ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how the Japanese language was incorporated as one of the topics covered into a thematic-units-based Japanese popular culture course. This introductory level course was offered in the four-week term at a small liberal arts college with a plenty of hands-on experience activities in addition to lectures and class discussions. Various aspects of Japanese culture such as food, technology, fashion, and religious practices were covered using manga and anime sources in addition to the textbook and academic articles. In the language segment, the Japanese script katakana was taught because it is used to transcribe loanwords from Western languages and onomatopoeia. Understanding the writing system including kanji and emoji helped students to understand reciprocal influence between languages as well as the modification of foreign materials in Japanese culture. Students also created a short digital manga story illustrating their college life by using onomatopoeia. The course provided the students who had studied only European languages before with the opportunity to be exposed to a language and culture that could have been less accessible for them.
