Our program fosters authentic learning experiences through teaching an enriching Japanese curriculum. We want UNCW students to become passionate lifelong learners of the Japanese language.
Genuine beginners should enroll in JPN101. Anyone with prior Japanese language knowledge will be required to take a placement test with an instructor to determine placement at UNCW.
Please contact Dr. Ryan Lidster at lidsterr@uncw.edu for information on placement for Japanese.
The Japanese minor is an ideal complement to almost any major, from International Studies and Communication to Business, Computer Science, Digital Art, Marine Biology, and Psychology. By learning how to apply what they have learned in an intercultural context, students increase their depth and breadth of knowledge and skills. The minor consists of 18 credits (usually 6 courses), divided up as follows:
Beginner-level courses set students up to understand basic vocabulary and sentence structure. Students gain helpful skills for a short trip to Japan after completing introductory courses. They'll learn:
The intermediate level courses help students to be lifelong learners of Japanese. We use a variety of online resources and studying structures to talk about their desires, experiences, annual and seasonal activities.
Students of JPN201 and JPN202 will work with Japanese peers on campus and with our partner universities for cultural and study exchanges through course web site.
Intermediate level students have opportunities to interact with Japanese peers on campus. They can also connect with students at our partner universities for cultural and learning exchanges.
There are summer, single-semester and full-year study abroad programs in Japan.
Students can take advantage of study abroad programs through the Office of International Programs. These programs are arranged to further develop Japanese language skills.
Students of the Japanese program are encouraged to become conversational partners with Japanese students to learn about different cultures. Contact the English as Second Language (ESL) program at UNCW for more information.
The 2017 Duke Japanese speech contest was held on April 1, 2017, at Perkins Library. The room was packed with approximately 100 people. Four judges, and the general counsels from Japanese Embassy at Atlanta were also present in the audience.
Bethany Showers got third place at 300 level of the contest division. Holly Tucker also received third place in the 200 level division. The finalists came from Duke University, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Greensboro and NC State University.
Bethany and Holly did an excellent job presenting and answering questions in Japanese right after their speeches were given to the audience. Ms. Yoko Kano supported their performances and says she is honored to be their instructor.
Bethany Showers is a Creative Writing major with a Japanese minor. She is also an honors student. Holly Tucker is a Communication Studies major with a minor in Human Behavior. Both Showers and Tucker are seniors at UNCW.
Two UNCW students, Bethany Showers and Sara Burkinshaw, were selected along with 18 graduate and undergraduate students nationwide to attend the U.S.-Japan Relations Tomodachi Conference in Washington D.C. for leadership and development training.
The theme of the conference was "Exploring U.S.-Japan Relations in the Nation’s Capital: Leadership, Legacy, Politics and Policy." It was an opportunity for:
Transportation to and from the conference, as well as food and accommodations were all provided to the selected students free of charge.
Bethany Showers was a senior double majoring in English and creative writing with a minor in Japanese. Sara Burkinshaw was a sophomore majoring business with an entrepreneurship concentration. They both had a chance to contribute to:
The conference was held from Thursday, October 20, until Sunday, October 23.
North Carolina Teaching Asia Network (NCTAN) offers seminars on East Asian:
The participants are in-service teachers who teach about East Asia and will receive teaching resources from the seminar. They will be also eligible to apply for the trip to East Asia upon completion of seminar requirements and other NCTAN sponsored projects.
NCTAN is under the initiative of Columbia University's East Asia Center. The Office of NCTAN is located at UNC-Wilmington Please see the bottom of the home page for more information.