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japanese language and culture course description effective fall 2011 ap course descriptions are updated regularly please visit ap central ® apcentral.collegeboard.com to determine whether a more recent course description pdf is available.

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the college board the college board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity founded in 1900 the college board is composed of more than 5,700 schools colleges universities and other educational organizations each year the college board serves seven million students and their parents 23,000 high schools and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college readiness college admission guidance assessment financial aid and enrollment among its widely recognized programs are the sat® the psat/nmsqt® the advanced placement program® ap® springboard® and accuplacer® the college board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs services activities and concerns for further information visit www.collegeboard.org ap equity and access policy the college board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their ap programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in ap we encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to ap for students from ethnic racial and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underserved schools should make every effort to ensure their ap classes reflect the diversity of their student population the college board also believes that all students should have access to academically challenging course work before they enroll in ap classes which can prepare them for ap success it is only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved ap course and exam descriptions ap course and exam descriptions are updated regularly please visit ap central® apcentral.collegeboard.com to determine whether a more recent course and exam description pdf is available © 2011 the college board college board accuplacer advanced placement program ap ap central sat springboard and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the college board inspiring minds is a trademark owned by the college board psat nmsqt is a registered trademark of the college board and national merit scholarship corporation all other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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contents welcome to the ap program ap course audit ap development committees ap reading ap exam scores credit and placement for ap scores setting credit and placement policies for ap scores 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 ap japanese language and culture 4 introduction 4 the course 4 content and skills 5 interpersonal mode 5 interpretive mode 6 presentational mode 6 assessment 7 instructional resources 7 kanji list 8 the exam 10 ap japanese language and culture exam format 11 sample questions 13 section i multiple choice listening 13 section i multiple choice reading 17 answers to multiple-choice questions 19 section ii free response writing 20 section ii free response speaking 21 teacher support 24 ap central apcentral .collegeboard .com 24 additional resources 24 © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org i

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welcome to the ap® program ap ® is a rigorous academic program built on the commitment passion and hard work of students and educators from both secondary schools and higher education with more than 30 courses in a wide variety of subject areas ap provides willing and academically prepared high school students with the opportunity to study and learn at the college level through ap courses talented and dedicated ap teachers help students develop and apply the skills abilities and content knowledge they will need later in college each ap course is modeled upon a comparable college course and college and university faculty play a vital role in ensuring that ap courses align with college-level standards for example through the ap course audit ap teachers submit their syllabi for review and approval by college faculty only courses using syllabi that meet or exceed the college-level curricular and resource requirements for each ap course are authorized to carry the ap label ap courses culminate in a suite of college-level assessments developed and scored by college and university faculty members as well as experienced ap teachers ap exams are an essential part of the ap experience enabling students to demonstrate their mastery of college-level course work strong performance on ap exams is rewarded by colleges and universities worldwide more than 90 percent of four-year colleges and universities in the united states grant students credit placement or both on the basis of successful ap exam scores but performing well on an ap exam means more than just the successful completion of a course it is the gateway to success in college research consistently shows that students who score a 3 or higher typically experience greater academic success in college and improved graduation rates than their non-ap student peers ap course audit the intent of the ap course audit is to provide secondary and higher education constituents with the assurance that an ap designation on a student s transcript is credible meaning the ap program has authorized a course that has met or exceeded the curricular requirements and classroom resources that demonstrate the academic rigor of a comparable college course to receive authorization from the college board to label a course ap teachers must participate in the ap course audit courses authorized to use the ap designation are listed in the ap course ledger made available to colleges and universities each fall it is the school s responsibility to ensure that its ap course ledger entry accurately reflects the ap courses offered within each academic year the ap program unequivocally supports the principle that each individual school must develop its own curriculum for courses labeled ap rather than mandating any one curriculum for ap courses the ap course audit instead provides each ap teacher with a set of expectations that college and secondary school faculty nationwide have established for college-level courses ap teachers are encouraged to develop or maintain their own curriculum that either includes or exceeds each of these expectations such courses will be authorized to use the ap designation credit for the success of ap courses belongs to the individual schools and teachers that create powerful locally designed ap curricula © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org 1

