150075 VO Japanese Writing Systems (2018S)

This course aims to transition students from “textbook Japanese” to “real Japanese” and from translating Japanese texts under supervision to actually reading them with some degree of independence. In a sense, this is where we finally get down to business. It is meant to be taken in tandem with Japanese Grammar II [Japanische Grammatik II] and Japanese Communication in a Business Environment [Kommunikation in der japanischen Wirtschaftswelt].

After a few short introductory lessons on using Japanese dictionaries and especially kanji dictionaries effectively, students will be provided with short texts, e. g. newspaper articles, essays, …, given time to study them at home (and usually document their efforts, for instance by creating vocabulary lists, summaries, presentations etc.). Then the texts will be read together in class, as a kind of dénouement. (This will take the bulk of face time, ideally one full time slot per text, every couple of weeks.) Finally, there may be further homework designed to assess and/or deepen students’ understanding of the text (e. g. polished written translations, reading comprehension questions, essays on points of grammar).
By varying the length and complexity of chosen texts as well as the amount of annotation provided and having students work alone or in groups of various sizes, the difficulty will be steadily increased. At the same time, the lecturer’s role may change from sentence-by-sentence explanation to intervention-when-neccessary in reading sessions chaired by students.

As far as is feasible texts will be business- or economics-related ones aimed at a general audience; students may also suggest texts or types of texts. The plan is to read 3-5 different texts over the course of the semester.