Japanese Program

Intro / Japanese Language at OSU / Major / Declaring a Major / Minor / Declaring a Minor

Introduction

The Department offers a comprehensive program in the language and culture of Japan. In addition to five levels of Japanese language and two semesters of Classical Japanese, faculty teach a range of courses: from introductions to Japanese culture, literature in translation, and linguistics to film and media.

Japanese Language at OSU

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures (DEALL) at The Ohio State University offers a multi-track program in Japanese language, under the leadership of Professors Mari Noda, Charles Quinn, and Etsuyo Yuasa. DEALL's Japanese Language Program is nationally known for the quality. There are a number of study abroad opportunities (see below). Information on scholarships and financial aid is available from our university's East Asian Studies Center home page.

The Japanese Language Program includes 5 levels of instruction in 3 formats: Regular classroom, Individualized Instruction, and Intensive classroom in both academic year and summer. Coverage of contents is consistent across all tracks. See also the Japanese Language Study at OSU: Means and Objectives page. Go to Courses to see information about courses being offered during the current academic year, with links to course pages where applicable.  If you have any questions about the Japanese language program, please contact Ms. Yuko Kuwai via email at kuwai.1@osu.edu.

Regular track: students meet regularly in 55-minute classes. Full credit hours must be completed within the semester. Courses in Levels 1 through 4 are offered in this format.

Individualized Instruction track: This track features mastery-based self-paced study and offers greater flexibility in scheduling and, at the advanced level, in topical contents. Students may schedule a series of one-on-one sessions, each session lasting 15 minutes. Students may register for and complete the full credit hours or fewer, depending on the desired pace. The first three courses in the sequence (the GEC courses) and Level 5 courses are offered in this format.

Intensive Track: Students may accelerate their study of Japanese by taking summer or academic-year intensive courses. Courses in Levels 1, 2, and 4 are offered in the Summer as part of SPEAC. Summer intensive classes meet four to 5 hours daily. Application is necessary to take SPEAC courses. The first of the two courses in the sequence must be completed in the first half of the Summer, the second course in the latter half of the summer.

Academic Year: Levels 2 and 3 are offered in Autumn and Spring Semesters, respectively. Combining the academic year and summer intensive courses, students can complete four levels of instruction in as few as 15 months.

Downloadable brochure:  An integrated summary of the Japanese language program's courses, levels and tracks is available here as a pdf. Japanese Program at OSU.pdf

Level 1 [8 credits]

Japanese 1101-1102 [4 cr each] in Regular, Individualized or Summer Intensive track. Standard Japanese at the elementary level, with emphasis on building and applying basic language knowledge in doing things in Japanese; exercises in oral interactions and interactions involving text; introduction to the Japanese writing system (kana and kanji).

Level 2 [9 credits]

Japanese 1103-2102. Japanese 1103 [4 cr] in Regular, Individualized or Summer Intensive; Japanese 2102 [5 cr] in Regular or Summer Intensive. Alternatively, 2141/2151 [4 + 5 credits, respectively] as Academic Year Intensive. Continuation of Level 1 with an increasing emphasis on communicative strategy building.

Level 3 [10 credits]

Japanese 4101-4102 [5 cr. each] in Regular Classroom track or 4142/4152 [5 cr. Each] in Academic Year Intensive track. Continuation of Level 2. Completion of Level 3 or equivalent is required of undergraduate major in Japanese.

Level 4 [6 credits]

Japanese 5102-5102 [3 cr. each] in Regular or Summer Intensive. Continuation of Level 3 with an increasing emphasis on presentation mode of communication.

Level 5 [6 credits]

* Students in Level 5 should register for the individualized track courses.
Japanese 5103-5104 [3 cr. each] in Individualized. This series of courses allows the exceptional undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural discourses of Japan through discussion of topics that interest them, in texts, broadcast, and other relevant media of modern Japan.

Classical

Study Abroad

DEALL has a relationship with Hokkaido University (Sapporo), International Christian University (Tokyo), Nanzan University (Nagoya), Tenri University (Tenri), University of Tsukuba (Tsukuba), and Waseda University (Tokyo). 

Available study abroad programs include: 
Hokkaido University (Exchange)
International Christian University (Exchange)
Nanzan University (Exchange)
Rikkyo University (Exchange)
Tenri University (Exchange)
University of Tsukuba (Exchange)
Waseda University (Exchange)
Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Tokyo Internship
Exploring Environmental And Human Health Issues In Japan
Japan: Places Elsewhere/Understanding Similarity and Difference
Japanese American Design Experience (JADE)

For more information, contact Mr. Michael Volk.

