Uni Extension Japanese

[Furbob]

Already posted something similar in the VCE general

A question - I'm planning try out for japanese extension studies @ Caulfield for next year,
whilst doing 5 subjects (eng, methods, accounting, chem (maybe swap to further because i plan to drop spesh), jap) but im wondering - how big is the workload?

I've heard it can be quite massive but what does it literally consist of/how long does it take?
I feel very passionate about the subject and do really well but will the workload cause an impact on everything else? :\

to those who have done it
-what consists in the workload? textbook work? many-an-essays?
-whats the most difficult part of the course? mainly ROTE learning?

[RavenclawNerd]

Hey, are you talking about the Monash Uni Enhancement Program? 'Cause thats what I'm doing...
Now I'm facing a dilema, because I dont want to go on about that, if you're talking about something completely different... ha ha ha.

[IntoTheNewWorld]

My friend did extension Jap and 3/4 Jap simultaneously last year. At the start it's basically the same as VCE, then eventually you do stuff slightly harder. There's a bit of Kanji/Vocab learning but If you're Chinese you'll be fine.

However, the exams are apparently much easier than VCE Japanese from what I hear. For example, for the listening, you get a mini written transcript of a dialogue, with gaps. You then listen and fill in the gaps, with them stopping and repeating the words in the gap. So you don't actually need to know what the word in the gap is...And most of the students seem to finish in half (or less?) of the time given.

[Furbob]

that sounds good. Well im actually half chinese so that gives me half...asian...superpowers? XD
but seriously, I do have quite a lot of kanji under my belt since ive been back into trying to cover JLPT 3 (and few in 2) seriously this year. I'm already very familiar with more than whats required of japanese VCE kanji

@Raven - yeah, Monash Uni Enhancement @ Caulfield

question - for the placement test, what does it consist of like MC, kanji recognition, listening, writing...? :O
and is your workload manageable?
my friend who did it 2~3 yrs ago needed a tutor but then again back then they had native japanese in the classes and she was doing 3/4 at the same time

[RavenclawNerd]

youll be fine with your asian super powers! a few people in my class have them too, and ace all their kanji tests and stuff... i feel so jealous...

the placement test was pretty easy... i managed to pass it while severely jetlagged, without studying... First we had the conversation test, which was just talking to the teacher (it didnt go very long, it was just pretty much a self introduction and talking about holidays and stuff). then there was a written test where we had to write the kanji that went in the gaps. And then i think we had to write an essay. I should remember this better... it was only a couple of months ago.

my workload... im doing 6 subjects this year (including uni jap), so it gets a little tough sometimes, but it doesnt require that much work (compared to other VCE subjects). Having said that, I'm not really aceing it or anything...
We have a kanji/vocab test every 2 or 3 weeks (30 kanji and 30 vocab usually). So far this year we have learnt 65 grammar patterns and 150 kanji (yeah, we counted). Its a big step from 3/4 jap (because the lessons are all in japanese), but it has made my 3/4 Jap a lot easier...

I havent had my listening exam yet (its on Tuesday... ahhhh!), but I'm pretty sure it will be like SmRandmAzn said... theres also part of it where you have to answer questions about the dialogue... thats quite a bit harder then the dictation.

Anyways, I highly reccommend it... I've been having a great time there (although it is a little hard having to leave school early to get there, and not get home until 9.30)

[Furbob]

do you generally understand everything the teacher says in class? im just worried if I dont then it goes downhill o_o
are you coping without a tutor and are most of the student co-currently doing 3/4 or majority have finished?

PS. and on top of that, what type of essay did you have to write for the placement test and im guessing the assessed kanji = VCE kanji?

[RavenclawNerd]

At the start of the semester, I could barely understand the teacher... it was horrible! But it definately got easier. I wouldnt say that I ALWAYS understand everything she says, but I understand most of it. (we actually have 2 teachers, and one of them is easier to understand than the other...). Also, we download the lecture slides and study them before the lesson, so we generally know what the teacher will be saying, and its okay if we dont understand what she says, because we have all the information on nice little slides anyway.

