First Year Curriculum

Japanese for Technical and Business Professionals Series:

• HCDE 461 (5 credits) (Autumn Quarter)
• HCDE 462 (5 credits) (Winter Quarter)
• HCDE 463 (5 credits) (Spring Quarter)

The instructor is Masashi Kato (Senior Lecturer and Associate Director). The first-year sequence consists of two components: reading and oral.

Reading Component

Highlights

• Read original documents in Japanese on technology, business, and social issues
• Interactive approach 
• Sight reading exercises of target material 

Objectives

• Learn strategies for quickly understanding the meaning of a text
• Expand vocabulary and kanji
• Increase reading accuracy

Activities

• Reading on general technology and business-related topics
• Lectures on grammar, lexical items, sentence structure analysis, and reading skills
• Discussion on the content of reading materials

Oral Component

Highlights

• Study commonly encountered business situations in Japan
• Use of role-playing to internalize language structure and expressions
• Videotaping of students, allowing for accurate review of self-presentation
• Preparation for internship in Japan
• Situational approach

Objectives

• Develop functional conversation skills in basic technical and business communication situations
• Understand the cultural concepts underlying these situations
• Handle different speech levels effectively
• Develop oral presentation skills

Activities

• Practice verbal skills with Language Partner
• Role-play situations while being videotaped
• Practice appropriate speech levels
• Give oral reports and presentations