The best aspects of this course included the smal class setting and the cultural enrichment the class provided. The worst aspects of the course included the disorganized class sessions and the assignments that often lacked direction. The course would improve if there was more structure and new things were taught regularly. Students felt like there was no organization because they were not real y being engaged on their level of understanding through focused in-class assignments. Prospective students should know this is not the best course to take if they want to advance in their level of Japanese. However, if students take advantage of previously-acquired Japanese material, attend every class, and study for the quizzes, they are sure to be successful. 52

The best aspects of this course were the balanced lessons that tested students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities. Students felt much more confident in their grasp of the language and appreciated the small class size. However, some students thought that they did not get enough time to practice the skil s they wanted to with their peers, and suggested a more structured class time to permit additional speaking and listening activities. Other students suggested quick reviews of the material to ensure that everyone remembered the grammar, and to focus what they learned on every day Japanese. Prospective students should be prepared to complete the work and get to know their classmates so they can review key words and grammar together.

Students praised this course for having a small-class size which led to a great deal of camaraderie among students, and for having a fun and engaging teacher. Perceived issues with the course included a belief that the course’s workload could be excessive with student commenting in particular that homework was due every class. Suggestions for improvement varied though students requested more time between when assignments were due in order to give students more time to work on them. Prospective students should know that the course involved a good amount of work and compared to previous courses, it focused more on reading and understanding Japanese.