<p>Studying Japanese at Drake University is rewarding and productive from the very first day of class. Regardless of the level of study, students work with a native speaker of Japanese and no more than three classmates and use Japanese exclusively to communicate things that are truly meaningful, i.e., not the mindless filler materials found in many current textbooks.</p><p align="center"><img src="/id090c7f6a81477722" alt="" width="320" height="240" /> <img src="/id090c7f6a81477723" alt="" width="320" height="240" /></p><p>Through the standard sequence of courses (001, 002, 051, 052, 140, 150), students expand their competencies beyond the initial emphasis on speaking in order to develop skills in listening, writing, and reading.</p><p>In each Japanese course, as in every language course in the program, students produce an individual electronic portfolio that normally consists of recordings students make of their own voices following a provided model, samples of videos students make of themselves, writing samples, clips from examinations, etc. This record allows professors and the students themselves to track progress both within a given semester and over several semesters. Students can also use the ePortfolios after graduation to demonstrate to potential employers or graduate schools their ability to function in Japanese.</p><p>Culture is not, of course, neglected in these courses. The faculty of World Languages and Cultures is well aware that culture is embedded in every language. The study of culture is additionally enhanced through the use of weblogs that focus the students attention on many important topical, historical, and useful themes. The blogs are utilized in both English and Japanese, depending on the students level of proficiency with the language.</p><p><span style="color:black">The DULAP Japanese program sponsors Japanese cultural learning activities, such as origami workshops, calligraphy workshops and karaoke night every semester for students of Japanese and Japanese speakers in the surrounding community.</span></p><p><img src="/id090c7f6a8146c894" alt="" width="320" height="240" /> <img src="/id090c7f6a8146c897" alt="" width="320" height="240" /></p><p><strong>Faculty Contact Information</strong></p><p><span style="color: black">Chinatsu Sazawa<br />Email: <a href="mailto:chinatsu.sazawa@drake.edu"><span style="color:black;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">chinatsu.sazawa@drake.edu</span></a><br />Office: 214 Meredith Hall 271-4992</span><br />AIM chinatsusazawa<span style="color:black"> </span></p><p style="text-autospace:none"> </p><p style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color: black"><strong>Courses Offered</strong></span></p><p><a href="/id090c7f6a807c6bff">Japanese 001</a></p><p><a href="/id090c7f6a807c6c51">Japanese 002</a></p><p><a href="/id090c7f6a807c6c92">Japanese 051</a></p><p><a href="/id090c7f6a807c6cd9">Japanese 052</a></p><p><a href="/id090c7f6a807c6cfb">Japanese 140</a></p><p> </p>
Japanese at Drake