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complete information about the ap course audit is available at www.collegeboard com/apcourseaudit ap development committees an ap development committee is a group of nationally renowned subject-matter experts in a particular discipline that includes professionals in secondary and postsecondary education as well as from professional organizations these experts ensure that ap courses and exams reflect the most up-to-date information available as befitting a college-level course and that student proficiency is assessed properly to find a list of current ap development committee members please visit apcentral collegeboard.com/developmentcommittees ap reading ap exams with the exception of ap studio art which is a portfolio assessment consist of dozens of multiple-choice questions scored by machine and free-response questions scored at the annual ap reading by thousands of college faculty and expert ap teachers ap readers use scoring standards developed by college and university faculty who teach the corresponding college course the ap reading offers educators both significant professional development and the opportunity to network with colleagues for more information about the ap reading or to apply to serve as a reader visit apcentral.collegeboard.com/readers ap exam scores the readers scores on the free-response questions are combined with the results of the computer-scored multiple-choice questions the weighted raw scores are summed to give a composite score the composite score is then converted to a score on ap s 5-point scale while colleges and universities are responsible for setting their own credit and placement policies ap scores signify how qualified students are to receive college credit or placement ap score 5 4 3 2 1 qualification extremely well qualified well qualified qualified possibly qualified no recommendation ap exam scores of 5 are equivalent to a grades in the corresponding college course ap exam scores of 4 are equivalent to grades of a­ b and b in college ap exam scores of 3 are equivalent to grades of b­ c and c in college credit and placement for ap scores thousands of two and four-year colleges and universities grant credit placement or both for qualifying ap exam scores because these scores represent a level of 2 © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org.

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achievement equivalent to that of students who have taken the comparable college course this college-level equivalency is ensured through several ap program processes · college faculty are involved in course and exam development and other ap activities currently college faculty · serve as chairs and members of the committees that develop the course descriptions and exams for each ap course · are responsible for standard setting and are involved in the evaluation of student responses at the annual ap reading the chief reader for each ap exam is a college faculty member · lead professional development seminars for new and experienced ap teachers · serve as the senior reviewers in the annual ap course audit ensuring ap teachers syllabi meet the curriculum guidelines for college-level courses · ap courses and exams are reviewed and updated regularly based on the results of curriculum surveys at up to 200 colleges and universities collaborations among the college board and key educational and disciplinary organizations and the interactions of committee members with professional organizations in their discipline · periodic college comparability studies are undertaken in which the performance of college students on a selection of ap exam questions is compared with that of ap students to ensure that grades earned by college students are aligned with scores ap students earn on the exam for more information about the role of colleges and universities in the ap program visit the value of ap to colleges and universities section of the college board website at http professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/placement/ap setting credit and placement policies for ap scores the college board website for education professionals has a section specifically for colleges and universities that provides guidance in setting ap credit and placement policies visit http professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/placement/ap/policy additional resources including links to ap research studies released exam questions and sample student responses at varying levels of achievement for each ap exam are also available to view student samples and scoring guidelines visit http apcentral collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/exam_questions/index.html to review recent validity research studies visit http professionals.collegeboard com/data-reports-research/cb/ap the ap credit policy info online search tool provides links to credit and placement policies at more than 1,000 colleges and universities this tool helps students find the credit hours and/or advanced placement they may receive for qualifying exam scores within each ap subject at a specified institution ap credit policy info is available at www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy if the information for your institution is not listed or is incorrect please contact aphighered@collegeboard.org © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org 3

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ap japanese language and culture introduction the ap japanese language and culture course and exam are an important step in a commitment by the college board to further multiculturalism and multilingualism in secondary school education through the world language programs the college board hopes to make a significant contribution to secondary school curricula college board president gaston caperton said world events make it ever more obvious that a broad knowledge and understanding of other languages and cultures is essential for our young people the course the ap japanese language and culture course is designed to be comparable to college/university japanese courses that represent the point at which students complete approximately 300 hours of college-level classroom instruction like the corresponding college courses the ap course supports students as they develop the productive receptive and cultural skills necessary to communicate with native speakers of japanese students proficiency levels at the end of the course are expected to reach at least the intermediate low to intermediate mid range as described in the american council on the teaching of foreign languages actfl proficiency guidelines.1 firmly rooted in the standards for foreign language learning in the 21st century 2 standards the course articulates its goals in terms of the standards three modes of communication interpersonal interpretive and presentational employing these communication modes as a framework upon which to weave its content the course also addresses the standards other important goals cultural competence connections to other school disciplines comparisons between the target language and culture and those of the learners and the use of the language within a broader community beyond the traditional school environment students therefore develop an expanded ability to communicate in a culturally appropriate manner and in increasingly widening contexts they develop the capacity to appreciate different ways of thinking about the world in general and other school subjects in particular they come to a richer understanding of their own language and culture developing strategies for the continued development of their own multilingualism and they are able to connect with local communities and use technology to connect with japanese speakers elsewhere in addition to the national standards teachers also rely on their own individual state standards benchmarks curriculum frameworks and district guidelines to help shape the course 1 american council on the teaching of foreign languages actfl proficiency guidelines speaking rev 1999 and actfl proficiency guidelines writing rev 2001 order at www .actfl .org 2 national standards in foreign language education project standards for foreign language learning in the 21st century lawrence kan allen press 1999 4 © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org.

