JAPAN 4
Intermediate Modern Japanese
Description: Lecture, five hours. Enforced requisite: course 3 or 8 with grade of C or better or Japanese placement test. Not open to students who have learned, from whatever source, enough Japanese to qualify for more advanced courses. Designed to strengthen communicative skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Grammar reviews, vocabulary building skills, language learning skills, and sociocultural knowledge. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
I loved this class. He's pretty easy-going and not that tough of a grader, though be forewarned -- if it's apparent that you already have a more-than-average mastery of Japanese (at least relative to the rest of the class), he will be grading you a bit harder than the others. This is especially relevant if you test in and/or your speaking ability is significantly better than your handle on grammar/kanji. But, in general, you have to completely forget or misuse grammar to get marked down in oral tests (he even corrected me a few times on my grammar, and I got a perfect score overall). He's a bit picky when it comes kanji on homework (write it even if you haven't learned it! it makes for good practice! ...so he says), but usually you don't have to write kanji on the tests OR the finals, unless it's a kanji section. He's planning on starting a J-pop singing club and a manga-reading club in the near future. I probably should have just left it at that and not written anything else...
I loved this class. He's pretty easy-going and not that tough of a grader, though be forewarned -- if it's apparent that you already have a more-than-average mastery of Japanese (at least relative to the rest of the class), he will be grading you a bit harder than the others. This is especially relevant if you test in and/or your speaking ability is significantly better than your handle on grammar/kanji. But, in general, you have to completely forget or misuse grammar to get marked down in oral tests (he even corrected me a few times on my grammar, and I got a perfect score overall). He's a bit picky when it comes kanji on homework (write it even if you haven't learned it! it makes for good practice! ...so he says), but usually you don't have to write kanji on the tests OR the finals, unless it's a kanji section. He's planning on starting a J-pop singing club and a manga-reading club in the near future. I probably should have just left it at that and not written anything else...
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - Kawanishi's class was my personal favorite class from this quarter. She is a great teacher, really nice and very willing to help you out if you are struggling with the material. Japan 4 as a whole to me felt like a class with particular emphasis on grammar and speaking. While you can expect to see some kanji and some listening exercises, you really want to focus on particles and grammar points introduced in class. The other focus was on new vocabulary, so make sure to memorize the words introduced throughout the quarter. When I took the class, 30% of the class grade came from the final (20% written, 10% oral), 34% from quizzes, and the rest from homework and participation. Classroom environment is very casual. Since we're all just entering intermediate Japanese, she's okay with mistakes and was very forgiving in my experience, often helping you along during speaking practice in class. Also, despite what it says on the syllabus, I would arrive 10-15 minutes late to class all the time and I never got docked points for it even though in the syllabus she said she would. However, absences must be excused, and this is one of those classes you're expected to attend so don't skip lecture. When covering grammar and vocab in class, she would use lots of examples and videos. Homework is by-the-book. Tobira II textbook and workbook, and nearly every assignment came from the workbook. Kanji and grammar is at the start of each chapter in the textbook, and Ch. 11-13 were covered in my experience. Homework is time-consuming and graded on correctness, but Kawanishi returns the homework to you with annotations showing where you messed up, and allows resubmission for full credit. All in all, great teacher who teaches you a lot. This isn't an easy A class, but as long as you pay attention during lecture and do the homework, you should be in the clear. Would take again.
Fall 2024 - Kawanishi's class was my personal favorite class from this quarter. She is a great teacher, really nice and very willing to help you out if you are struggling with the material. Japan 4 as a whole to me felt like a class with particular emphasis on grammar and speaking. While you can expect to see some kanji and some listening exercises, you really want to focus on particles and grammar points introduced in class. The other focus was on new vocabulary, so make sure to memorize the words introduced throughout the quarter. When I took the class, 30% of the class grade came from the final (20% written, 10% oral), 34% from quizzes, and the rest from homework and participation. Classroom environment is very casual. Since we're all just entering intermediate Japanese, she's okay with mistakes and was very forgiving in my experience, often helping you along during speaking practice in class. Also, despite what it says on the syllabus, I would arrive 10-15 minutes late to class all the time and I never got docked points for it even though in the syllabus she said she would. However, absences must be excused, and this is one of those classes you're expected to attend so don't skip lecture. When covering grammar and vocab in class, she would use lots of examples and videos. Homework is by-the-book. Tobira II textbook and workbook, and nearly every assignment came from the workbook. Kanji and grammar is at the start of each chapter in the textbook, and Ch. 11-13 were covered in my experience. Homework is time-consuming and graded on correctness, but Kawanishi returns the homework to you with annotations showing where you messed up, and allows resubmission for full credit. All in all, great teacher who teaches you a lot. This isn't an easy A class, but as long as you pay attention during lecture and do the homework, you should be in the clear. Would take again.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - I took a placement exam that allowed me to go straight to Japanese 4, and I have thoughts. First off, the entire class is in Japanese and you're only expected to speak in Japanese. However, she speaks very slowly and clearly, so it's easy to understand her. You don't get much homework in this class. You have a few pages of the Japanese workbook that you turn in at the end of every chapter. For homework, you're mainly supposed to review the textbook grammar points and vocab in advance, and you should definitely do this because it'll help you immensely during class. Instead of lecture, Nogami sensei goes through the grammar points and asks students questions, and you're supposed to answer her questions using the grammar points and vocab you learned that day. It's a little nerve-wracking because you have to participate during the lecture, and she'll call on you to answer her questions. Nogami sensei is intimidating at first, but she's actually really nice and accommodating. I emailed her because I had to miss class, and she was super understanding. She does not tolerate BS though, and if it's clear that you didn't do the homework or come prepared, she might call you out. The tests in this class are definitely doable and definitely reflect what you learned in class. Nogami is pretty patient and she has funny quips here and there. I actually really enjoy the structure of her class, and it is very effective at learning Japanese. If you have trouble speaking Japanese, taking her class is great because you get a lot of practice.
