Faculty
Izumi Funayama
BA, Waseda University, Japan. MA, Ohio University. PhD, The University of Texas-Austin. Doctoral Dissertation: Intercultural experiences and practices in a Chinese-Japanese joint venture: A study of narratives and interactions about and beyond “Chinese” and “Japanese.” Associate professor, Kumamoto University, Japan; certified professional co-active coach, Coach Training Institute; certified designer and facilitator of LEGO Serious Play Method; certified instructor, Omotesenke tea ceremony. Recipient of Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. Interests include intercultural communication, ethnography, narrative analysis, discourse analysis, intercultural training, and intercultural coaching. SLC, 2014–
Undergraduate Courses 2025-2026
Japanese
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Intermediate, Seminar—Year
JAPN 3510
Prerequisite: Japanese I (JAPN 3001) or equivalent
In this course, students will continue to develop basic skills in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing while expanding their vocabulary and knowledge of grammar. At the end of the course, students should be able to effectively handle simple communicative tasks and situations, understand simple daily conversations, write short essays, read simple essays, and discuss their content. In addition to classes with the faculty instructor, there will be weekly, one-on-one tutorials with one of the Japanese language assistants.
Faculty
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Intermediate/Advanced, Seminar—Year
JAPN 3700
Prerequisite: Japanese II (JAPN 3510) or equivalent
This course will aim to advance students’ Japanese language proficiency in speaking, listening, reading (simple essays to authentic texts), and writing in various styles (emails, essays, and/or creative writing). In addition to class, students will attend weekly individual tutorials with a Japanese language assistant.
Faculty
Previous Courses
Japanese
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Open, Seminar—Year
Prerequisite: Beginning Japanese or its equivalent and permission of the instructor
Students will continue to develop basic skills in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing while expanding their vocabulary and knowledge of grammar. At the end of the course, students should be able to effectively handle simple communicative tasks and situations, understand simple daily conversations, write short essays, read simple essays, and discuss their content. In addition to classes with the faculty instructors, there are weekly, one-on-one tutorials with one of the Japanese language assistants.
Faculty
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Open, Seminar—Year
Beginning Japanese is an introduction to Japanese language and culture, designed for students who have had little to no experience learning Japanese. The goal of the course is to develop four basic skills: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing (hiragana, katakana, and some basic kanji) in modern Japanese, with an emphasis on grammatical accuracy and socially appropriate language use. In addition to classes with the faculty instructor, there are weekly, one-on-one tutorials with one of the Japanese language assistants.
Faculty
- Izumi Funayama
- Yoshimi Arai
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Intermediate, Seminar—Fall
Prerequisite: Advanced Beginning Japanese or equivalent
The aim of this seminar is to advance students’ Japanese language proficiency in speaking and listening, reading (simple essays to authentic texts), and writing in various styles (emails, essays, and/or creative writing). Students will meet with the instructor for classes and conferences and with a language assistant for weekly individual tutorials.
Faculty
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Open, Seminar—Year
JAPN 3001
This introduction to Japanese language and culture is designed for students who have had little or no experience learning Japanese. The goal of the course is to develop four basic skills: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing (hiragana, katakana, and some basic kanji) in modern Japanese, with an emphasis on grammatical accuracy and socially appropriate language use. Students will put these skills into practice through in-class conversation, role play and group work, and daily homework assignments. While there are no individual conferences with the instructor, weekly individual meetings with a Japanese language assistant, in addition to class sessions, will be required.
Faculty
-
Intermediate, Seminar—Year
JAPN 3510
Prerequisite: Japanese I (JAPN 3001) or equivalent
In this course, students will continue to develop basic skills in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing while expanding their vocabulary and knowledge of grammar. At the end of the course, students should be able to effectively handle simple communicative tasks and situations, understand simple daily conversations, write short essays, read simple essays, and discuss their content. In addition to classes with the faculty instructor, there will be weekly, one-on-one tutorials with one of the Japanese language assistants.
Faculty