Outline of the Maple Program
Osaka University Intensive Japanese Language and Culture Program for Exchange Students (Maple Program) is one of the programs designed and operated by the Center for Japanese Language and Culture, Osaka University. The forerunner of the Center was the Special Course for Foreign Students, established in 1954 in the former Osaka University of Foreign Studies. As a hub of Japanese language and cultural education for more than half a century, the Center has been supporting international students financed by the Japanese government in line with governmental policy. In addition to international students financed by the government, the Center supports privately financed international students, using scholarships provided by the Japan Student Service Organization (JASSO). The Maple Program was established in 1999 in the former Osaka University of Foreign Studies as a short-term student-exchange program using the JASSO scholarship. Ever since, the Maple Program has provided international students with opportunities to study Japanese language and culture. In October 2008, the new Maple Program was inaugurated in line with the merger of Osaka University of Foreign Studies into Osaka University in October 2007. With the inauguration of the new Maple Program, the Center for Japanese Language and Culture began to design the curriculum for the entire Maple Program, and its curriculum began to specialize in Japanese language and culture.
Purpose of the Maple Program
Interest in Japanese culture and society has been steadily growing outside Japan, as evidenced by increasing numbers of students majoring in Japanese language and culture in overseas universities, as well as those of individuals self-studying these subjects. Studying Japanese language and culture outside Japan, however, entails various challenges. For one thing, such students tend to have only fragmentary knowledge. The Maple Program is designed to foster the ability of such students to understand Japan and its situation from diverse viewpoints through comparative studies. In the Program, students are encouraged to compare and contrast Japanese language and culture with those of their home countries. The curriculum, comprising various academic subjects to meet diverse needs of individual students, is designed to enable students to study Japanese language, culture and society in a comprehensive manner, while at the same time improving their Japanese language proficiency. Moreover, the Maple Program provides international students with diverse opportunities for direct communication with Japanese students and to learn various aspects of Japan through hands-on learning programs concerning Japanese society and culture.
Curriculum
The core curriculum comprises subjects in the four categories: Special Seminar on Japanese Language and Culture, Research Subjects in Japanese Studies, Independent Study and Japanese Language Subjects.
The Special Seminar on Japanese Language and Culture (mandatory) is designed to provide students with an opportunity to study Japanese language and culture in a comprehensive manner. To cultivate students’ ability to analyze Japanese language, culture and society from diverse viewpoints, the Special Seminar adopts various study methods: classroom activities, including discussions on various topics related to Japanese culture (both traditional and contemporary) and presentations using videos and other media; fieldworks; study tours to nearby facilities related to Japanese food, clothing and housing culture (hands-on learning concerning Japanese society and culture); and cross-cultural understanding programs with the assistance of Japanese tutors (comprising undergraduate and graduate students). In these programs, students can study aspects of Japanese society and culture, while comparing and contrasting them with those of their home countries. During the fall semester in 2009, four subjects were offered in this category for students of different Japanese proficiency levels.
In Research Subjects in Japanese Studies (elective), some lectures are given in English; other lectures are provided in Japanese. Since Japanese undergraduate students also attend the lectures given in English, instructors of English classes take into consideration different cultural backgrounds of individual students. To help international students integrate their fragmentary knowledge about Japan, lectures are provided on Japanese language, history, society and political affairs from comparative viewpoints. Lectures provided in Japanese are designed to cultivate students’ abilities to discuss in Japanese various aspects of Japanese language, history, society and political affairs, as well as their abilities to autonomously gather related information and documents. During the fall semester in 2009, five subjects in this category were offered in English while 12 were offered in Japanese.
Independent Study is designed for students who are engaged in specific research at their respective home universities/institutions. Under faculty members specializing in the field of respective students’ interest, students can conduct in-depth research on their selected themes by gathering and analyzing primary sources in Japan. In one year, each student must write an essay on his or her respective theme. During the fall semester in 2009, three Independent Study subjects were offered in the fields of Japanese language and culture.