I guess im coping okay... my marks arent great (to tell the truth, my speaking exam marks were dismal), but i see my japanese teacher once a week for a little bit of help, which is good. but i think most people in the class dont get any help, and theyre doing fine. i really dont think a tutor is necessary, because how well you do depends on how well you study the slides, and review everything.
The course is designed for people that have finished 3/4, so most people have finished it. Although, there are a few people who are still doing 3/4. im not sure, because i havent asked everyone, but id say maybe, 45% are still doing 3/4? It seriously helps with your 3/4 jap though, because heaps of the stuff we learn at uni, is covered at school as well!

The placement test essay wasnt hard... we got given a few questions (in japanese) and i think i wrote about half a page of genkooyooshi. I'm pretty sure i wrote about my summer holidays.
and yes, the kanji were mostly VCE kanji, but there may have been a couple of others... (i remember 'friend' being on there, which sucked because, id never bothered to learn how to write the second part of the kanji... (i would have typed that in Japanese, but ive lost my language bar...))
I hope all this helps!

[Fyrefly]

At the start of the semester, I could barely understand the teacher... it was horrible! But it definately got easier. I wouldnt say that I ALWAYS understand everything she says, but I understand most of it. (we actually have 2 teachers, and one of them is easier to understand than the other...). Also, we download the lecture slides and study them before the lesson, so we generally know what the teacher will be saying, and its okay if we dont understand what she says, because we have all the information on nice little slides anyway.

Just out of curiosity, who are the two sensei?

[Furbob]

if you get to ask the teachers questions in class (if you do) do the students ask mainly in japanese or english?
im assuming the teacher wouldnt accept english in the class?
and when you sat that placement test did you study up in year 11 with cramming 3/4 grammar or used only what you learnt in 1/2? (since the placement tests wants the student to demonstrate 3/4 stuff) and you must've been pretty pro at japanese 1/2 in your class? o_o

I'm just nervous about the speaking/listening part of the placement test - like what if I actually have no idea what she's saying or if I dont understand some bits in listening ~

[RavenclawNerd]

@Fyrefly Kurata-sensei and Kirisawa-sensei. Do you know them?

@Furbob. It depends on how motivated they are to speak in Japanese i guess. Or if we know how to actually ask the question. I'd say people mostly ask in english. But the teacher always answers in japanese. But if you really dont understand what she is saying, she'll answer in english.
I wouldnt use what i did as a good example of how to study for the placement test! I decided to do uni jap sometime just before the end of the year, and then put of revising until the last moment (i went overseas and didnt really want to do schoolwork), and then the placement test was only a couple of days after i got back, so i didnt actually do much revision. I'd advise you to start learning the 3/4 grammar now... it will also make 3/4 easier for you. also, make sure you learn a lot of vocab, because you arent allowed a dictionary in the placement test (or any of the assessment tasks we do at uni jap).
aww thanks, but i dont think i was that pro... lol. just kinda an average student.

Dont worry about the speaking/listening part! if you dont understand something, just tell the teacher... she's really nice and will explain things again to you, using different words. I'm pretty sure i used わかりません(japanese is working on my computer again! I'm happy) a couple of times. but its pretty basic stuff.

[Furbob]

Maybe its my Japanese teacher (native) that haunts me a bit since she asks me a question at normal talking pace and I just scramble in my head about how to answer for a bit, which gives that awkward pause before I actually answer.Though sometimes she likes to throw in vocab that we haven't learnt to test me, but if I dont know what she says it puts me down a bit ._."

well thats good to know that you passed the placement with 1/2 skills o_o" at the moment I have crammed 3/4 grammar but I'll probably revise over it (I finished the yr 12 book - kookoo seikatsu in less than a month since I got my hands on a free copy off a friend). 

