JPN-203
INTERMEDIATE JAPANESE
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Difficulty runs on the high side even without a single dominant complaint theme. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
DepartmentAMES
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment6–14
Semesters of data3
6.8
Hrs / week
62
Responses
75
Enrollment
83%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.1
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.3
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.2
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
4.0
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 192 comments across 7 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Difficulty runs on the high side even without a single dominant complaint theme. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Heavy homework load
Homework load is one of the clearest friction points. Students repeatedly describe assignments, readings, or problem sets as time-consuming.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
Tradeoffs
• Difficulty runs high even when comments do not settle on one dominant complaint.
Best fit for
Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Watch out for
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
language skills including listening, speaking, writing, and reading
Fall 2023 · Saito, Azusa
1. intermediate Japanese grammars, 2. how to talk politely, 3. Japanese cultures.
Fall 2023 · Saito, Azusa
How to express opinions and desires, how to use different forms of speaking (polite and humble), and how to ask how to do things.
Fall 2023 · Saito, Azusa
I learned lots of new grammar structures, vocabulary and characters in this class. But I also learned how to communicate better in occasiations with different level of formalities.
Fall 2023 · Saito, Azusa
Learned intermediate level japanese. Practiced presenting with newfound Japanese grammars Wrote about political issues using basic japanese
Fall 2023 · Saito, Azusa
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Saito, Azusa 2.5Rate My ProfessorsQuality2.5Difficulty3.8Would retake17%Based on 16 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.4 | 3.4 | 6.8 | 16 |
| Fall 2024 | Saito, Azusa 2.5Rate My ProfessorsQuality2.5Difficulty3.8Would retake17%Based on 16 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.1 | 4.2 | 6.6 | 20 |
| Fall 2023 | Saito, Azusa 2.5Rate My ProfessorsQuality2.5Difficulty3.8Would retake17%Based on 16 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.0 | 4.2 | 7.2 | 39 |
Instructor
Saito, AzusaAMES
Also teaches
JPN-204 INTERMEDIATE JAPANESE4.1JPN-306 ADVANCED JAPANESE4.6