150126 UE Japanese Writing Systems (2026S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Tu 17.02.2026 10:00 to Tu 03.03.2026 10:00
- Deregistration possible until Fr 27.03.2026 18:00
Details
max. 25 participants
Language: English, Japanese
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
⚠ Japanese Grammar II and Writing Systems share a time-slot. This is intentional and not an error. Units may be held online (via Moodle/BBB) if necessary or by mutual agreement.
- Wednesday 04.03. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 11.03. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 18.03. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 25.03. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 15.04. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 22.04. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 29.04. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 06.05. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 13.05. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 20.05. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 27.05. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 03.06. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 10.06. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- N Wednesday 17.06. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
- Wednesday 24.06. 11:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Japanologie 1 UniCampus Hof 2 2K-EG-21
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Assessment and permitted materials
This course uses continuous assessment (hat immanenten Prüfungscharakter).There will be marked activities for each text, typically preparatory homework, active participation during the reading session, and/or homework to be done after. Such activities may take various forms, from written documents submitted via and content added to Moodle to presentations given in class, and chairing sessions. Students may be asked to demonstrate that they have made an effort to engage with the texts, e.g. by reading a passage aloud, having a go at a translation, answering questions on its contents and grammar and so on.There will also be a written final test where students will be asked to translate a text that is new to them, but similar in nature to one previously covered in class.Unless otherwise stated, no materials or aids are permitted. In practice, most activities, including the final test, will be open-book, mirroring real-world conditions—with the caveat that the allowed reference materials and tools are restricted (whitelist).Regardless, students must do all work independently. Any unauthorised outside help, human or computer, may be deemed cheating. To give you an idea where the line is: Imagine you have relatives or friends who speak Japanese. Asking them questions, practising with them, even having them look over your homework and make suggestions—that’s fine, encouraged, even. Having them write your homework is not, not even in part. To that end, the lecturer reserves the right to ask you to demonstrate your understanding of any submitted work orally and in detail; inability to do so will be treated as evidence that the work is not your own. It should go without saying that plagiarism is strictly prohibited.There is a strict zero tolerance policy regarding the above rules, at minimum students deemed in violation immediately fail the course and the reason will show up on their transcript.Otherwise, cooperation between students, and active participation in general is very much encouraged and deemed an important element of the course, and the grade.The lecturer reserves the right to restrict the use of electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, during class.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
* Attendance is mandatory. No-shows for the first unit will be deregistered. As a courtesy, students may miss a single Writing Systems block, provided they have a good reason, but students are not entitled to make up for any missed opportunities; anything beyond that results in a failing grade by default. Tardiness may be counted as absence.
However, in the interest of health and safety students are strongly encouraged to stay home if they’re not feeling well. Any exceptions to the attendance or deadline rules are granted strictly as a voluntary courtesy (Kulanz) on a case-by-case basis.* Everyone who participates in at least one lesson and/or marked activity will receive a grade, except if they de-register before the appropriate deadline.* Each marked activity is associated with one of the 3+ texts we are going to read. Usually there is at least a preparatory homework to be done before the session, the active participation during, and homework to be done after, for each text, but the number may vary, and so will the weighting of activities within each text.* The course total score comprises texts (averaged, 60 %) and final (40 %) in principle, but as long as a student scores both > 36 % on each individual text [or all but one, as long as there is a good reason, see above] and this combined score is lower than the score received on the final alone, only the final counts. Finally, up to 5 percentage points may be awarded / docked at the sole discretion of the lecturer for the purpose of determining the final grade.* More than 50 percentage points of the course total score are required to pass the course.≤ 50 %: 5/F
> 50 %: 4/D
> 62.5 %: 3/C
> 75 %: 2/B
> 87.5 %: 1/A
However, in the interest of health and safety students are strongly encouraged to stay home if they’re not feeling well. Any exceptions to the attendance or deadline rules are granted strictly as a voluntary courtesy (Kulanz) on a case-by-case basis.* Everyone who participates in at least one lesson and/or marked activity will receive a grade, except if they de-register before the appropriate deadline.* Each marked activity is associated with one of the 3+ texts we are going to read. Usually there is at least a preparatory homework to be done before the session, the active participation during, and homework to be done after, for each text, but the number may vary, and so will the weighting of activities within each text.* The course total score comprises texts (averaged, 60 %) and final (40 %) in principle, but as long as a student scores both > 36 % on each individual text [or all but one, as long as there is a good reason, see above] and this combined score is lower than the score received on the final alone, only the final counts. Finally, up to 5 percentage points may be awarded / docked at the sole discretion of the lecturer for the purpose of determining the final grade.* More than 50 percentage points of the course total score are required to pass the course.≤ 50 %: 5/F
> 50 %: 4/D
> 62.5 %: 3/C
> 75 %: 2/B
> 87.5 %: 1/A
Examination topics
Everything covered in the course, in class and/or on the e-learning platform (Moodle), in particular all texts read, including vocabulary, kanji, grammar, and (cultural) background, as well as any additional materials provided by the lecturer and/or students. Students will be expected to know the vocabulary, kanji and grammar covered in Grammar II as well.
Reading list
All material will be provided in class and/or on the e-learning platform (Moodle).
Association in the course directory
MA M1 for Ecos-students
EC Japanese for Busy and Business People II
EC Japanese for Busy and Business People II
Last modified: Tu 17.02.2026 16:46
* Grammar I, Japanese Communication (and their prerequisites)
* concurrent enrolment in Grammar II; alternatively, successful prior completion or demonstration of equivalent skills
* Japanese-capable laptop [specific units only]
* Japanese-capable laptop/PC, stable broadband connection, technical means for teleconferencing [for online units, if any]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, short stories, essays, …, given time to study them at home (and usually document their efforts, for instance by creating vocabulary lists, summaries, presentations, doing background research etc.). Then we read the texts together and students, for example, answer questions about them, summarise them, and/or translate them. 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 annotations 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-necessary 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.