Japanese Language Subjects comprise many subjects of different study levels so that students can choose appropriately in accordance with their Japanese language proficiency levels. Targeting students who have Japanese language proficiency equivalent to or higher than Level 3 in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), all subjects are designed to improve their language skills in a short time. Japanese Language Subjects are offered in two courses: intermediate and advanced. In the intermediate course, in each week students must take six mandatory Japanese language classes (90 minutes per class) to learn Japanese expressions. In addition, students can choose desired subjects from various electives, including intermediate grammar, kanji (Chinese characters), reading comprehension, composition and listening comprehension, in accordance with their respective skill levels. During the fall semester in 2009, 25 subjects were offered in the intermediate course. In the advanced course, there are no mandatory subjects. From various electives, students can take desired subjects in accordance with their respective skill levels. During the fall semester in 2009, as many as 49 subjects were offered in the advanced course.
During the fall semester in 2009, a total of 98 credit-bearing subjects were offered. In the spring semester in 2010, nearly 100 such subjects will be offered.
In addition to the study tours and cross-cultural understanding programs provided in the Special Seminar on Japanese Language and Culture, two or three study tours are arranged every year. Moreover, Japanese students help international students under a year-round tutorial system. With these outstanding features, the Maple Program offers international students interested in Japanese language and culture an optimal environment to fulfill their academic goals.
Major Features
Firstly, the Maple Program is designed to offer students with an opportunity to study Japanese language, history, society and political affairs in a comprehensive manner. All educational programs are provided by faculty members specializing in contrastive linguistics, comparative thinking, comparative culture or other comparative studies.
Secondly, the Maple Program places priority on promoting communication with Japanese students. In some seminars, international students collaborate with Japanese students under supervision of professors.
Thirdly, in Japanese Language Subjects students can choose appropriate study levels in accordance with their Japanese language proficiency levels (equivalent to or higher than Level 3 in the JLPT). The number of electives available in the Maple Program is unparalleled, so students can choose the most appropriate one from a wide variety of offerings.
Fourth, the Maple Program curriculum is designed to raise students’ abilities to the level required for entrance of graduate schools, particularly the Graduate School of Language and Culture in Osaka University. The Graduate School features a special course (Special Course on Japanese Language and Culture), which is the only cultural science course to have a quota for international students financed by the Japanese government scholarships. Accordingly, classes of the Research Subjects in Japanese Studies are designed to cultivate students’ scholastic abilities necessary for entrance into this course.
Call for Application for 2010-2011 Maple Program
Number of students: approximately 40
Program period: 12 months from September 2010 to August 2011
Eligibility
All applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Students who are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in an university/institution that has concluded a mutual student-exchange agreement with Osaka University
- Students who are enrolled in official courses of their respective universities throughout the Program period (September 2010 to August 2011)
- Students who have excellent academic performance at their home university/institution, outstanding character, definite vision and objectives for studying in Japan, and high potential for success in studying in Japan
- Students who are, in principle, in the third year or higher in an undergraduate program
- Students who have Japanese language proficiency equivalent to or higher than Level 3 in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
For application, students are encouraged to consult either an academic adviser or student exchange officer of their university/institution.
Tuition
Tuition is exempted for students whose home university/institution and Osaka University have entered into a mutual agreement under which tuition is waived.
Scholarship
Maple Program students (students of a university/institution that has concluded a mutual student-exchange agreement with Osaka University) are eligible to apply for the following scholarship:
Japan Students Service Organization (JASSO) scholarship
a. Amount: Undecided
During the academic year of 2009, a monthly stipend of 80,000 yen plus a relocation allowance of 80,000 yen (paid only once upon a student’s arrival in Japan) were provided.
b. Eligibility and conditions
1) Students of a university/institution that has concluded a mutual student-exchange agreement with Osaka University
2) Students who have excellent academic performance at their home university/institution, outstanding character, definite vision and objectives for studying in Japan, and high potential for success in studying in Japan
3) Students who have financial difficulties in studying in Japan on their own expense
4) Students who do not receive scholarships from other organizations, or students who receive such scholarships the monthly amount of which does not exceed 80,000 yen
5) Students who do not receive the Honors Scholarship for Privately Financed International Students from the Japan Students Service Organization
6) Students who do not receive any scholarship from the Japanese government for the academic year of 2010
For details, please visit the website of the Japan Students Service Organization:
http://www.jasso.go.jp/scholarship/short_term_e.html
For further information, please visit the website:
http://www.cjlc.osaka-u.ac.jp/programs/m/
The Maple Program, authorized by the Japan Students Service Organization, is a one-year program starting in September (actually in the beginning of October) and ending in August. The Program comprises the fall semester and the spring semester. A Certificate of Program Completion will be issued to students who earn 30 credits or more in one year. |
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