Asian Studies

Language Programs

Chinese Japanese

Chinese

Chinese Language Program Director: Lin Zhu (lzhu4@tulane.edu)

The Chinese language program at Tulane provides instruction in Mandarin Chinese, the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan that is also spoken in Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries around the world. This program is designed for students with no prior knowledge of Chinese, and we also welcome students with a previous language background who wish to improve their Chinese proficiency. Students who complete the sequence will be able to speak, understand, read, and write Mandarin Chinese at an advanced level. The program is designed to equip students with the necessary linguistic tools and intercultural competence to prepare students for their future career, study, and life in Chinese-speaking communities.

Chinese Language Courses

Chinese Course Descriptions

  • ASTC 1010 - Beginning Chinese I: A learner-centered course designed for students with no previous knowledge of the Chinese language. It aims to develop students’ elementary communicative skills and knowledge of the Chinese language and culture, using Chinese language as the media of instruction. By the end of the semester, students may reach the proficiency level of novice-mid/high in interpersonal speaking, listening and reading, novice-high in presentational speaking, and novice-low in writing based on the ACTFL's (the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) proficiency guidelines. Students are expected to master the pinyin pronunciation system, have the ability to write and type basic Chinese characters, create with language, handle simple survival situations and develop a basic social-cultural awareness of the Chinese society.
    • Textbooks: Cynthia Y. Ning and John S. Montanaro. Encounters: Chinese Language and Culture, Student Book1. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Access to the companion website
  • ASTC 1020 - Beginning Chinese II: Designed for students who have completed ASTC 1010 or equivalent. It is a learner-centered course designed for students with some prior exposure to the Chinese language, including pinyin system and basic conversational skills. It aims to develop students’ communicative skills in Chinese language and increase students’ socio-culture awareness of the Chinese society, using Chinese as the language of instruction. By the end of the semester, students may reach the proficiency level of novice-high/intermediate-low interpersonal communication and intermediate low in listening and presentational speaking and novice-mid in writing based on the ACTFL's (the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) proficiency guidelines. Students are expected to handle simple survival situations and increasingly create with language under novel situations. Students are also expected to read authentic texts and type sentences and paragraphs.
    • Textbooks: Cynthia Y. Ning and John S. Montanaro. Encounters: Chinese Language and Culture, Student Book1&2. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Access to the companion website
  • ASTC 2030 - Intermediate Chinese I: Designed for students who have completed ASTC 1020 or equivalent. A learner-centered course designed for students with some prior exposure to the Chinese language. It aims to further develop students’ communicative skills in Chinese language and increase students’ socio-culture awareness of the Chinese society, with the Chinese as the media of class instruction. By the end of the semester, students may reach the proficiency level of intermediate-low to intermediate-mid in interpersonal communication mode; intermediate mid in presentational speaking mode, listening and reading; novice high-intermediate mid in writing based on the ACTFL's (the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) proficiency guidelines. Students are expected to create languages using complex sentences and connected speeches and communicate on topics covered and handle simple survival situations. Students are also expected to read longer authentic materials, and to read/write paragraph-length texts.
    • Textbooks: Cynthia Y. Ning and John S. Montanaro. Encounters: Chinese Language and Culture, Student Book2. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Access to companion website
  • ASTC 2040 - Intermediate Chinese II: Designed for students who have completed ASTC 2030 or equivalent. The second part of a yearlong course in Intermediate Chinese. The second part of a yearlong course in Intermediate Chinese. This course is for students who have successfully completed Chinese 2030 or its equivalent. At the end of the semester, students will achieve ACTFL Language Proficiency level intermediate mid in interpersonal speaking and intermediate high in presentational speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Students enrolling in Intermediate Chinese II should be able to converse on topics relevant to daily life and develop extensive reading and writing skills for authentic materials in Chinese. Students are expected to be fully engaged in class activities, and begin to develop autonomy in learning from external materials outside the classroom. Students should have formed a good learning routine including previewing and reviewing before/after each class by themselves, as well as reading and writing Chinese texts with minimal help.
    • Textbook: Cynthia Y. Ning and John S. Montanaro. Encounters: Chinese Language and Culture, Student Book3. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Access to the companion website
  • ASTC 3050 - Advanced Chinese I: (3 hour in-person meetings + 1 hour asynchronous learning time): Designed for students who have completed ASTC 2040 or equivalent. This course is suitable for those who have approximately Intermediate Mid-level based on ACTFL standard and have obtained prior knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, preferably with the equivalent of two years’ intensive Chinese learning experience. The course aims to continue improving students’ Chinese social-cultural awareness and communicative competence, including four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The goal of proficiency for this course is equivalent to Intermediate High based on ACTFL guidelines. Students are expected to be fully engaged in class activities, and to acquire the skills to learn on their own outside the classroom.
    • Textbook: Cynthia Y. Ning and John S. Montanaro. Encounters: Chinese Language and Culture, Student Book 4. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Access to the companion website
  • ASTC 3060 - Advanced Chinese II: (3 hour in-person meetings + 1 hour asynchronous learning time): Designed for students who have completed ASTC 3050 or equivalent. This course is suitable for students who have approximately Intermediate Mid-High level proficiency of Chinese, preferably with the equivalent of two years’ Chinese learning experience. The course is function-based, and it aims to continue improving students’ Chinese communicative and presentational competence. The goal of proficiency for this course is equivalent to emerging Advanced Low based on ACTFL guidelines. The aim is to equip students to be not only speak, but also compose texts that meet the required functions for advanced level, including making comparison, narration, report, description, etc. Students are expected to be fully engaged in class activities, and also acquire the skills to learn on their own outside the classroom. The skills required for self-teaching includes the ability to look up references, make inferences based on contextual means, and find resources for external input.
    • Textbook: Phyllis Zhang, Developing Chinese Fluency. Cengage Learning Asia. 2010
  • ASTC 3065 – Issues in Contemporary China: (3 hour in-person meetings+ 1 hour asynchronous learning time): is designed for students who have completed ASTC 3060 or equivalent. It will focus on developing students’ advanced language skills in Mandarin Chinese as well as knowledge of contemporary Chinese culture and society. Students are expected to listen, watch and read multi-media materials about modern Chinese society. The topics include population explosion, housing, education, employment, etc. By the end of the course, students are expected to reach Intermediate high to Advanced low (being able to narrate, describe in paragraph length) (as defined by ACTFL proficiency guidelines) in interpersonal and presentational communication, especially on social-oriented abstract topics.
    • Textbook: Duanduan Li; Irene Liu. Reading into a New China I: Deciphering a Changing Society (2nd edition). Cheng & Tsui. 2017
  • ASTC 4070 – Designed for students who have completed ASTC 3065 or equivalent. It will focus on developing students’ advanced language skills in Mandarin Chinese as well as knowledge of contemporary Chinese culture and society. Students will be reading and discussing selected texts on several key issues including love, gender equality, marriage, family, investment and urban consumption in class. In addition to the selected texts, students will learn through abundant authentic materials such as photos, music, news, mini movies, short videos, etc.
    • Textbook: Duanduan Li; Irene Liu. Reading Into a New China II: Deciphering a Changing Society. Cheng & Tsui. 2017
  • ASTC 4080 - Advanced Chinese Media Literacy: Designed for students who have completed ASTC 4070 or equivalent. It will focus on developing students’ advanced language skills in Mandarin Chinese as well as knowledge of contemporary Chinese culture and society. Students will be listening to, watching or reading multi-media materials from the media on modern Chinese society, including nation, business, crime, education, lifestyle, sports and entertainment and expatriate. By the end of the semester, students are expected to gain the vocabulary that help to improve Chinese media literacy and become comfortable in understanding media Chinese in text and in audio/video format, in sharing news stories and one’s opinion on a given piece of news, discuss the content and analyzing the social impact and cultural meaning of an event reported by the media.
    • Textbook: Li, Wen-chao Chris. Josephine H. Tsao. Chinese Media Literacy. Routledge. London and New York. 2016
  • ASTC 4350 – Chinese Literature and Culture: Designed for students who have completed three years of mandarin Chinese, ASTC-3065, or its equivalent. It is aimed at improving students reading and writing proficiency in the language through the study of the writings of Chinese authors. Students will read, discuss, and write about short stories written in the contemporary period.
  • ASTC 4360: Special Topics in Chinese Language, Course Limit: 4

