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About Us
Introduction
The Department of Japanese Language and Literature was established in 1994 as the first Japanese department among all national universities to cultivate students to be the talents in Japanese, and help to build up the ability to study and do researches in Japanese language. In order to continue and implement the goal of the bachelor degree program, and to cultivate a variety of talents with professional Japanese language skills with an international perspective, the master degree program was established in 2003.
Educational Aims and Core Competencies
Bachelor Degree Program
Educational Aims:
  The Department's goal for the Bachelor Degree Program is to train students with professional knowledge of Japanese language, basic knowledge of Japanese linguistics (including Japanese language education) and Japanese literature (including culture in the field of humanities), humanistic and independent thinking skills, familiarity with Japanese national conditions, and a broad international perspective, and to cultivate a diverse group of professionals who know Japan.

※Core Competencies:
a.To develop students with the five skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating in Japanese to achieve the educational aims of the department.
b.To cultivate students with humanistic and independent thinking skills.
c.To cultivate students who are well versed in the Japanese language and have an international perspective.
Master Degree Program
Educational Aims:
  The master degree program was established in 2003 to continue and implement the educational aims of the bachelor degree program, and to cultivate diverse talents with professional Japanese language skills and an international perspective. Through the advanced courses which are in the design based on department's educational aims, we deepen the related research courses, train the graduate students to identify problems, and enhance their independent thinking and innovative research ability through a deliberate and discerning thinking process.

Core Competencies:
a.Professional competence in the field of Japanese linguistics (including Japanese language education).
b.Professional competence in the field of Japanese literature (including culture in the field of humanities).
c.Ability to think independently and conduct innovative research.
d.Ability to write professional academic papers.
Course Design

  The curriculum of our bachelor degree program is structured in a progressive manner. Courses in the first and second year are devoted to basic language training, and the core Japanese language courses are taught in small classes to establish students' listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation skills. Courses in the third and fourth years are devoted to professional training, which are divided into two major fields: Japanese linguistics (Japanese language education) and literature (culture). Courses in these two fields not only continuously improve students' intermediate and advanced Japanese language skills, but also offer required courses such as Introduction to Japanese Linguistics, Readings in Japanese Literary Masterpieces and Readings in Classical Japanese Literature to cultivate professionalism. Moreover, we also provide elective courses such as Practical Japanese Communication, Business Japanese, and Journalistic Japanese. Students will be able to broaden their horizons and develop their ability to enter the workplace.


  In the first and second years of the master degree program, students can take a variety of related courses for in-depth study. In addition, they can learn to collect and study relevant literature according to their research topic based on their interest, and gradually form their own professional research framework. With the instruction given by their advisor, they will develop the ability of independent thinking and innovative research, and complete their theory within 3 years.
Teaching Features
Bachelor Degree Program
  • Small-class teaching.
  • Systematic arrangement on advanced exercises of "Basic Courses" and "Core Courses" to enhance the five skills.
  • International academic exchanges are frequent and informative. Through interacting with foreign teachers and students in a variety of ways, students’ learning outcome can be improved quickly.
Master Degree Program
  • The curriculum of each course is integrated with the educational development goals, and instructors in each course are arranged to teach in their expertise.
  • Classes are conducted in a two-way discussion with student presentations and instructor lectures, which are combined with intensive lectures by Japanese professors to enhance interaction between graduate students and teachers. By this way, we hope to stimulate students’ ability of “problem finding and solving”, hence to cultivate their thinking on innovative research.
  • We invite scholars to give lectures and hold academic seminars on many occasions, and our faculty members lead graduate students to give their presentation oversea to promote international academic exchanges and broaden students' horizons.

 In addition, senior students are offered the opportunity to work as "Japanese Language Teaching Assistants" in order to further enhance their teaching and learning process. We also offer a Japanese Language Education program for those interested in Japanese education in secondary schools.

 The department has an extensive student exchange program. At present, there are 35 universities in Japan with which we cooperate. Including Doshisha University, Akita International University, Hokkaido University, Kansai University, Keio University, Kyoto University, Kyushu University, Meiji University, Ochanomizu University, University of the Ryukyus, Soka University, Tohoku University, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo Gakugei University, Aoyama Gakuin University, Sophia University, Waseda University, Nagoya University, Okayama University, Osaka University, University of Tsukuba, Kobe University, Nagasaki University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama National University, Kanazawa University, Kanagawa University, Kwansei Gakuin University, Hiroshima University, Hitotsubashi University, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Nihon University, Ritsumeikan University, and University of Hyogo. There are plans to increase the number of sister schools in the future. There are 20 exchange students per year from our department. In addition, there are 30 other Japanese universities that have signed contracts being as sister schools with National Taiwan University, making a total of 65.

