(BA) (4-year-programme) - The University of Hong Kong

224School of Modern Languages and CulturesMCSP2008. World heritage in Asia (6 credits)Faculty of Social SciencesDepartment of SociologySOCI0017. Japanese economic institutions (6 credits)SOCI0018. Japanese society (6 credits)SOCI0090. World city Tokyo (6 credits)2. Japanese Language ProgrammeThe Japanese Language Programme provides students with well-balanced instruction in speaking,writing, listening, and reading from basic to high levels of proficiency. The courses are designed withproficiency-oriented language learning in mind, and coursework includes task-based activities thatenhance the development of students’ communicative abilities in Japanese. Many of the Japaneselanguage courses also aim at the training of “Japanese for specific purposes” such as businessJapanese, translation, and interpretation. Another area that the programme emphasizes is inquiries intothe culture, people, and society in Japan, which are incorporated into the language courses as well asthe Japanese-medium theme-based courses that have strong links with the language. Selected studentsare sent to Japanese universities to participate in exchange programmes. Furthermore, the studentswho attain a high level of Japanese proficiency will qualify for the programme of Special Honours inJapanese Language.Course structure(i)Japanese language core courses:Japanese language forms the backbone of the programme in Japanese Studies. Thecourses that make up this component are designed to provide balanced training inreading, writing, speaking and listening and to take students from an elementary to anadvanced level of competence in each of these skills.(ii) Japanese language elective courses:Courses in this category are used to back up the core language courses and aredesigned to further enhance students’ language skills. They also broaden students’knowledge of the Japanese language and Japanese culture/ society through theexamination of a wide range of materials, including excerpts from newspaper articles,essays, animation films, comic books, TV programmes, web pages and so on. Alllanguage elective courses require some knowledge of the Japanese language.(iii) Japanese-medium interdisciplinary content courses:Interdisciplinary content courses in the Japanese Language Programme are conductedin Japanese. They provide students with a deeper understanding of different facets ofJapanese society and culture through discussions and analyses in the language-relatedfields such as literature, linguistics, films, etc.The Major (72 credits)• Prerequisite courses (18 credits):Students with no prior qualifications in the Japanese language are strongly encouraged to takea total of 18 credits of first year courses on List A below, and students with prior