AP/JP 2010 6.00
Intermediate Written Communication in Japanese
This course is intended for students with basic knowledge of structures and writing systems of Japanese who wish to advance their skills by engaging in communication with the Japanese-speaking community outside of the classroom context, using on-line platforms, such as e-mail and Google docs.
The goal is that students contribute to a Japanese-speaking community in written forms, such as providing information and exchanging short opinion pieces. A project-based approach, in which students’ written assignments are designed step-by-step toward one project thematically linked across the semester, allows students to experience the written communication process as a whole. Students come with various language-learning backgrounds, and they therefore choose topics from their own life experiences. The writing process is developed in accordance with a pedagogy of multiliteracies. Students are exposed to authentic texts of the target genre and analyze them collaboratively including the system of linguistic choices available in the target genre, applying a genre-based approach. Having an authentic audience (e.g., students in training programs for Japanese-as-a-foreign/second-language educators in Japan), students use writing as a means of communication: students obtain different perspectives on their topics by communicating with them. They also experience and develop culturally appropriate communication skills through written communication activity. Based on their text analysis as application of their learning, they produce opinion pieces. Furthermore, students receive feedback on their pieces from the instructor and from their audience. This gives them opportunities to reflect on their writing and synthesize their thoughts.