BA Japanese Studies

The Japanese program offers a strong foundation in the Japanese language and a thorough knowledge of Japanese culture. The primary objective of the Japanese language program at AU is to provide students with command of the language suitable to both academic and culturally authentic settings. Students will develop a capacity to express themselves in a culturally coherent manner and to understand the Japanese language as it is utilized in actual communication. Starting with elementary level courses, students are exposed to all four necessary skills for learning the Japanese language: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Through the intermediate and advanced levels these skills are refined for fluency and accuracy, with the advanced level focusing on the development of communicative skills through reading and discussion. Both audiovisual and other computer-mediated resources are included in instruction to strengthen students' communication.