Japanese Language Courses (NEST) (in Hakusan Campus) 2011 Academic Year(October,2011-July,2012) Nihongo for Exchange Students at Toyo Inside the NEST Program 1. Objectives Toyo University offers 22 credits of intense Japanese language instruction throughout the year with the aim of raising exchange students' proficiency to a level that will allow them not only to pursue their academic interests but also to fully enjoy campus life. If students haven't passed Level 1 or Level 2 of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), they must take NEST Program. We have committed ourselves to the following Japanese proficiency goals. Through participation in NEST, students should become able to: 1. meet the needs of daily life communicating exclusively in Japanese 2. gather, convey and discuss information about recent events and social issues in Japanese 3. gather, convey and discuss information related to their academic disciplines in Japanese, using academic vocabulary specific to their fields Students are placed in one of three levels of instruction based on the results of a Japanese placement test (this does not apply to Japanese Culture). 2.Course Names and Content Students are required to enroll in courses at the beginning of each semester. The names of NEST courses are given below. Instruction materials and learning activities vary according to the level of instruction. Integrated Japanese I/II (5 credits each) Students increase their overall communicative ability while learning new expressions through activities that involve the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Japanese Reading and Composition I/II (2 credits each) Students study Japanese expressions and compositional structures through intensive reading and writing. In addition to activities that require them to employ previously learned expressions, students move progressively through more challenging materials. Kanji Literacy I/II (1 credit each) Students intensively study Chinese characters, which are indispensable to understanding the Japanese language. Students systematically study and review kanji that are introduced in the other language courses. Project Work I/II (1 credit each) Based on their individual interests, students gather information through means such as library research and field surveys, analyze it, and convey it through written essays and oral presentations. When necessary students may need to learn a limited number of new expressions, but primarily they should work creatively using the expressions they have previously studied. Japanese Listening Comprehension I/II (1 credit each) While intensively working to raise their listening comprehension, students study oral expressions used in various daily activities. They also attempt to comprehend Japanese used in films and TV dramas. Japanese Culture I/II (1 credit each) Students study Japanese traditional culture, art, craftwork and cultural history. These classes are held on Saturdays and include several field trips. 3.Course Schedule All Japanese language courses listed above are taught during first and second periods (9:00-10:30, 10:40-12:10). Afternoons are left open for students to enroll in the discipline-specific courses that best match their individual interests.