|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
AP Japanese Language and Culture Course Perspective
|
|
| |
by Michael Kleinkopf
Boulder High School
Boulder, Colorado
|
|
| | The Advanced Placement Japanese course is the equivalent of a college level course that prepares students to successfully take the Advanced Placement Japanese exam. The course is usually the 4th year of study at the high school level. Students in the Advanced Placement course not only continue to refine skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and culture, but also develop a familiarity with the exam itself. For example, students become familiar with the format, test preparation resources, the scoring criteria and the types of tasks of the exam.
Format: Developing Computer Skills
Computer skills in Japanese are essential to success on the Advanced Placement exam. Unlike most other Advanced Placement courses, the Advanced Placement Japanese course is taken entirely on the computer. Students, therefore, must learn to efficiently type Japanese on the computer. In addition to typing skills, students also need to become comfortable reading Japanese text on the computer, and using headsets for listening and speaking tasks. Throughout the course students practice using computers while developing their skills in Japanese. Fortunately, there are many useful website that students can access to help during their studies.
Internet Resources
Japanese language websites provide valuable learning tools for the Advanced Placement Japanese course. The AP Central website provides students and teachers with an explanation of the different types of exam questions, access to previous years' questions and examples of student responses with commentaries. The site also contains the Japanese Advanced Placement Course Description book and the scoring guides for the different exam tasks. This site is essential for students as they prepare for the exam. In addition to the AP Central website, students can access on-line materials such as kanji practice, pictures, advertisements, Japanese newspapers, etc. There are also numerous Advanced Placement prep sites that have been developed by teachers. For example, there are several sites dedicated to learning Advanced Placement kanji. These sites are especially helpful for students to improve reading comprehension by learn kanji combinations. Throughout the Japanese AP course, students use sites like these to practice. Since many students already use the computer and the internet regularly in their daily lives, they tend to respond well to learning using computer based instruction.
Scoring Guide Language
It is helpful for teachers to evaluate their students' Japanese language and cultural knowledge using language from the Advanced Placement scoring guides. As students prepare for the Advanced Placement exam a familiarity with the terminology, and having had grading done using terminology from the Advanced Placement scoring guides, gives students an understanding of the grading expectations. Having students practice giving an appropriate response with elaboration and detail or giving a higher score for rich vocabulary and a variety of grammatical structures are examples of phrases from the Advanced Placement exam scoring guides that can be used to evaluate students' work.
Types of Tasks
During the AP Japanese course, students focus on developing proficiencies in three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal and presentational. The interpretive mode of communication is both reading and listening. On the AP exam students read and listen to authentic Japanese and answer multiple-choice questions in English. Students, therefore, practice reading and listening to Advanced Placement exam type tasks throughout the Advanced Placement course. Interpersonal mode activities are essentially exchanges of information, either written or oral. The interpersonal tasks on the exam are a written text chat and an oral conversation. Useful skills for the interpersonal tasks are being able to explain preferences, justify opinions, give examples and provide appropriate set responses (greetings, etc.). The presentational mode of communication on the exam is making both oral and written presentations on given topics. An important aspect of the presentational tasks is being organized and addressing all of the requirements stated in the prompt. For example, the Cultural Presentation task on the exam instructs students to discuss five aspects or examples of the topic and to "Begin with an appropriate introduction, give details, explain your own view or perspective and end with a concluding remark." Four minutes of preparation time is given before students begin the actual presentation. In order to succeed on the presentation tasks of the exam, students should be doing presentational activities following the AP test guidelines.
The Japanese Advanced Placement course and exam reflect the skills required to work and interact successfully in the modern world. Students of Japanese need to have interpretive, interpersonal and presentational skills, along with a solid understanding of Japanese culture. In addition, students who are comfortable using the computer (and other electronic devices like cell phones) in Japanese have gained valuable social and work skills. The benefits of taking the course and the exam make the challenges involved worthwhile!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Course Home Pages