Singapore JC Subject List - Japanese (H1)

This course is designed to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of the Japanese language and culture. It caters to students who have prior experience learning Japanese and wish to continue their studies at a higher level. This syllabus is available in October/November only.

Aims

The course aims to:

• Develop the ability to understand various registers of Japanese.
• Enable confident and clear communication in Japanese.
• Build a strong foundation for further studies, work, and leisure pursuits involving the language.
• Provide insights into the culture and civilization of Japanese-speaking countries.
• Foster positive attitudes towards language learning and cultural understanding.
• Enhance intellectual and personal development.

Assessment Objectives

The H1 Japanese examination assesses linguistic competence and knowledge of contemporary society by evaluating the student's ability to:

• Understand and respond to written Japanese texts from various sources.
• Demonstrate accurate language manipulation through appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures.
• Select, present, and organize information and arguments logically in Japanese.
• Understand and respond to authentic spoken Japanese from diverse sources.

Topic Areas

The examination draws textual material from the following topic areas, focusing on Japanese-speaking countries:

• Human relationships, Family, Generation gap, Young people
• Patterns of daily life, Urban and rural life, The media, Food and drink, Law and order, Religion and belief, Health and fitness
• Work and leisure, Equality of opportunity, Employment and unemployment
• Sport, Free time activities, Travel and tourism, Education, Cultural life/heritage
• War and peace, The developing world
• Scientific and medical advances, Technological innovation
• Environment, Conservation, Pollution
• Contemporary aspects of Japanese-speaking countries

Assessment Components

The H1 Japanese course comprises three components:

1. Speaking (20% weighting): Involves a presentation on a chosen topic followed by a topic conversation and a general conversation.

2. Reading and Writing (60% weighting): Includes comprehension questions on two related passages, a summary/comparison task, a composition on a given topic, and exercises on kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and expressions.

3. Listening (20% weighting): Assesses comprehension of short factual items and an extended spoken piece.

Prerequisites

Students are typically required to have studied Japanese in secondary school and achieved a certain grade in the O Level Japanese examination.

It's important to note that H1 Japanese differs from H2 Japanese in terms of syllabus content and assessment. For instance, H1 Japanese does not include a coursework component.