Fall 2021 - I took a placement exam that allowed me to go straight to Japanese 4, and I have thoughts. First off, the entire class is in Japanese and you're only expected to speak in Japanese. However, she speaks very slowly and clearly, so it's easy to understand her. You don't get much homework in this class. You have a few pages of the Japanese workbook that you turn in at the end of every chapter. For homework, you're mainly supposed to review the textbook grammar points and vocab in advance, and you should definitely do this because it'll help you immensely during class. Instead of lecture, Nogami sensei goes through the grammar points and asks students questions, and you're supposed to answer her questions using the grammar points and vocab you learned that day. It's a little nerve-wracking because you have to participate during the lecture, and she'll call on you to answer her questions. Nogami sensei is intimidating at first, but she's actually really nice and accommodating. I emailed her because I had to miss class, and she was super understanding. She does not tolerate BS though, and if it's clear that you didn't do the homework or come prepared, she might call you out. The tests in this class are definitely doable and definitely reflect what you learned in class. Nogami is pretty patient and she has funny quips here and there. I actually really enjoy the structure of her class, and it is very effective at learning Japanese. If you have trouble speaking Japanese, taking her class is great because you get a lot of practice.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - (My class was over zoom) I've had Nogami Sensei for al 3 quarters (J4-J6), and while she may have the reputation of being scary and tough, she is one of the best professors I've ever had. It is definitely not an easy A, but without a doubt your Japanese will get exponentially better. The class was very participation-oriented where she would constantly call on random people and ask questions based on what you're studying, and if you didn't know the answer or took too long she would move on to someone else. If this happens do not take it personally; she's just trying to get the class going. If she sees that you're genuinely trying, she will do all that she can to help you get better. If she sees that you're constantly failing to speak/read Japanese and answer questions, she will have less patience with you. This can all be avoided if you do your part and review, which I highly recommend you don't skip (review grammar, vocab, kanji, dialogue & yomimono). If you're ever struggling, I recommend emailing sensei about what you're having trouble with and scheduling an office-hour meeting so she doesn't just assume that you're not trying. We had a schedule of the quarter which we followed to the tee, so the class as a whole was very structured and organized. The tests were textbook-oriented and we had a packet of homework due about once a week, along with a few essays and speeches (all doable). If you are truly passionate about learning the language and want to truly get better (ESPECIALLY if you're a Japanese Major), do yourself a favor and take this professor.
Fall 2021 - (My class was over zoom) I've had Nogami Sensei for al 3 quarters (J4-J6), and while she may have the reputation of being scary and tough, she is one of the best professors I've ever had. It is definitely not an easy A, but without a doubt your Japanese will get exponentially better. The class was very participation-oriented where she would constantly call on random people and ask questions based on what you're studying, and if you didn't know the answer or took too long she would move on to someone else. If this happens do not take it personally; she's just trying to get the class going. If she sees that you're genuinely trying, she will do all that she can to help you get better. If she sees that you're constantly failing to speak/read Japanese and answer questions, she will have less patience with you. This can all be avoided if you do your part and review, which I highly recommend you don't skip (review grammar, vocab, kanji, dialogue & yomimono). If you're ever struggling, I recommend emailing sensei about what you're having trouble with and scheduling an office-hour meeting so she doesn't just assume that you're not trying. We had a schedule of the quarter which we followed to the tee, so the class as a whole was very structured and organized. The tests were textbook-oriented and we had a packet of homework due about once a week, along with a few essays and speeches (all doable). If you are truly passionate about learning the language and want to truly get better (ESPECIALLY if you're a Japanese Major), do yourself a favor and take this professor.
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