ELJ101: Elementary Japaense 1

Last update:

Course information

  • Instructor: Tomonori Nagano, Ph.D.
  • Syllabus: Syllabus
  • https://www.t-nagano.com/mycourses/ELJ101/ | tnagano@lagcc.cuny.edu | 718-482-5484 | B-234FF
  • Office hours:
    • Monday & Tuesday 1:00pm-2:00pm (Room B-234FF or online)
  • Class schedule: ELJ101.7504 (47175)
    • Monday & Tuesday 10:30am-12:45pm (Room C-222)
    • Wednesday 10:30am-12:45pm (Room B-207/Lab)
    • 2-hour asynchronous online instruction

Class Modality and Announcements

ELJ101.7504 (47175) in Fall 2022 Session II is a hybrid class. Please see below for information about the instruction modality of this course.
  1. These are the CUNY and LaGuardia websites for information and policies concerning the COVID-19.
  2. Each lesson cycle (each week -- two lectures and one lab) is in the following structure.
    • Reading: You should read the sections of the textbook that will be covered in each lesson (See the weekly schedule for the class below.)
    • Quiz:
      • Quizlet: Vocabulary is central to learning any new language and it is one of the major focuses in this class. Students will receive a set of vocabulary exercises on Quizlet every week. This is an optional activity, but students will receive additional points (up to 5pt) for the weekly vocabulary quiz.
      • Blackboard: Students will have to complete weekly quizzes every week on Blackboard. There will be practice questions for the quiz. Each quiz is worth 10 points of the grade.
    • Weekly assignments:
      • Students will have to submit workbook assignments every week. Assignments must be submitted through Blackboard before the deadline (usually at the midnight of Sunday). Use the workbook submission sheets to submit your workbook homework.
      • Project-based assignments: Students will be assigned to several project-based assignments during the semester. Projects may include but not limited to (recorded) presentations, written essays, group projects, and fieldwork assignments. For projects, we will employ different tools such as Flipgrid, Google Doc, and xxx.
  3. Course communication will take place on two platforms on Blackboard and Discord.

  • Students who have participated in a tutoring session will receive bonus points (5 points per session). Please make an appointment for tutoring this week (see the old announcements above for the tutoring schedule).

Weekly schedule

Lecture topic
  • Introduction to class and class tools
  • Class surveys: https://lagcc.wufoo.com/forms/p101ue7o05rnphe/ or use this QR code (https://bit.ly/3GfZ6uH) .
  • Grammar:
    • Sec.x: あいさつ (p.30)
    • Sec.x: あいさつとおじぎ (p.32)
    • Sec.x: すうじ (0～100) (p.35)
    • Sec.1: X は Y です (e.g., メアリーさんは アメリカじんです。) (p.41)
    • Sec.2: Question Sentences (e.g., メアリーさんは アメリカじんですか。) (p.42)
    • Sec.3: Noun1 の Noun2 (e.g., にほんごの がくせいです。) (p.43)
  • ひらがな (あ〜こ)
  • Practice Quiz & Quiz 1
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Thursday, January 5, 2023
  1. Respond to the class surveys.
  2. Sign up for Quizlet at https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5
    • Click on the link above. Register for a Quizlet account if you don't have one.
    • Add yourself to the class. The name of the class is "ELJ101.7375 (43014) in Fall 2022 Session II"
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
  3. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.00 (WB p.11): Hiragana (make hiragana flash cards; use the workbook or this file ; You don't need to submit anything for this assignment)
    • Workbook Ch.00 (WB pp.13-14): Greetings
  4. Take Practice Quiz on Blackboard
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Sunday, January 8, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Anime Trivia"
    • "Genki 3rd Ed ひらがな Review 01 (あ-こ)"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.121): Hiragana (あ〜こ)
  3. Prepare for Quiz 1 (Ch.1 ひらがな; Sample quiz 1 | answer key ).
  4. Take Quiz 1 on Blackboard

Lecture topic
  • Grammar:
    • Ch.01 Sec.1: X は Y です (e.g., メアリーさんは アメリカじんです。) (p.41)
    • Ch.01 Sec.2: Question Sentences (e.g., メアリーさんは アメリカじんですか。) (p.42)
    • Ch.01 Sec.3: Noun1 の Noun2 (e.g., にほんごの がくせいです。) (p.43)
  • ひらがな (さ〜と, な〜ほ, ま〜よ, ら〜ん)
  • Ch.01 Vocabulary
  • Practice self-introduction
  • Self-introduction presentation
  • Quiz 2 & Quiz 3
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Thursday, January 12, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 3rd Ed ひらがな Review (あ-ん)"
    • "Genki 3rd Ed Vocab Ch.00 Greetings"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.122): Hiragana (さ〜と)
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.123): Hiragana (な〜ほ)
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.16): XはYです
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.17): Question Sentences
  3. Watch one of the videos on how to set up the Japanese keyboard (depending on your platform)
  4. Prepare for Quiz 2 (Sample quiz 2 | answer key )
  5. Take Quiz 2 on Blackboard
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Sunday, January 15, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 3rd Ed ひらがな Review (あ-ん)"
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.01"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.124): Hiragana (ま〜よ)
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.125): Hiragana (ら〜ん)
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.18): Noun1 の Noun2
  3. Prepare for Quiz 3 (Sample quiz 3 | answer key )
  4. Take Quiz 3 on Blackboard
  5. Presentation draft (see the instructions at Presentation 1 draft )
  6. Bonus activity (group work on greeting expressions in anime: Worksheet )

