JAPN395: special topics- Japan: current issues and solutions
Course Description:
Studies a particular topic relative to the Japanese language or cultures. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
From Syllabus:
This course is designed to develop advanced use of Japanese in three modes of communication using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals’ framework. Students will be able to understand and discuss Japanese major issues in society through authentic resources and propose possible solutions critically. This course is taught in Japanese.
Studies a particular topic relative to the Japanese language or cultures. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
From Syllabus:
This course is designed to develop advanced use of Japanese in three modes of communication using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals’ framework. Students will be able to understand and discuss Japanese major issues in society through authentic resources and propose possible solutions critically. This course is taught in Japanese.
This class was particularly interesting because it was a special topics class, therefore an experimental, one-shot class.
The class primarily focused on the Sustainable Development Goals and aspects of Japanese social issues such as food waste, gender inequality, illness, racial inequity, and more. It was a very challenging class due to the main language spoken by the professor and primarily all information sources being in Japanese.
The structure of the class was generally the same each class, beginning with a round-table style of acknowledging the weather, what we ate, and sometimes other information such as what we did that day or plans for the weekend. This was helpful for simple and natural conversation in Japanese, therefore improving my skills in MLO 1: Language and Communication. We had weekly vocabulary lists and accompanying quizzes, short write-ups, in-class discussion with a discussion leader (honcho) conversation recordings, and in-class presentations. Please view one of my presentations about protecting the forest that I worked on with two partners here. I was honcho (leader) twice for two different topics. One topic was about best-by and expiration dates and I created a game for my classmates via Google's Jambaord feature about if they would or would not eat/drink an item after its expiration date has passed and why or why not. This made us think critically about the topic in the target language which was not only written but was also spoken out loud and responded to in a culturally appropriate manner. Please see the Jamboard and my classmates responses here.
MLO 2: Culture was also improved due to learning about different social issues and what ways Japanese people view them and what effort they make to improve them. For example, during our food waste lesson we learned about many ways food is conserved in Japan such as volunteer restaurants that cook only with locally grown food and programs who find and donate food items that are thrown out but not yet expired only because the packaging is broken. We also learned ways to improve our own food waste habits such as when grocery shopping: choosing the food product that is expiring first that way it doesn't get thrown out or when eating at a restaurant or at home: eating all leftovers and portioning food accurately for yourself. This topic generally inspired me and my partner's 2023 capstone project.
The class primarily focused on the Sustainable Development Goals and aspects of Japanese social issues such as food waste, gender inequality, illness, racial inequity, and more. It was a very challenging class due to the main language spoken by the professor and primarily all information sources being in Japanese.
The structure of the class was generally the same each class, beginning with a round-table style of acknowledging the weather, what we ate, and sometimes other information such as what we did that day or plans for the weekend. This was helpful for simple and natural conversation in Japanese, therefore improving my skills in MLO 1: Language and Communication. We had weekly vocabulary lists and accompanying quizzes, short write-ups, in-class discussion with a discussion leader (honcho) conversation recordings, and in-class presentations. Please view one of my presentations about protecting the forest that I worked on with two partners here. I was honcho (leader) twice for two different topics. One topic was about best-by and expiration dates and I created a game for my classmates via Google's Jambaord feature about if they would or would not eat/drink an item after its expiration date has passed and why or why not. This made us think critically about the topic in the target language which was not only written but was also spoken out loud and responded to in a culturally appropriate manner. Please see the Jamboard and my classmates responses here.
MLO 2: Culture was also improved due to learning about different social issues and what ways Japanese people view them and what effort they make to improve them. For example, during our food waste lesson we learned about many ways food is conserved in Japan such as volunteer restaurants that cook only with locally grown food and programs who find and donate food items that are thrown out but not yet expired only because the packaging is broken. We also learned ways to improve our own food waste habits such as when grocery shopping: choosing the food product that is expiring first that way it doesn't get thrown out or when eating at a restaurant or at home: eating all leftovers and portioning food accurately for yourself. This topic generally inspired me and my partner's 2023 capstone project.