<p>Im really considering on taking Japanese 1A during the fall and Im wondering how difficult the class is. I have very basic to no knowledge of the language and I dont know if i should go for it. Ive heard that all the language classes at Cal have a large work load but what does that mean?</p>
<p>It would be helpful if if i knew how much homework is assigned, are quizzes supposed to be difficult? How many hours a day/week would be ideal to spend on the class? Im really interested in Japanese but the workload might put me off. Any help would be appreciated</p>
<p>I’ve heard for Japan 1A that while the material may not be easy, the curve is extremely lenient. By large workload, I’m thinking you’ll need to spend at least an hour or two outside of class per day on homework and studying. But I’m also planning on taking the class this fall and so I can’t tell you anything specific about the workload.</p>
<p>If you don’t already know hiragana and katakana, I advise you to learn them now, as you’ll be expected to know these alphabets after the first two weeks of class.</p>
<p>I didn’t take Japanese 1A, but I did take Chinese 1A, and I hear the workload between the two languages is comparable. In Chinese we had a huge amount of work–a quiz +test each week, at least 1-2 hours of work per day, sometimes more, some projects, language lab lessons and assignments every week. It’s not a 5 unit course for nothing. In any language course at Berkeley, you’ll find a lot of work, but especially so for Japanese and Chinese (and perhaps Korean?), as those are some of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. So although I agree that the grading curve was pretty lenient, you still need to put in a lot of work to get a solid grade in this class. Also consider that it’s not just the assigned work, but the extra time you need to set aside to memorize hiragna, etc (in my case, Chinese characters) that adds to the workload. If you’re looking for a lighter courseload, I would advise against taking the course, but if you’re really determined to learn the language, despite the work, go for it.</p>
<p>Japan 1A is actually not as hard as others said – as long as you read the textbook, practice the Chinese characters, and memorize the vocabulary before each class. Teachers are extremely nice and everyone in my session last semester loved it!</p>