Japanese

Director: Saeko Yatsuka-Jensen (syatsuka@tulane.edu) さえこせんせい Saeko sensei

The Japanese language program is comprised of two semesters each of Beginning (ASTJ 1010, 1020) and Intermediate Japanese (ASTJ 2030, 2040), where students will gain all four areas of language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. These are 4-credit hour courses, and the class meets three times a week in person, and the fourth credit hour of asynchronous study hour is required. These courses are available every term and will count toward both the foreign language requirements and the Japanese minor requirements.

Students have the option of taking an advanced course focusing on speaking offered in the fall (ASTJ 3050,) and the course focusing on Reading and Writing in the spring (ASTJ4060.) The prerequisite for both courses is ASTJ2040, so the students can start with either course. Upon the completion of the fifth Japanese course, the student can earn the Japanese Minor.

The Japanese program offers two program-wide cultural events a year: Japan Quiz Bowl in the fall and Ehoumaki (good luck sushi roll) workshop in the spring. These events not only provide opportunities to experience Japanese culture, but also, contribute to building a friendly and supportive community of learners. Students often find a life-long friend while taking Japanese courses.

The Japanese program trains the students in language skills and various cultural and social aspects so that they may go on to pursue graduate studies, employment in Japan, or other Japan-related fields. Students are encouraged to study abroad in Japan either during the summer months or for a semester or two during the school year.

