• Inactive for Year: 2024/25

• Module Leader(s): Ms Etsuko Suda
• Lecturer: Dr Gitte Marianne Hansen

• Owning School: Modern Languages
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

This module provides students with productive skills of upper intermediate/advanced levels to cope with the linguistic demands of real life in general. Students will build on the content of JPN4013 and develop their communicative skills including active listening, speaking, and writing at a post-intermediate level. They will be able to read a wide range of unedited materials and write on a variety of topics, understand a wide range of spoken Japanese (e.g. news, anime, etc.) and participate in speaking activities.

The aims of the module are:
1) To provide students with sufficient language competence to cope with the linguistic demands of
real life in general.
2) To develop an appropriate level of inter-cultural sensitivity in students, enabling successful
interpersonal communication in a range of different situations.
3) To continue to provide students with the necessary skills to become better language learners.

Outline Of Syllabus

1. Speaking and oral presentation
The topics of the textbook which are in social, cultural and linguistic nature will be incorporated into speaking exercises in class to support better understanding of the reading materials used for reading seminars of JPN4013 and to facilitate ideas for essay writing and speech tasks.

2. Writing
Four writing topics will be given as exercise over 2 semesters for students to acquire sufficient formal writing skills in the target language.

3. Listening
We shall provide you with weekly listening task in class to enable you to develop your listening comprehension skills as well as speaking skills through shadowing/voice-acting practices.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Speaking skills as well as writing are practised throughout the course in task-based activities involving individual, pair and group work.

Listening skills are practised in class with weekly listening task sheets. Speaking practices in the form of reading aloud, shadowing and voice acting are combined to enhance oral communication skills throughout the year.

In order to ensure that 134 hours of independent guided study takes place, each contact hour is followed by homework assignments relating to what has just been introduced/practised.

The homework will include:
- Sakubun (composition) and report writing
- Preparations for speeches and discussions
- Listening exercises

There is a minimum homework submission requirement of 70%, with this percentage being calculated each semester.

Where appropriate, individualised formative feedback is provided.

This module is taught and assessed mainly in Japanese.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams

Other Assessment

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Speaking skills are assessed in the speaking examination in Semester 2.
This assessment will test students’ ability to produce and present their own output orally and to discuss with a target language speaker directly and spontaneously.

Listening skills are assessed as part of the formal examination in Semester 2. This exam will test the students’ ability to listen and understand authentic audio sources and to respond appropriately in written or oral form. This test provides summative information to staff and student on student's achievement in listening in the module.

Writing skills are assessed in the writing examination in Semester 1. Students with certain disabilities may be allowed to type their own answers provided that access to dictionaries and other sources for checking has been disabled.

Reading Lists

• JPN4014's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• JPN4014's Timetable