Capstone Experience

The Capstone Experience for Japanese Majors at Marshall University consists of two objectives:

Communicative Japanese:

• Speaking: Demonstrate ability to converse with ease and confidence when dealing with most routine tasks and social situations of the Intermediate level. They are able to handle successfully many uncomplicated tasks and social situations requiring an exchange of basic information.
• Reading / Comprehension: Demonstrate ability to understand fully and with ease short, non-complex texts that convey basic information and deal with personal and social topics to which the reader brings personal interest or knowledge.
• Writing: Demonstrate ability to meet all practical writing needs such as taking notes on familiar topics, writing uncomplicated letters, simple summaries, and compositions related to work, school experiences, and topics of current and general interest.
• Listening: Demonstrate ability to understand, with ease and confidence, simple sentence-length speech in basic personal and social contexts.

Develop In-depth Knowledge of Japanese Culture:

• Understanding of current issues in Japan: Issue/problem to be considered critically is stated, described, and clarified so that understanding is not seriously impeded by omissions.
• Knowledge of target culture: Demonstrates adequate understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of target culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles and social practices.
• Critique of own culture: Recognizes new perspectives about own cultural rules and biases.
• Comparisons: Critically compare and contrast different worldviews or cultural perspectives.
• Students’ Position and Problem Solving: Specific position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis) takes into account the complexities of an issue. Others’ points of view are acknowledged within position. Possible solutions provided.

A list of past topics of past Capstone topics includes:

• Yōkai in the Modern Era
• Kawaii Culture as Soft Power: Japan’s Challenge in the Global Hegemony
• Foreign Language Education in Japan
• Footprints in the Cesium Ash: Accountability in the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
• How COVID-19 Has Affected Homeless Populations in Japan
• Relationship Building in Japanese Business Culture
• Translator or Cultural Mediator?: The Localization of Video Games from Japan to North America

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