Japanese Language Courses

Japanese Course Descriptions

  • ASTJ 1010 - Beginning Japanese I: Designed to bring a strong foundation to students who study Japanese for the first time. ASTJ1010 aims at developing student’s proficiency level from zero to a “novice mid” for the ACTFL Proficiency Guideline and a halfway to a “ N5” in JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test.) ASTJ1010 introduces elementary grammar and the phonetic syllables of hiragana and katakana. Typing is required; however, the students practice handwriting because good penmanship is valid in Japanese society. In addition to studying grammar points from the textbook, students have a group project, in-class presentations, video presentations, writing assignments, and workbook assignments. ASTJ1010 enable the students to communicate on daily life topics, introduce themselves, talk about daily routines, and make simple requests. The topics for this course are: Japanese names, Japanese currency, Mannerisms in greeting, Japanese Education System and College life, Japanese Houses, Japanese holidays and festivals.

  • ASTJ 1020 - Beginning Japanese II: Continues solidifying basic grammar as well as introducing approximately 50 simple kanji characters and a unique counting system. ASTJ1020 aims at developing a student’s proficiency level to a “novice high” for the ACTFL Proficiency Guideline and to a “N5” in JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test.) Students will master basic verb conjugations, various postpositional particles, adjective usage, and essential sentence structures. By the end of the semester, they can talk about more complex topics, such as describing experiences, giving advice, and explaining reasons, comparing objects and making requests. J-talk topics for this course are family relationships and kinship terms, food and eating habits in Japan, social interaction in a Japanese restaurant, traditional performance and martial arts, public transportation, New Year’s, the climate in Japan.

  • ASTJ 2030 - Intermediate Japanese I: Continues extending vocabulary and building kanji knowledge, learning an additional 80–100 characters. ASTJ 2030 aims at developing a student’s proficiency level to a "intermediate mid" for the ACTFL Proficiency Guideline and to a halfway to a “N4” in JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test.) The grammar focuses on more complicated sentence construction and use of clauses, compound verbs, expressing desires, likes, and dislikes, as well as learning past tense, potential tense, and giving suggestions, making offers, and asking for and giving permission. Students begin learning to speak in casual form to feel less awkward when they talk to Japanese peers. As for the reading, the course introduces the authentic Japanese materials such as advertisements, web pages, and so on. The J-Talk topics are names of years, annual events in Japan, Japanese Accommodations, gift giving in Japan, Japanese gesture, and Sushi. 

  • ASTJ 2040 - Intermediate Japanese II:Provides a solid foundation in essential intermediate grammar, honorific language, and complex sentence structure, and an additional 150 kanji characters. ASTJ2040 aims at developing a student’s proficiency level to a “intermediate high” for the ACTFL Proficiency Guideline and to a “N4” in JLPT(Japanese Language Proficiency Test). Students will learn the special and specific usage of particles, certain auxiliary verbs, the present continuous and past continuous tenses, the use of conditionals, suggesting inference, uncertainty, and reasons. Students also learn strategies to direct and indirect quoting of ideas and thoughts, expressing opinions in an appropriate manner, and making negative and affirmative requests. Completing this course enables students to navigate formal, business, or service-oriented interactions, understanding passive/causative actions, and reading basic, annotated Japanese content. The topics for J-Talk cultural discussions are visiting someones home, Japanese pop-culture, Religion in Japan, Japan's educational system, and Japanese proverbs.

  • ASTJ 3050 - Advanced Japanese Speaking I: Improves the students’ communication skills for conducting practical conversations, (including the ability to manage speech levels properly,) for stating opinions, giving explanations and making a presentation. ASTJ3050 aims at developing a student’s oral proficiency level to a "advanced low" for the ACTFL Proficiency Guideline The is taught in Japanese, and the students are asked to speak only in Japanese during the class. The course is divided into 5 units introducing 5 topics. The student fulfills the tasks to achieve the goal set for each topic that socio-cultural knowledge will be broadened.

    1. Memorable self-introduction in job-interview
    2. Peer interview, College Life
    3. Speech, Expressing Opinions and Thoughts
    4. Discussion, Life in Japan
    5. Debate, Pros and Cons in Plastic Surgery

  • ASTJ 3060 - Advanced Japanese Reading & Writing I: Focuses on four different types of articles concerning Japanese culture and society such as biography, travel guide, personal essay and gourmet report. The course aims at developing a student’s reading proficiency level to a "advanced low" for the ACTFL Proficiency Guideline . In addition to 160 new kanji, the practical reading strategies will be taught which is mainly how to parse sentences and follow the structure of compositions. Using this parsing technique, students will be able to overcome intimidation in long-seemingly -complicated articles and rediscover the joy of reading and writing. The course is divided into 4 units:

    1. Biography : Hayao Miyazaki, and Shinya Yamanaka
    2. Travel Guide: Traveling Japan
    3. Personal Essay: Foreign Experience
    4. Gourmet Report and Recipe: Favorite Food