Courses at the University are made up of individual modules. A basic honours degree is a four-year course and a total of 8 modules per year must be taken. Each module equals 15 credits, lasts 13/14 weeks (12 teaching weeks plus one/two week/s of assessment) per semester and represents 150 hours of academic effort on the students'part. The academic year is divided into two semesters. The credits are part of the national system "Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)".

Japanese is offered at two levels as one of the optional modules to the 2 nd and 3 rd year students from the Computer Games Technology and the Computer Arts courses.

There are altogether four modules of Japanese: two modules for beginners and two for post-beginners. Each module (mixture of language and Japanese studies) has five contact hours per week for 12 weeks, totalling 60 contact hours in each semester. Out of the five contact hours per week, one hour is designated for Japanese studies, which consist of a series of lectures, group discussions and presentations. The Japanese studies part of the module provides a rudimentary knowledge of the Japanese culture, society, and history. The students are expected to spend seven hours per week on self-study.

The textbooks used are: Japanese for Busy People Vols.1 & 2. Throughout each module, classes are supplemented by language laboratory work (cassettes, CDs and videos) and worksheets including authentic materials from other sources produced by the staff. At the end of four modules, the students are taught hiragana, katakana and about 300 kanji.

Assessment Method

There are four units of assessment. These are as follows:

Unit one (test) - oral 15 % (weighting)

Unit two (test) - written (listening, reading, writing, and grammar) 60%

Unit three (coursework) - essay in English on a subject related to Japanese culture, society or history. 15%

Unit four (coursework) - portfolio 10% This is a small selection of pieces of work, tasks, and activities, which are completed throughout the year as part of the course. In addition, the students write a reflective comment introducing the items contained within the portfolio. The purpose of this unit of assessment is to train students' awareness of how languages are learned and how skills can be improved by reflection on their own learning strategies.

Study Period Abroad

Not accredited.

Staff responsible : Dr. Rie Adya

The University has an official link with Gifu University . From 2004, every year two student who successfully complete Japanese modules are sent to study there for one year. Tuition fees are waived and they are housed in the University accomodation. In 2006 one student received an AIEJ scholarship.

From 2001, every year one or two students from the School of Computing and Creative Technologies have a one-year work placement in Japan organized by JETRO. Knowledge of the Japanese language is a prerequisite for obtaining the work placement.

Postgraduate

There are no taught or research based postgraduate courses in Japanese.