FAQs Japanese

All Japanese courses are taught in German. This means that the course program, materials, grammar explanations, and assessments are in German.

If you wish to attend a Japanese course, you will need A2-level German. You may ask questions in English.

For information on the use of the target language as the language of instruction in advanced courses, consult the course description.

Japanese I, Japanese I (Part 2), Japanese III, and V run in fall semesters. Japanese I (Part 1), Japanese II and IV run in spring semesters.

No, at present we only offer courses during the semester.

In principle, yes. Please contact your lecturer well in advance. They will ask you about your prior knowledge and will suggest which course you might like to take.

If you prior knowledge is slightly below the requirements of one of our courses, you can catch up by studying the language autonomously. If you meet the requirements of the course before the course begins, you can attend the course. If your language skills don’t match any of the courses we offer, your lecturer will suggest other ways to improve your Japanese skills.

In principle, yes. Please contact your lecturer well in advance. They will ask you about your prior knowledge and will suggest which course you might like to take.

If you prior knowledge is slightly below the requirements of one of our courses, you can catch up by studying the language autonomously. If you meet the requirements of the course before the course begins, you can attend the course. If your language skills don’t match any of the courses we offer, your lecturer will suggest other ways to improve your Japanese skills.

No. Japanese 1 A 1.1 is designed for complete beginners. We recommend that you work on your skills independently, using the same materials that are used by the Language Center. Materials are available at the Self-Access Center.

A language meet-up run by the Self-Access Center would also be helpful. Please contact the lecturer to find out if your language skills are adequate to attend the beginner course.

No. Our courses are performance based, and we award ECTS points for successfully completed course work. If you wish to brush up your language skills, we recommend that you do so at the Self-Access Center.

Follow your teacher’s recommendations. You will find more information on our website about how our courses progress. The services and events offered by our Self-Access Center will also help you to improve and practice your language skills.

Students who have taken Japanese at the Language Center may be granted admission to Modern Japanese 3 run by the AOI (Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies) after consulting with a lecturer. Modern Japanese 3 is designed for those students who have studied all of Genki I and Genki II. If you are interested in taking this course, you should also work through the last three chapters (lessons 21-23), as well as the Conversation and Grammar Section and Reading and Writing Section. Course information is available in the University of Zurich Course Catalog under the Japanese Studies courses. If you are interested, please contact Guido Gefter (guido.gefter@aoi.uzh.ch).

 

Please learn the Hiragana and Katakana characters yourself and contact the lecturer for an assessment test. As the course book uses Kana characters, you need to be able to read these relatively fluently.

No. For didactic reasons, we aim for classes that are as homogeneous as possible. Although we understand that you would like to consolidate your skills, you cannot take a course below your level.

Genki: An integrated course in elementary Japanese I und II (The Japan Times). The book is available at Roellin Books.

Level	Grammar	Characters
Japanisch I A1.1 (4WS)	Lessons 1 - 6 (Genki I)	Hiragana/Katakana: You need to be able to read the characters. Writing by hand is not necessary.
Japanisch I A1.1 (Teil 1) (2WS)	Lessons 1 - 4 (part 1) (Genki I)	You need to be able to read all words in Hiragana and Katakana up to lesson 4 (part 1). Writing by hand is not necessary.
Japanisch I A1.1 (Teil 2) (2WS)	Lessons 4 (part 2) - 6 (Genki I)	You need to be able to read all words in Hiragana and Katakana up to lesson 6. Writing by hand is not necessary.
Japanisch II A1.2 (4WS)	Lessons  7 - 11 (Genki I)	Kanji: From lesson 3 to lesson 8 of the Kanji section (Genki I). You need to know the Kanji characters and learn the words that are marked.
Japanisch III (A2.1)	Lesson 12 (Genki I), Lessons 13 and 14 (Genki II)	Kanji: From lesson 9 to lesson 12 of the Kanji section (Genki I)
Japanisch IV (A2.1)	Lessons 15 - 17 (Genki II)	Kanji: From lesson 13 to lesson 16 of the Kanji section (Genki II)
Japanisch V (A2.2-B1.1)	Lessons 18 - 20 (Genki II)	Kanji: From lesson 17 to lesson 20 of the Kanji section (Genki II)

The Japanese I (Part 1) and Japanese I (Part 2) courses aim to cover the entire content of Japanese I A1.1 in two semesters. They are designed so that busy participants who can only attend Japanese classes once a week can slowly but steadily acquire A1.1 proficiency over the course of two semesters.

Yes, they can, if they enjoy independent study. The Self-Access Center provides various materials and consultations. A language meet-up provides an excellent opportunity to study Japanese regularly. If you then wish to take Japanese II in a subsequent semester, we recommend that you study Japanese using the Genki I book. If you choose to do this, please contact the lecturer in good time for an assessment test.

If you have other questions, please consult the general FAQs that relate to all Language Center courses and services.