First-Year Japanese This course is an introduction to the modern Japanese language aimed at acquisition of the four basic skills speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. The emphasis is on thorough mastery of the basic structures of Japanese through intensive oral-aural practice and extensive use of audiovisual materials. The two kana syllabaries and kanji (characters) will be introduced toward the goals of developing reading skills and reinforcing grammar and vocabulary acquisition.

Variation and Change in Japanese (In English) What can linguistic change tell us about human cognition and behavior? How does the notion of “politeness” vary across communities? How do speakers of Japanese perform gender and other social identities?  In this course we will address linguistic diversity and dynamism by examining the Japanese language. Topics include workplace discourse and change in honorific systems. Employing classic works in linguistics and addressing contemporary cultural materials such as manga and J-drama we will apply theoretical frameworks from (socio-)pragmatics, historical linguistics and linguistic typology to gain a deeper understanding of how and why Japanese has developed to its present forms and uses. Students with an interest in linguistics, or in teaching and learning language, or science in general, may also enjoy the analytical approach. (No prerequisites. JAPN0103 above or equivalent recommended). Heritage speakers are also welcome.

Advanced Japanese In this course we will read, analyze, and discuss advanced Japanese materials from a variety of modern and contemporary sources.

Third-Year Japanese This course is a continuation of JAPN 0301.

Expressive Japanese In this seminar, we engage in an in-depth exploration of the psychological dimensions of Japanese expressions across various genres, such as gastronomy, music, arts, fictions and science. We analyze how states, events and causation, as well as sensory experience (taste, sound, vision, emotion) are conveyed in language through cross-linguistic and cross-cultural comparison, critical reading. Students will investigate often-overlooked aspects of Japanese, including motion verbs, emotion adjectives, logical connectives, modality markers and figurative speech, while drawing on their own thematic interests. Activities include quizzes, exercises, discussions, presentations and projects. This class is taught primarily in Japanese.

Introduction to Japanese Linguistics (in English) In this course, we will explore the structure and usage of Japanese through speech and text samples from media, entertainment, and everyday communication. We will analyze speech sounds (phonetics/phonology), word formation (morphology), sentence formation (syntax), and larger structures (discourse), alongside current research on vocabulary (lexicon) and meaning (semantics). Students will develop problem-solving and reasoning skills by applying linguistic theories to various data, learning to formulate research questions and support arguments with evidence. Through comparing Japanese with English and other languages, students will engage in discussions about the similarities and differences among diverse human communication systems. This course is taught in English; no Japanese or linguistics knowledge is required.

First-Year Japanese   This course is an intensive continuation of JAPN 0101.  This course is required for those students wishing to take JAPN 0103 in the Spring.

Third-Year Japanese This advanced course aims to increase the student's proficiency in modern standard Japanese, both spoken and written. A variety of written and audiovisual materials will be used to consolidate and expand mastery of more advanced grammatical points and vocabulary. Oral presentation, discussion, and composition in Japanese are also important components of the course.

First-Year Japanese This course is a continuation of the fall and winter terms with the introduction of more advanced grammatical structures, vocabulary, and characters. The continuing emphasis of the beginning Japanese course will be upon acquisition of well-balanced language skills based on an understanding of the actual use of the language in the Japanese sociocultural context.

Sayaka Abe

Reviews and ratings for Sayaka Abe at Middlebury College.Sayaka Abe teaches First-Year Japanese, Variation & Change in Japanese, Advanced Japanese and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Sayaka Abe good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

I took this course as a non-JAPN and non-LNGT major who needed a second CW credit as someone who speaks Japanese fluently. Although the meta-level things we discussed in class were highly interesting, I struggled a lot with understanding underlying linguistics concepts. This class also felt fast-paced for someone who knew nothing about language. So, if you're considering to take this course for the sake of satisfying a CW credit, it's probably a 7.5/10 class. But if you're taking this class as either a Japanese or linguistics major, I'm sure you'll have a blast!!

If you want to learn about linguistics take this course! If you like Abe 先生 take this course! I took it for the CW and honestly wasn't too hard, probably easier than an other CW would have been. But I would 100 Percent recomend.

Of course a language at Middlebury will be hard, but it is totally recommended if you are truly willing to put in the effort and learn something. There is a lot of work but everything is super structured and already set up for you がんばって