Curriculum

Curriculum

In eight weeks, the Princeton in Ishikawa (PII) program covers the curricular equivalent of one academic year of Japanese language study at Princeton University. It is a high-quality intensive program taught by qualified instructors with vast experience. The program is team-taught by faculty members from American universities and several Japanese teachers from Kanazawa.

Students meet for three hours each morning, five days a week. In addition to regular textbooks, PII instructors use authentic materials (excerpts from books, newspapers, journals, etc.) to develop the four basic language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) in the cultural context of use. To ensure effective interaction between instructor and student, class size is kept to 8-10 students. All classes, extracurricular activities, and a field trip are conducted in Japanese.


Textbooks

  • JPN105J: Intermediate Japanese I in Japan
    Nakama Vol.2 (Heinle Cengage Learning), Ch.4-11
  • JPN107J: Intermediate Japanese II in Japan
    Tobira (Kuroshio Publisher), Ch.4-8
  • JPN301J: Advanced Japanese I in Japan
    Tobira (Kuroshio Publisher), Ch.9-13
  • JPN302J: Advanced Japanese II in Japan
    Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Tokuma-shoten)

Placement Test

All participants are required to take an online placement test (grammar, listening, and reading) in May. You will subsequently take speaking and writing tests before class starts in Kanazawa, Japan.

Princeton students: If you complete your Japanese course [JPN102 or JPN107] in the spring semester, you will automatically be placed into the level you applied for. However, you are still required to take the placement tests to assess your proficiency level.

Non-Princeton students: Please note that we cannot guarantee that you will be placed into the course level indicated on your application. Your placement will depend upon your test results. You will be placed into one of two levels, 1) JPN105J/JPN107J, or 2) JPN301J/JPN302.


Language Pledge

In order to preserve the ideal language-learning environment for every student in the program, all students are required to sign a pledge stating that they will use only Japanese when inside the Rifare building and during extra-curricular activities.