Is the listening part of the placement test hard? like VCE exam standard?
LOL I might be driving you up the wall with all these questions XD

Oh, did not-knowing if you got in or not affect your subject selecting for yr 12 since you dont get results until Jan (is it?)
since in my scenario if I dont get in jap then I'll have to pick up a subject at school but we have transition before the year ends :S unless you didnt have this problem

[Fyrefly]

@Fyrefly Kurata-sensei and Kirisawa-sensei. Do you know them?

I know Kurata-sensei - she was the lecturer and unit coordinator for Jap 2 last year, as well as my tutor.

[RavenclawNerd]

It's good to be tested! Although I'm pretty sure its not good that she puts you down...
You still have a whole year ahead of you to practice and learn! You're already doing better then I was... We cant really get ahead at my school (which was quite frustrating), so i didnt even look at ANY year 12 grammar until like, maybe end of november...

the listening part was part of the conversation with the teacher, so i dont know if you're comparing it to the speaking exam at the end of 3/4, or the listening exam? I'd say understanding it was much easier then the year 12 listening things ive done...

Not knowing whether or not i got in was a little annoying (you're right, we didnt find out until almost the end of January), but I already knew what subjects I was going to do... I'm doing 5 3/4 subjects this year (plus uni jap) But my friend who is also doing uni jap with me is only doing 4 unit 3/4 subjects (he dropped one at the start of the year when he found out that he got into uni jap)
And get used to cramming grammar... lol. This year we have learnt about 65 grammar patterns (but some of them are VCE ones, which makes it easier)

I dont mind the questions, it's making me feel very knowledgable! I wish I'd asked something these sorts of questions last year, instead of just turning up and being completely lost.

@Fyrefly thats really cool! small world huh? She's a pretty good teacher i think...

[Furbob]

are the questions she asks quite basic like 趣味（しゅみ）は何ですか？ご家族は何人ですか？... etc
is it in a formal situation like being assessed from what you say or just an indicator to see if you can understand/speak some Japanese?

yeah it gets quite frustrating to feeling very limited to what we're learning in class :\
haha whats more frustrating is that today we had our Japanese Unit 1 exam and in the listening section it was about 七五三 and one of the questions was to explain what "candy" was mentioned which was ちとせあめ... that I totally forgot about o_o" and one part was writing down the name of a friend but I couldn't distinguish if it was ミリーさん or something totally different.

Other than that everything else was alright but its probably my writing that could have errors (usually particles or not getting the crammed-3/4 grammar correct). What really sucks is I could use the basic grammar we've learnt but my essay would sound too simple but it'd be correct while on the other hand the more detailed my grammar is, the more prone to mistakes I am :T now im feeling a bit paranoid since the exam marks will be on our reports... which will go to Monash when they assess it *le gasp*

[RavenclawNerd]

hmmm... i think she did ask about hobbies... and what i liked to do on the weekend and stuff. We spoke a little about movies i'd seen recently (because avatar had just come out, and she really liked it)... and just stuff along those lines. I'm fairly certain she didnt ask anything about family...
It wasnt formal... but i think it MAY have been recorded (my memory is shocking isnt it?)...

I'm sure you did awesome on the exam!
Particles are stupid. I really dont like them.
I know what you mean by the essay though... whenever i write one, I always feel confident about it, then i'm like 'ohh no... that grammar pattern was too risky, i know i screwed it up!' and then i stress until we get the results back, but usually, it turns out fine.
Normally i write too much... which sucks. for our last sac, the limit was 3/4 of a page, and i wrote almost a page... and i hated having to cut it off there!

I had soo much trouble sending my reports and stuff off to monash! i left it with a teacher, who told me she would do it all for me, but i never got a confirmation email! so the day before it was due (i couldnt get there sooner), i went back to school to ask her about it, and she wasnt even there, and the form was still sitting on her desk! but she'd sent in both of my friends forms already (one is also doing uni jap, and the other is doing maths at melbourne). i was a little annoyed, but they got there in the end...