Language Curriculum Learning Outcomes
The Department of Chinese and Japanese offers a three-year curriculum for language acquisition in Chinese and Japanese, with consistent focus on the four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Chinese majors, in their fourth year, will be introduced to some classic works in Chinese literature and read modern literary works in the original language. Equivalent courses in Japanese are offered as independent study or guided reading as a part of Japanese independent major or East Asian Studies concentration.
Chinese
First year: learn to read and write roughly 300 characters each semester, gain fundamentals of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary
Second year: Improve to a level that supports basic conversation at a level sufficient for study abroad
Third year: Raise language skills to a level that allows writing and discussion at an academic level
Fourth year: Develop the ability to read, discuss, and write about Chinese literature
Japanese
First year: Learn basic speaking skills and writing in three character sets: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Students are generally expected to be at “Novice-High†in the ACTFL scale at the end of the first year)
Second year: Increase familiarity with vocabulary and characters and the range of grammatical structures. Students are generally expected to be at “Intermediate-Mid†by the end of second year.
Third year: Continue to increase vocabulary and character recognition. Develop the ability to converse, write, and present in Japanese on academic topics. Students are expected to be at “Intermediate-High†to “Advanced-Low†at the end of the third year.
Cultural Courses Learning Outcomes
The Department of Chinese and Japanese offers a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary courses in English at 100 and 200 level designations. Those courses are open to non-language learners but they are also designed provide foundations for future research for majors and concentrators, both in methodology and subject matters.
By taking those courses, students are expected to acquire cultural fluency which we define as follows:
- viewing things from global and non-Western perspectives when discussing and analyzing issues
- in-depth engagement with specific time periods, genres, traditions, or issues in Chinese or Japanese culture
- the ability to use interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches and methods to bear on the topic under study
Writing Outcomes
The writing outcomes detail the expectations for writing within the Chinese and Japanese curriculum.