This course is for students who have knowledge of basic Japanese grammar and speaking skills at the intermediate level. The course has two major goals: One is to develop functional Japanese

language skills used both for reading everyday life in Japan and discussing the social and cultural

subjects studied in class. The other is to explore content areas on the selected cultural/social

trends in modern-day Japan. Students will be exposed to a variety of written and video materials

as input and given opportunities for creative language production such as discussion,

interviewing, essay writings, and presentations. Some intermediate grammar and kanji/kanji

compounds will be focused and studied.