Professor
Y Nogami
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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.
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Most Helpful Review
Nogami-sensei is, needless to say, one of the best Japanese teachers that you would ever meet. Not only in UCLA, but just in general. She makes the most of the 50~75 minutes/day and makes interesting comments and jokes here and there to drag everyone in to make things memorable, and to make you feel like you're actually in the class. Her memorization skills are amazing, as she uses grammar and vocabulary only to the point that you learned. True, she may be a hard grader when it comes to presentations and such, but her chapter tests are, overall, fair.
Nogami-sensei is, needless to say, one of the best Japanese teachers that you would ever meet. Not only in UCLA, but just in general. She makes the most of the 50~75 minutes/day and makes interesting comments and jokes here and there to drag everyone in to make things memorable, and to make you feel like you're actually in the class. Her memorization skills are amazing, as she uses grammar and vocabulary only to the point that you learned. True, she may be a hard grader when it comes to presentations and such, but her chapter tests are, overall, fair.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - Oh man this class was ROUGH. I repeat, this class is not for the faint of heart. I was one of the J10 kids who passed with an A but got hit like a sledgehammer by this class. In a way, I do feel like you are at a disadvantage if you are one of the summer kids since there's just so much vocab and grammar we just don't know. Get ready to work hard and put in your 110%. I would prep every day before class for two hours and I would still get lost. Prof. Nogami will cold call on people randomly so be prepared to answer any question at any time. It is really discouraging when you don't understand her question and she doesn't clarify. But don't give up!!! Even if you don't get what she's saying, just try your best to answer anyway. It's always better to be wrong than to not say anything because it shows her that you're trying your best. Unfortunately if you don't understand her or a word/phrase she uses, she won't clarify. She'll just move on from you and keep asking other people. Learn from your mistakes and misunderstandings. Try writing down all the words you hear but don't know so you can look it up later. Be early and never late because Prof. Nogami will call you out. I tried my hardest, participated as much as I could, went to office hours and gave it my all. But I always didn't do very well on the tests and struggled the entire quarter. So I barely scraped by with a C+. However, when I did go to office hours to talk to Prof. Nogami, she was always kind and helpful. She encouraged me to keep trying my best and told me she noticed my efforts in class. So try your best and she will notice! The class has two types of vocab quizzes (kanji writing and kanji reading), two essays, three unit tests, a speech, and homework. There is also a final and a final oral interview one on one with her. For me the unit tests were the hardest (I got Ds on the first and third one...) but a lot of people did much better so it's honestly up to you. I'm just not very good at the tests. I did really well on the oral interview. She just asks about the units and what we learned and our opinions. She is a strict and difficult teacher but she will push you to become better not only with your speaking but with your grammar, writing, and even thinking.
Fall 2018 - Oh man this class was ROUGH. I repeat, this class is not for the faint of heart. I was one of the J10 kids who passed with an A but got hit like a sledgehammer by this class. In a way, I do feel like you are at a disadvantage if you are one of the summer kids since there's just so much vocab and grammar we just don't know. Get ready to work hard and put in your 110%. I would prep every day before class for two hours and I would still get lost. Prof. Nogami will cold call on people randomly so be prepared to answer any question at any time. It is really discouraging when you don't understand her question and she doesn't clarify. But don't give up!!! Even if you don't get what she's saying, just try your best to answer anyway. It's always better to be wrong than to not say anything because it shows her that you're trying your best. Unfortunately if you don't understand her or a word/phrase she uses, she won't clarify. She'll just move on from you and keep asking other people. Learn from your mistakes and misunderstandings. Try writing down all the words you hear but don't know so you can look it up later. Be early and never late because Prof. Nogami will call you out. I tried my hardest, participated as much as I could, went to office hours and gave it my all. But I always didn't do very well on the tests and struggled the entire quarter. So I barely scraped by with a C+. However, when I did go to office hours to talk to Prof. Nogami, she was always kind and helpful. She encouraged me to keep trying my best and told me she noticed my efforts in class. So try your best and she will notice! The class has two types of vocab quizzes (kanji writing and kanji reading), two essays, three unit tests, a speech, and homework. There is also a final and a final oral interview one on one with her. For me the unit tests were the hardest (I got Ds on the first and third one...) but a lot of people did much better so it's honestly up to you. I'm just not very good at the tests. I did really well on the oral interview. She just asks about the units and what we learned and our opinions. She is a strict and difficult teacher but she will push you to become better not only with your speaking but with your grammar, writing, and even thinking.
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