After two introductory classes (a guidance in the first week and a symposium in the second), in which instructors talk about the significance and pleasure of learning foreign languages from their own experiences, the lectures on some foreign languages (in the second quarter French and Russian) are given by specialists of each language, explaining cultural, geographical, social and historical characteristics that form the background of that language.
This course is designed as a preparatory lecture for the students who launch out into a world of a new foreign language other than English and aims to introduce them a different way of thinking as a premise for practical learning and encourage their curiosity and enthusiasm. An encounter with a foreign language means changing one’s way of thinking and view of the world, and thus approaching a totally different culture based on that language. Participants are expected to become aware that every language is not merely a communication tool but a field where a culture and a history of each nation crystallize and its view of the world is projected.
By the end of this course students will:
1) get to know the history, culture, land- and mindscape that are contained in each language as its essential features.
2) become aware that every foreign language has its own way of thinking as a projection of its view of the world, different from that of our mother tongues.
・Foreign language learning
・History and culture of language
・International communication
・French, Russian
Specialist skills | ✔ Intercultural skills | ✔ Communication skills | ✔ Critical thinking skills | Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
As an introduction, the instructors talk about the significance and pleasure of learning foreign languages from their own experiences in a guidance and in a symposium. The following lectures will focus on the history and culture of two languages.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Introduction - Why do we learn foreign languages? | To be announced during classes. |
Class 2 | Symposium - Pleasure of learning foreign languages | |
Class 3 | French language and history | |
Class 4 | French language and culture | |
Class 5 | French language and Life | |
Class 6 | Russian language and history | |
Class 7 | Russian language and culture | |
Class 8 | Russian language and life |
None required.
Course materials are provided during class.
Students will be assessed on their commitment to the lectures (by response cards) (40%) and an essay on foreign languages (60%).
No prerequisites.