they occur in a certain passage, still you may not be able to write them or use them to express yourself in linguistically, socially and culturally appropriate ways. In my experience, these students, even if they already “know” hundreds of kanji, could still:

1) memorize correct stroke order
2) memorize all the kun readings: verbs, adjectives and nouns
3) memorize the differences in meanings between the different kun readings
4) memorize the correct okurigana for all the kun readings
5) memorize all the on readings
6) memorize the difference in meanings of on readings in different words
7) memorize whether a certain reading has a long or a short syllable
8) pay attention to how a kanji is used in the context of a sentence
9) boost reading fluency and speed. These traits are usually a byproduct of experience (which is a fancy word for lots and lots of practice and review).

I hope you are getting the idea that returned missionaries could use more experience (i.e., lots and lots of practice and review) in reading secular materials. Many returned missionaries may “know” an individual kanji, but are still unable to link the word they “know” to its surrounding words to come up with a logical English translation. An even higher-level skill is to take a sentence and see how the sentence fits logically into the context of the paragraph. I am afraid to tell you that gaining these skills involves lots and lots of practice and review.
I hope also, that you are getting the idea that language learning never occurs merely by “adding some finishing touches” that will magically transform you into a native speaker. This truth was taught to me in an amusing way by a middle-aged comedian who boasted “Although I am 55 years old, I can read at a 57-year-old level.” That struck me as funny because children most quickly improve their reading abilities in elementary school, say from age six till age eleven. When a student enters junior high, reading ability will improve, but at a comparatively slower pace. As a student grows older, the learning curve levels off more and more until you reach a plateau in adulthood. Therefore, a 55 year old bragging about reading like a 57 year old is ridiculous.
In the same way, I would say most missionaries out in the mission field from six months to around eighteen months are making progress in leaps and bounds. The learning curve is so steep that even the missionary himself may notice the progress. But after reaching a certain point, progress slows down and the learning curve levels off. Progress thereafter comes more slowly and improvement is harder won. Students studying Japanese in college want to feel the same progress they experienced early in their mission when they were living in Japan and talking Japanese with native speakers. Students may become frustrated after discovering the hard fact of life that progress comes slower and is harder won in later stages of language learning. All I can say is that there is still plenty of progress to be made, but much of that progress may come through gaining more experience (i.e., lots and lots of practice and review).
Therefore, I expect every student, regardless of previous experience, to memorize the approximately 515 kanji taught in our textbook. I also expect you to use those kanji to read and understand the stories and articles in our textbook. Furthermore, I expect you to be able to write those characters on homework assignments and quizzes.
You will need to memorize these 515 kanji because they are among the most well used characters in all of Japanese. You need to know how to read and write these characters without constantly looking them up in your dictionary.
I really do expect you to read every story in our textbook on your own. Classroom activities will aim to reinforce concepts and help you check up on your comprehension. However, you will need to read the stories on your own before you come to class.

4) Japanese majors will be expected to write well in English and Japanese.

When translating for an English speaking audience, you need to have good English writing skills. However, in Japanese 300, we will first focus on preparing you to begin to write in Japanese. By the end of the semester, you should be able to write letters to friends. The characters you learn in this class will also aid you in writing Japanese essays in future classes. In Japanese 300, we will be using these kanji to read stories, articles and letters. In addition, we will use our knowledge of these characters to begin to expand our vocabularies.

5) Japanese majors will be expected to demonstrate self-managed learning skills that will facilitate life-long learning.

In Japanese 300, you should learn study strategies that can help you in your other classes and throughout your life. I hope the primary truth you learn is the value of constant review and the magic of repetition in fixing material in your mind. This is an important skill in the life-long process of learning a language.