No class is scheduled on Monday, January 16, 2023 (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day))
Schedule has been slightly adjusted due to class cancelation on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
Lecture topic
  • Grammar:
    • Large numbers up to 99,999
    • Ch.02 Sec.1: これ/あれ/それ/どれ (e.g., これは なんですか。) (p.60)
    • Ch.02 Sec.2: この/その/あの/どの＋Noun (e.g., このほんは いくらですか。) (p.61)
    • Ch.02 Sec.3: ここ/そこ/あそこ/どこ (e.g., ぎんこうは あそこです。) (p.62)
    • Useful Expressions きょうしつ (p.81)
  • More on ひらがな
    • Dots (が〜ぼ), Circles (ぱ〜ぽ), and Palatalized consonants (small ゃゅょ)
    • Double consonants (small っ)
    • Long vowels
  • Ch.02 Vocabulary
  • Self-introduction presentation
  • How to type in Japanese
  • Quiz 4
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Thursday, January 19, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 3rd Ed ひらがな Review (あ-ん)"
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.02"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.20): こたえましょう
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.21-22) 聞きく練習れんしゅう (Listening Comprehension) | Audio files https://bit.ly/Genki3Audio
    • Workbook Ch.02 (WB p.25): すうじ
  3. Presentation 1 (see the instructions at Presentation 1 ; Submit your presentation on Flipgrid at https://flipgrid.com/f18c3147 )
  4. Bonus activity (Kahoot! on Genki Ch.01 vocabulary): You can participate in this game any time before Sunday, January 15, 2023. The top three winners will receive bonus points (1st: 20pt, 2nd: 15pt, and 3rd: 10pt). Link: https://kahoot.it/challenge/07547785?challenge-id=1f073b4b-fd68-43a1-b8cb-659c8ca2bb40_1672942302994.
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Sunday, January 22, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 3rd Ed ひらがな Review (あ-ん)"
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.02"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.126): Hiragana (Dots/Circles/Smallゃゅょ)
    • Workbook Ch.01 (WB p.127): Hiragana (Double consonants/Long vowels)
  3. Prepare for Quiz 4 (Sample quiz 4 | answer key )
  4. Take Quiz 4 on Blackboard

CUNY follows the Monday schedule on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. There will be a regular lecture in C-221 this Wednesday.
Lecture topic
  • Grammar:
    • Ch.02 Sec.4: だれの Noun (e.g., これは だれの かさですか。) (p.62)
    • Ch.02 Sec.5: Noun も (e.g., おかあさんも にほんじんです。) (p.62)
    • Ch.02 Sec.6: Noun じゃないです (e.g., メアリーさんは にほんじんじゃないです。) (p.63)
    • Ch.03 Sec.1: Verb Conjugation (e.g., 食たべる → 食たべます) (p.86)
    • Ch.03 Sec.2: Verb Types and the "Present Tense" (e.g., 私わたしはよくテレビを見みます。) (p.88)
    • Ch.03 Sec.3: Particles (e.g., 図書館としょかんで雑誌ざっしを読よみます。学校がっこうに行いきます。) (p.88)
  • Ch.03 Vocabulary
  • Quiz 5 & Quiz 6
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Thursday, January 26, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.03"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.02 (WB p.27): この/その/あの
    • Workbook Ch.02 (WB p.28): ここ/そこ/あそこ/だれの
    • Workbook Ch.02 (WB p.29): Nounも/Nounじゃないです
  3. Prepare for Quiz 5 (Sample quiz 5 | answer key )
  4. Take Quiz 5 on Blackboard
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Sunday, January 29, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.03"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.03 (WB p.32): Verb Conjugation
    • Workbook Ch.03 (WB p.33): Nounを Verb
  3. Prepare for Quiz 6 (Sample quiz 6 | answer key )
  4. Take Quiz 6 on Blackboard
  5. Do the midterm practice (Midterm practice )
  6. Bonus activity (Kahoot! on Genki Ch.02 vocabulary): You can participate in this game any time before Sunday, January 29, 2023. The top three winners will receive bonus points (1st: 20pt, 2nd: 15pt, and 3rd: 10pt). Link: https://kahoot.it/challenge/03277240?challenge-id=1f073b4b-fd68-43a1-b8cb-659c8ca2bb40_1674394083686.