For more information about exchange program, please visit the International Affairs Office of National Taiwan University.

Curriculum Framework
Bachelor Degree Program
※ Required Courses
First Grade   Second Grade  Third Grade   Fourth Grade
Elementary Japanese
Japanese Conversation (I)
Japanese Composition (I)
Japanese Oral / Aural Training
Intermediate Japanese
Japanese Conversation (II)
Japanese Composition (II)
Japanese Translation (I)
Japanese Syntax
Japanese Culture
Advanced Japanese
History of Japanese Literature
Readings in Japanese Literary Masterpieces
Japanese Translation (II)
Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
Readings in Classical Japanese Literature
Seminar
※ Elective Courses
Second Grade     Third and Fourth Grade
Selective Readings in Japanese Fairy Tales
Introduction to Japanese Literature and Culture
Practical Japanese Communication
Commercial Japanese
Japanese History
Introduction to Japanese Drama and Multimedia
Introduction to Japanese Literature Review (I) The Lesson for Reading Japanese Research Papers (I)
The Lesson for Reading Japanese Research Papers (II)
Japanese Course Design and Teaching Practice
Masterpieces of Zuihitsu (I)
Masterpieces of Zuihitsu (II)
Journalistic Japanese (I)
Journalistic Japanese (II)
Japanese-English Translation(I)
Japanese-English Translation(II)
Introduction to Japanese Education
Master Degree Program
※ Elective Courses
Japanese Literature (Culture) Japanese Linguistics (Japanese Language Education)
Study on the Comparison of Chinese and Japanese Poems
Seminar on Modern Japanese Thought
Study on History of Japanese Thought
Pre-modern Japanese Literature and Religion
Study on Sino-Japanese Comparative Literature
Research in Modern History of Intellectual Exchange between China and Japan
Relationships Research on Japan and The Surrounding East Asia States
The special study of Chinese and Japanese contrastive linguistic
Monographic Study on Japanese Vocabulary
Seminar on Japanese-Language Education
Teaching and Research Facilities




  The books in our department are housed in the National Taiwan University Library and the department's library. At present, there are about 500,000 Japanese books in the library and more than 6,000 kinds of Japanese journal. In addition, in order to enrich domestic humanities and social science research resources and to enhance the acquisition and use of domestic electronic resources for Japanese language research, there are currently 32 Japanese language databases.

  It is worth mentioning the collection of books left over from the Imperial Universities period. Thanks to the efforts of three professors, Ando Masatsugu, who is a renowned scholar, and Yasushi Jimatsu and Sadaharu Takita, who are proficient in Japanese textual bibliography, we have acquired books that are indispensable for the study of Japanese literature, including many lost books from overseas and are now collected on the 5th floor in the National Taiwan University Library. There are 562 sets of 4,852 books in the Momoki Bunko, 1,269 volumes in 505 parts of the Nagasawa Bunko, 332 volumes in 331 parts of the Ueda Bunko, and 2,272 sets of 8,598 volumes in wire-bound books outside the Bunko. If we add more than 7,000 volumes of non-linear Japanese books as well as the precious Japanese antiquities of the old native species will be even more impressive, and compared with the antiquities of the old imperial university collections such as Tokyo University and Kyoto University in Japan, it is not inferior at all.

  The library in our department contains books from the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, The Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Taipei, the Wan Hai Lines Ltd., and Kodansha Ltd., as well as from scholars such as Kyoto University Professor Emeritus Hirano Tatsuo, Professor Emeritus Zheng Qingmao, and Tohoku University Professor Emeritus Nihei Michiaki, as well as from alumni and academics, to facilitate academic research and teaching in our department. The total number of books in the collection is about 8,000.

  In terms of equipment, we have purchased computers and Japanese related software, TVs, video recorders, satellite converters, etc. We also have a library computer room for students to access the Internet and hold seminars. In addition to the general E-classrooms, the school also has an interpretation classroom with a special audio recording system, an audio-visual classroom with special audio-visual teaching equipment, and a multimedia center with a general map, so that teachers can make full use of the convenient equipment for efficient teaching.
Career and Further Education