Students' Comments

"Getting to work with native speakers both inside and outside the classroom; incredibly detailed grammar and culture explanations, skilled teachers...It is a great course and I think that when I go to Japan there is going to be a lot of room for improvement in my Japanese but at least I will have the framework of the language down to a T. Thanks to all the great teachers..."

"This program, I believe is the next best thing to cultural immersion, linguistically almost flawless. It is impossible to walk out of the program without getting something out of it unless you don’t show up. All of the professors were very helpful and understanding of my goals. You can get so much out of the program and it requires a lot of effort. One of the best language intensive programs around. In studying many languages I found it very helpful."

"The strength of the program is thoroughness of material covered. I have put in so much time and I feel that my skills in Japanese improved greatly."

"This course has actually been the most I've learned in a Japanese class so far, and equally the hardest I've worked."

Japanese Major

B.A. Degree in Japanese

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures offers an undergraduate major in Japanese. The major program includes studies in language, literature, and linguistics. The total number of hours for a Japanese major is 48 semester credit hours. Any given course can count only toward the fulfillment of one category requirement, even if the course appears as an option in more than one category.

Prerequisites: (15 credit hrs.)
1101, 1102, 1103/2141, 2231

Requirements: (33 credit hrs.)

1. LANGUAGE (15 credit hrs.)
   2102/2151, 4101/4142, 4102/4152
2. LITERATURE AND LINGUISTICS (6 credit hrs.)
   One course each from categories (i) and (ii)
   (i)  J2451, J2452, J4400
   (ii) J4401, 5400, 5454, 5455, 5456, *E5383, *5380, *5381
3. ADVANCED STUDIES (2 courses for a minimum of 6 credit hrs.)
   4193, 4200, 4998, 4999, 5111, 5112, 5101, 5102, 5103, 5104, 5105, 5315, 5316, 5380, 5381, 5400, 5454, 5455, 5456, E5797 (study abroad)
4. EAST ASIAN ARTS, CULTURE, HISTORY, THOUGHT (6 credit hrs.) EALL2284, EALL3223, EALL3299, EALL3241, EALL3405, EALL3446, EALL3457, EALL 4200, EALL4407, J5271, EALL5310, J4400, J5315, J5316, EALL5383, EALL5475, EALL5477; HIST3425, HISTORY3426; HISTART4820, HISTART5821, HISTART5822, MRS 3211

All courses are Japanese unless otherwise marked. 

* Graduate courses open to undergraduate majors with permission of the instructor. 

Declaring a Major

To declare a major, you should schedule an appointment with Tommy Beyl in Hagerty 355 by calling 292-8485. If you are having difficulties scheduling an appointment please contact Tommy Beyl by E-mail at beyl.1@osu.edu

Japanese Minor 

The minor in Japanese consists of 15 credit hours of prerequisites and 14 credit hours of course work beyond the stated prerequisites. The purpose of the prerequisites is to give students a linguistic and cultural foundations upon which to build an understanding of Japan. The courses beyond the prerequisites are intended to provide more substantial training in the Japanese language and further cultural understanding. Selections of courses are to be made with the advice and counsel of an adviser, and students should be aware that not all of the courses that are available for the minor are offered every year so that early and careful planning is advised. No more than 6 of the credit hours required for the minor can be transfer credits.

Prerequisite courses (15 credit hours)

Japanese 1101.01, 1102.01, 1103.01, or I.I. or SPEAC equivalents (J1101.51/1101.02, J1102.51/1102.02, J1103.51/1103.02/2141; Japanese 2231

Required: (14 credit hrs.)

1. LANGUAGE: 2102.01 or 2102.02 or 2151 (5 credit hrs.)
2. LITERATURE/LINGUISTICS (3 credit hrs.): One of the following: Japanese: 2451, 2452, 4401, 5315, 5316, 5380, 5400, 5454, 5455, 5456, or E5383

3. ELECTIVES (6-10 credit hours.): 

   Must complete two full courses from the following:

   4101, 4102, 4142, 4152, 4400, 4401, 5111, 5112, 5271, 5380, 5381, 5454, 5455, 5456, or other JP‐lang above Level Two.

All courses are Japanese unless otherwise marked. 

* Graduate courses open to undergraduate minors with permission of instructor. 

NOTE: EM and Transfer Credit cannot be used in the elective category.

Declaring a Minor

 To declare a minor, you should schedule an appointment with Tommy Beyl in Hagerty 355 by calling 292-8485. If you are having difficulties scheduling an appointment please contact Tommy Beyl by E-mail at beyl.1@osu.edu 

[pdf] - Some links on this page are to Adobe .pdf files requiring the use of Adobe Reader. If you need these files in a more accessible format, please contact deall@osu.edu.