Subject Area: Japanese Studies

Given the popularity of both Japanese comics or manga and anime with learners of Japanese, the course selects a range of materials that reflect various aspects of contemporary Japanese life such as family life, education, and work. The course provides students an opportunity to extend their Japanese language vocabulary, grammar and kanji through using authentic materials as well as giving students the opportunity to improve their listening skills through watching anime. Students are also required to analyze the socio-cultural aspects of each manga and anime as part of a critical literacy approach. Activities include reading the manga out loud, performance of one section from a set manga narrative, and specific language learning based assignments that encourage the active learning of key elements in the Japanese language.