Goals, Evaluation, Policies (2007-2008)
Goals, Evaluation, Policies (2007-2008)
1. Long-term Goals
1-1. The long-term goal of the Japanese Language Program at Washington University is to produce learners of Japanese who possess the linguistic, communicative and cultural competence to express themselves in a culturally coherent and appropriate manner when interacting with native speakers of Japanese who are unaccustomed to communicating with foreigners. The goal is to be able to function in Japanese society by being able to behave and react to Japanese, both in speech and writing, in ways that are culturally acceptable and familiar to Japanese.
After four academic years of study, students should be able to:
a. communicate fluently and accurately using culturally appropriate language and behavior;
b. read unedited materials written for native speakers comfortably with the occasional use of a dictionary;
c. write texts that will aid them to function and communicate in Japanese society.
1-2. For short-term (course-specific) goals please refer to the course syllabus.
1-3. The attainment of the above
long-term
goals depends on the amount of effort the student expends practicing
correctly.
Competence does not come without proper training and practice!
Study
in Japan for an academic year or one semester at The Kyoto Center for
Japanese
Studies or Waseda University is strongly encouraged.
2. Evaluation
2-1. In the First- through Third- levels, daily grades account for nearly 60% of the final grade. We grade daily to make certain that learners are always prepared for class and that they keep up with the work expected of them, to make them constantly strive to do their best, and to provide them with feedback on their daily performance. Learning Japanese is fun but it also requires effort and work. We use the following scale to evaluate in-class performance:
0 = Absent beyond the permitted number of absences (see below).
1 = Present in body only; unable to perform in Japanese.
2 = Unfamiliar with the assigned drills, CCs and exercises.
3 = Unable to do drills, CCs and exercises; performance requires considerable assistance from others; unfamiliar with vocabulary, patterns, pronunciation and accent.
3.5 = Unable to perform drills, CCs, and exercises; many errors in pronunciation, vocabulary and structure; unable to self-correct.
4.0 = Able to perform drills, CCs, and exercises but with some errors in pronunciation, vocabulary and structure; able to self-correct some errors with help from the instructor.
4.5 = Able to perform drills, CCs, and exercises with ease and fluency but with a few errors in pronunciation, vocabulary and structure; able to self-correct most errors.
5 = Able
to
perform drills, CCs and exercises with ease and fluency and with very
few
errors; able to self-correct all errors; able to appropriately apply
learned
patterns and vocabulary to other contexts.
2-2 In the First-through Third- levels, students will receive regular feedback in the form of Weekly or Bi-weekly Grade Reports. These reports will include an evaluation of daily performance and comments for improvement.
2-3 In all levels we use the following scale to determine the final letter grade:
98-100% =
A+
87-89% = B+ 77-79%
=
C+ 67-69% = D+
94-97% =
A
84-86% = B
74-76%
= C 64-66% = D
90-93% =
A-
80-83% = B-
70-73%
= C- 60-63% = D-
< 59% = F
2-4 Students receiving less than a B- will not be permitted to go on to the next semester’s Japanese course. No exceptions will be made. Students who receive less than a B- and still wish to continue learning Japanese will be permitted to retake the course offered the following academic year, or they should consider taking a summer intensive course in Japanese and taking the placement test in August.
2-5 Students taking a course for the CR/NCR option are required to attain a grade of at least a C- to pass (CR). In order to continue to the next semester, however, a grade of B- is necessary.
3. Attendance Policy
3-1 Daily attendance, including subsections, is mandatory. No make-up classes are given. In First- and Second-Levels, at the end of the semester, the 5 lowest daily grades (F/ACT & R/W) will be deducted from the daily-grade section of ALL students' grade sheets. In other words, students may be absent five times from the main section or the subsection without any penalty, and those students with perfect attendance, for example, will benefit from the deduction of their five lowest grades. In the Third-Level, the 3 lowest daily grades (F/ACT & R/W) will be deducted at the end of the semester. Students should take into account religious holidays, exams in other courses, job interviews, etc. when using these pemitted absences. If a student is absent more than the allowed number of times in FACT/ACT class due to illness or an unforeseen emergency, the student must provide original documentation (e.g., a handwritten note--NOT a copy from the Health Clinic--from the doctor stating that the student was too ill to attend class) in order to be excused.
3-2 Upperclassmen (seniors, graduate students, law school students) should plan to use the allowed absences for scheduled job interviews, exams, etc. They should notify the instructor at the beginning of the semester if it will be necessary to miss class for job interviews or entrance exams/interviews for professional schools.
3-3 Students in First- and Second-Levels
should
attend only the section for which they are registered. Switching
to another section without the prior approval of the instructor will
result
in a grade of 0 for that day.
4. Quizzes
4-1 No make-up quizzes will be given. Instead, the lowest FACT quiz grade and the lowest Reading/Writing quiz grade will be dropped from the final grade sheet at the end of the semester.
4-2 If a student arrives late to a class when a quiz is given, s/he will be permitted to take the quiz during class time but 0.5 will be deducted from the final quiz grade.
5. Homework Policy
5-1 All written homework assignments are due at the start of class on the assigned due date. It will be considered one-day late if it is turned in later than the start of class on the assigned day.
5-2 If an assignment is turned in late, 10% will be deducted from the grade for every day it is late. Homework will not be accepted beyond one week after the due date.
5-3 In the Fourth- and Fifth- levels, oral and written projects will not be accepted beyond one week after the due date.
5-4 All
written homework must be done
INDIVIDUALLY.
If it is discovered that students have done a written assignment
together,
a grade of 0 will be given for the assignment. See the
Washington
University Integrity Policy on p. 22 of the University Bulletin.
6 Other Policies
6-1 Both in and out of class students are expected to speak in Japanese whenever they are interacting with speakers of Japanese in the language program. The language should be used to communicate with, not just to practice in the classroom, and students should make every effort to use what they have learned to date to interact outside of class with speakers of Japanese in the program.
6-2 One set of textbooks consisting of Parts I, II and III of Japanese: The Spoken Language is available for student use in the East Asia Library in January Hall.