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content and skills the ap japanese language and culture course meets students where they are both cognitively and linguistically that is teachers ensure that the themes and topics they select are developmentally appropriate and intellectually engaging for their students at the same time they scaffold the content in ways that make the language comprehensible often units of instruction introduce students to a broad spectrum of japanese culture through exposure to carefully scaffolded materials students gain an introduction to contemporary social political or educational issues to the place of religion within japanese society or to traditional versus modern male and female gender roles scaffolding strategies also enable teachers to address more customary topics such as traditional japanese arts customs festivals geography and history at deeper and richer levels the often demanding texts containing these rich sources of information require command of a significant number of kanji see the kanji list at the end of this section throughout the course as students engage these challenging topics teachers design lessons that support the acquisition of a full range of functional language skills students develop the interpersonal skills that enable them to request information and confirm the receipt of information request and give directions and issue and respond to invitations for example they also develop more cognitively challenging functional language skills including but not limited to the ability to compare phenomena express opinions and preferences and discuss life experiences as students of ap japanese language and culture they also employ appropriate register in the application of each of these skills are familiar with desu/masu and da plain styles of japanese and with keigo and use effective keyboarding skills like the ap japanese language and culture exam the course takes a holistic approach to language proficiency while at the same time recognizing the complex relationships among its component parts including comprehension and comprehensibility vocabulary usage communication strategies cultural awareness and linguistic accuracy working within the context of this holistic approach to proficiency teachers attend to these various and necessary components in developmentally and pedagogically appropriate ways a typical course enables students to cultivate the following abilities this specific list of course objectives is an example different ap courses may have slightly different but comparable learning goals interpersonal mode two-way interactive communication · orally initiate or respond to greetings and formulaic expressions in a culturally appropriate manner and with pronunciation intonation and a level of accuracy comprehensible to native speakers accustomed to dealing with learners of japanese · orally request information on a variety of topics e .g personal information school subjects daily activities people and products of japanese culture or respond to such a request © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org 5

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· exchange information in writing on a variety of topics e .g personal information school subjects daily activities people and products of japanese culture using orthography kanji spelling and language comprehensible to native speakers accustomed to dealing with learners of japanese · ask and give preferences orally in a culturally appropriate manner and with pronunciation intonation and a level of accuracy comprehensible to a native speaker accustomed to dealing with learners of japanese · ask and give preferences in writing in a culturally appropriate manner at a level of accuracy comprehensible to a native speaker accustomed to dealing with learners of japanese · offer and respond orally to suggestions requests or invitations in a culturally appropriate manner and with pronunciation intonation and a level of accuracy comprehensible to a native speaker accustomed to dealing with learners of japanese · offer and respond in writing to suggestions requests or invitations in a culturally appropriate manner with a level of accuracy comprehensible to a native speaker accustomed to dealing with learners of japanese interpretive mode understanding of spoken or written communication · grasp detail and make inferences on an age-appropriate social or cultural issue · understand the details of authentic or semiauthentic materials on ageappropriate topics · grasp the gist and/or understand necessary information from authentic or semiauthentic materials · grasp detail and make inferences concerning an expressed opinion on an age-appropriate social or cultural issue · grasp the gist and understand the details of a short statement on a concrete topic relevant to the student s daily experience · grasp the gist and understand the details of an expressed opinion on ageappropriate social or cultural issues presentational mode creating spoken or written communication · describe people places or events and activities that are familiar to the student in writing on a computer · describe one s past experience in writing on a computer · describe japanese special events in writing on a computer · announce information on school-related events or activities · narrate in a coherent manner and display cultural knowledge through storytelling 6 © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org.

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· describe japanese cultural practices and products and present one s own views on them · compare and contrast two experiences of a similar nature assessment assessment plays a central role in the course as each unit of instruction is developed with formative and summative assessments in mind in keeping with the format of the ap japanese language and culture exam the various components of language proficiency are often assessed within the context of holistic performance tasks that is the qualities of a student s fluency comprehensibility accuracy and keyboarding skills for example can all be assessed within one complex task employing a rubric or scoring guide similar to those used to score student performances on the ap exam teachers use the assessment tasks and scoring guidelines employed on the ap exam as models for their own classroom assessments they also use the results of their assessments to inform their teaching frequently cycling back over previously taught content or skills as students performances on the assessments indicate assessments in ap japanese language and culture can take many shapes but are always within the realm of expected classroom activities and are developed within the framework of the three communicative modes by providing rubrics to students at the beginning of the assessments teachers ensure that students are aware of the criteria against which their work will be assessed ap japanese teachers use the instructional planning report ipr to inform their teaching the ipr is sent to schools each fall and details how the school s group of students performed on the prior year s ap exam because one of the goals of the ap course is to prepare students for the ap exam teachers consult the annual student performance q a which is posted on ap central for feedback about how ap students performed on recent exams and how they can prepare to do better they may learn from those reports that students must be taught to read and follow instructions carefully to make full use of the time allotted to different tasks on the exam to speak clearly into the microphone and to use the appropriate register and level of discourse in the given context also they may need practice in using aisatsu and set phrases smoothly and appropriately as well as practice in using transitional elements and producing compound sentences instructional resources teachers make carefully planned use of a wide range of instructional materials and strategies in meeting the goals of the ap japanese course they choose from among traditional resources such as textbooks audiovisual materials and web-based content designed for language learning they also make use of materials generally used by native japanese speakers including print and web-based texts of all kinds animated computer programs and videos cds and dvds mindful of the different ways in which their students learn teachers align the instructional materials they select with teaching strategies designed to support the particular learning goals they have set particularly with materials that would normally be considered beyond the grasp of high school students teachers scaffold students © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org 7

