This course is for students who have knowledge of basic Japanese grammar and speaking skills at the intermediate level. The course has two major goals: One is to develop functional Japanese language skills used both for reading everyday life in Japan and discussing the social and cultural subjects studied in class. The other is to explore content areas on the selected cultural/social trends in modern-day Japan. Students will be exposed to a variety of written and video materials as input and given opportunities for creative language production such as discussion, interviewing, essay writings, and presentations. Some intermediate grammar and kanji kanji compound will be focused and studied.