The deadline of the take-home midterm is Sunday, February 5, 2023.
Lecture topic
  • Grammar:
    • Ch.03 Sec.3: Particles (e.g., 図書館としょかんで雑誌ざっしを読よみます。学校がっこうに行いきます。) (p.88)
    • Ch.03 Sec.4: Time References (e.g., 何時なんじに起おきますか。) (p.90)
    • Ch.03 Sec.5: ～ませんか (e.g., コーヒーを飲のみませんか。) (p.90)
  • Ch.03 Vocabulary
  • Quiz 7
  • Take-home midterm
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Thursday, February 2, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.03"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.03 (WB p.34): Verbs with Places
    • Workbook Ch.03 (WB p.35): Time References
  3. Start working on the take-home midterm (due on Sunday, February 5, 2023).
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Sunday, February 5, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.03"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.03 (WB p.36): Suggestion using 〜ませんか
  3. Prepare for Quiz 7 (Sample quiz 7 | answer key )
  4. Take Quiz 7 on Blackboard
  5. Bonus activity (Kahoot! on Genki Ch.03 vocabulary): You can participate in this game any time before Sunday, January 29, 2023. The top three winners will receive bonus points (1st: 20pt, 2nd: 15pt, and 3rd: 10pt). Link: https://kahoot.it/challenge/06769113?challenge-id=1f073b4b-fd68-43a1-b8cb-659c8ca2bb40_1675027277556.

Lecture topic
  • Grammar:
    • Ch.03 Sec.5: ～ませんか (e.g., コーヒーを飲のみませんか。) (p.90)
    • Ch.03 Sec.6: Frequency Adverbs (e.g., 毎日まいにち、本ほんを読よみます。) (p.91)
    • Ch.04 Sec.1: X があります/います (e.g.病院びょういんがあります。) (p.107)
    • Ch.04 Sec.2: Describing Where Things Are (e.g., 図書館としょかんはどこですか。) (p.108)
    • Ch.04 Sec.3: Past Tense of です (e.g., 先生せんせいは大学生だいがくせいでした。) (p.110)
    • Ch.04 Sec.4: Past Tense of Verbs (e.g.月曜日げつようびに何をしましたか。) (p.110)
  • Ch.04 Vocabulary
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Thursday, February 9, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.04"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.03 (WB p.37): Frequency Adverbs
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.41): Xがあります/います
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Sunday, February 12, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.04"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.42): Describing Where Things Are
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.43): Past Tense (Nouns)
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.44): Verb Conjugation (Past Tense)
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.45): Past Tense (Verbs)
  3. Prepare for Quiz 8 (Sample quiz 8 | answer key )
  4. Take Quiz 8 on Blackboard
  5. Bonus activity (Kahoot! on Genki Ch.04 vocabulary): You can participate in this game any time before Wednesday, February 15, 2023. The top winners will receive bonus points (1st: 20pt, 2nd: 15pt, and 3rd-5th: 10pt). Link: https://kahoot.it/challenge/05232321?challenge-id=1f073b4b-fd68-43a1-b8cb-659c8ca2bb40_1675807038880.

The last day of class is Wednesday, February 15, 2023. We will go over the take-home final exam during the lab on 2/15/2023.
The take-home final exam is due on Monday, February 20, 2023. See below for more information.
The last day to withdraw from class is Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
Lecture topic
  • Grammar:
    • Ch.04 Sec.5: も (e.g., コーヒーも飲のみます。) (p.111)
    • Ch.04 Sec.8: と (e.g.日本語にほんごと英語えいごを話はなします。) (p.113)
    • Ch.05 Sec.1: Adjectives (e.g., Present Tense) (e.g., 高たかいです。) (p.132)
    • Ch.05 Sec.4: 好すき（な）/きらい（な） (e.g., 魚さかなが好すきですか。) (p.135)
  • Ch.05 Vocabulary (only adjectives)
Assignments. The assignment with will be graded. Deadline is on Sunday, February 19, 2023
  1. Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/join/a3gjmDBu5)
    • Click on "Learn" and practice with the flashcards.
    • "Genki 2nd Ed Vocab Ch.05"
  2. Workbook (submit through Blackboard; use the workbook submission sheets ):
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.46): も
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.47): 時間じかん・Particles
    • Workbook Ch.04 (WB p.50): Adjective Conjugation
  3. Take-home final is due on Monday, February 20, 2023.

Handouts & Practice Slides

Chapter handouts
ひらがな Slides
Numbers Slides
Time Expressions Slides
Lecture Slides