The course focuses on practical approaches to teaching Japanese as a foreign language, on how to select and present the linguistic and socio-cultural subject matter of Japanese language courses. Topics discussed will include approaches to language teaching, course and task design, materials review, and approaches to applied linguistics research; the course will also include a teaching practice component during the first week (from Monday to Thursday) of the mid-semester break.

Maximum number allowed to enrol in this course is 15.

Primary skills, knowledge and theoretical aspects of teaching Japanese as a foreign language, which include issues of Japanese education in Australia, language teaching methodologies and approaches, textbook review, course design, task design, and so forth. They will also gain first-hand experience of teaching Japanese through the teaching practice component.

Those who take this course as part of their Japanese Language Major will also be able to improve their Japanese language skills through class activities and preparation/implementation of their teaching practice.

Essay (30%) and practical exercises (totalling 70%)

Graduate students attend joint classes with undergraduates but may expect more rigorous assessment and additional assignment work, tailored to the graduate students’ interests.

Three hours per week (for 10 weeks) and teaching practice (12 hours)

Non-native speakers of Japanese are required to have successfully completed Japanese 4 and Written Japanese D at credit level or above, or equivalent level of competence, in order to take the course at undergraduate level (JPNS3014). Students may be exempted from these requisites if they have passed the required level in the Japanese placement test, or have permission from the course convenor. Native speakers of Japanese are expected to have completed their first year of study at a university.

JPNS6514 forms part of the coursework for the Graduate Diploma/MA program specialising in Japanese Applied Linguistics. Students at this level normally hold a Bachelor degree, with a major in Japanese in the case of non-native speakers.

Incompatible with JPSN3014.

Nil