Reviews for JAPN302

Information Review
Mari Prendergast
JAPN302

Expecting a C+
ReakatheGOAT
05/15/2023 		Dear incoming 301/302 students: do not take 302 with this instructor. First let’s start with course content. It is well known that UMD offers Japanese courses as 6 credit courses which results in there being a large workload. However, I do not feel that this instructor provided appropriate resources for success. No study guides were given for exams. No old exams were posted. Not even lecture slides were provided to students after they were presented. It was never clear what was on exams and for that reason most people did not do well. Now, onto teaching style. Dr. Hamada was very snappy. If students made mistakes or even just had their own way of doing things she would immediately shut it down. It was very frustrating because it created an environment where no one felt comfortable asking questions or going to office hours. As the semester draws to a close, the class average is a low B to C with no curve. Everyone in this humanities class will now be taking a major hit to their GPA. This is particularly pertinent if Japanese is not your major. If you are thinking about 301 or 302 as an elective next year, please consider JAWSDC instead. This class may teach you skills but it will be at the expense of your GPA and mental health.
Kazuo Yaginuma
JAPN302

Expecting an A
jpnlover
11/14/2014 		Yaginuma-sensei is amazing!! He is funny and makes class interesting. He is a very lenient grader. He was already retired but was asked back to teach the Fall 2013 semester. I was really lucky to have him as my teacher. He doesn't test you on kanji, which makes the class loads easier, in my opinion. Overall, he's awesome.