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experiences in order to ensure that these texts can be understood specifically teachers employ the reading and writing processes in support of students developing literacy they plan and implement well-structured cooperative learning activities to support ongoing and frequent verbal interaction and the negotiation of meaning and they differentiate their instruction to meet the diverse needs of their learners not only do they vary their teaching strategies from day to day or week to week but teachers also provide degrees of variation and choice within lessons in addition they guide students in the development of useful learning strategies that may be applied in the classroom and beyond finally in keeping with the framework of the standards each unit of instruction within the course offers students ample opportunities to engage in all three modes of communication kanji list for the ap japanese language and culture course and exam students are expected to be able to interpret and produce texts using the kanji on this list it is based on a survey of commonly used textbooks and represents expectations typical of college courses that represent the point at which students complete approximately 300 hours of college-level classroom instruction this list is organized by jis code but of course the kanji need not be presented in this particular order kanji should be presented according to students communicative needs as characterized by the topic purpose and other aspects of their reading and writing continued 8 © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org.

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kanji list continued © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org 9

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the exam the ap japanese language and culture exam is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes in length it assesses interpersonal interpretive and presentational communication skills in japanese along with knowledge of japanese culture the exam is administered on computer refer to ap central and the ap coordinator s manual for necessary information related to administering exams on computer each student works at an individual computer which processes everything read heard written or spoken by the student that is the student reads on the screen listens through headphones types using the keyboard and speaks into a microphone there is no paper component although the student may use paper to take notes during the exam the proctor will collect the notes at the end of the exam and they will not be scored there are two sections in the exam section i consists of multiple-choice questions that assess communication skills in the interpretive mode part a assesses interpretive communication skills by requiring the student to answer questions about different types of listening stimuli part b assesses interpretive communication skills by requiring the student to answer questions about different types of reading texts section ii the free-response section assesses communication skills in the interpersonal and presentational modes by requiring the student to produce written and spoken responses part a assesses writing in the interpersonal mode by requiring the student to respond to a series of thematically linked questions as part of a simulated exchange of text-chat messages it also assesses writing in the presentational mode by requiring the student to compare and contrast two given experiences part b assesses speaking in the interpersonal mode by requiring the student to respond to a series of thematically linked questions as part of a simulated conversation it also assesses speaking in the presentational mode by requiring the student to make a presentation discussing a given cultural topic each part of the exam contributes a specific portion to the final ap exam score grouped by communicative mode the various parts contribute as follows interpersonal 25 percent interpretive 50 percent and presentational 25 percent grouped by language modality the various parts contribute as follows listening 25 percent reading 25 percent writing 25 percent and speaking 25 percent 10 © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org.

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this table details the exam content and format including the amount of time and the number of questions for each part as well as the contribution of each part toward the final ap exam score times listed are approximate they estimate the total administration time for each part of the exam taking into account time for reading directions moving from question to question etc for ease of reference the specific time allotted for preparation or response for some particular questions is noted in parentheses these timing parameters are also explained in the directions preceding each task in the sample questions portion of this booklet ap japanese language and culture exam format section i section section i question type and knowledge/skills assessed multiple choice number of questions and weight of final score 70 questions 50 time 1 hour and 30 minutes listening selections sample stimulus types · conversation · debate · instructions part a · message listening · presentation · public announcement · radio broadcast knowledge/skills · interpretive communication · comprehension inference reading selections sample stimulus types · e-mail · instructions · letter · news article · short story · travel brochure knowledge/skills · interpretive communication · comprehension inference 20 minutes 30­35 questions 25 response time 12 seconds per question part b reading 35­40 questions 25 60 minutes © 2011 the college board visit the college board on the web www.collegeboard.org 11

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