Norio Ota - York University (all campuses), Toronto, ON

Professor: Norio Ota

Department: Languages

College: York University (all campuses), Toronto, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: JAP1000
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures are useless... I dont know why we even have them. They also force us to go to these lectures by handing out an attendance sheet. Tutorials are all you really need in order to learn Japanese, but the online website is quite messy and hard to navigate through. Overall, 1/5 stars.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The lecture notes make it very hard to do self study if you havent gone to the lecture and taken notes. I had Ota-sensei as my tutorial prof as well. He's funny and engaging to listen to. He's a pretty strict teacher and assigns a lot of homework but he's fair in his marking. If you want a bird class, don't take this one. Ota likes serious students

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures were 100% useless, and the only real reason to come is for participation marks. You'll have a hard time self-teaching cuz the online lecture notes are terrible. It doesn't explain the material properly. No translations, full of linguistic terms, VERY POORLY organized. Thankfully there were tutorials. Overall, avoid if you want good GPA

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: JAP1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

There is no textbook for this class. It is entirely based on the notes online, which are mediocre and often cryptic. He tries to explain them to us in lecture, but he often gets off topic and since he has structured the class so that there is only a one hour of lecture per week, when he goes off topic it's bad.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: JP3000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Best professor ever! His influence has changed my life, helped me to go an exchange program and met with our class even after graduation. Very inspirational and passionate about teaching!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: JP2000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Ota-sensei is incredibly passionate about teaching Japanese, and he expects to get the same amount of effort back. If you can't put in hours of studying each week, do not take his courses. If you do, however, he is a truly caring prof that works very hard to create opportunities for his students and you will learn a lot.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The course is pretty hard. It will take you many time after class. But the professor is a good guy and all the TAs are nice.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENVS1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

he's very committed, if you're very into japan and its culture and language, you'll love him. But if you are sorta lazy and chill too much, you'll screw up. Hardest class by far but also the most rewarding. good luck.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: JPA
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Unless you plan on making his class top priority, don't bother. He's a very demanding man and his teaching style not quite as interactive as it should be ie we are expected to know the grammar rules by heart by reading it once, not through applying them via exercises and drills. He does get some results if you are dedicated enough.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: JP3000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I agreed with some others who have commented him as a hard marker. But I have to say, it's because of him I got my first job in Japan. He knows the culture well and you will learn how to prepare or to get involved in the JP society. You need to have great passion towards the language and its culture. It's not the teacher who matters. It's you.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: JP3000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is very subjective.Even thought you speak fluent Japanese.You have to scream out every class to say something stupid for participation mark for him to like you.He will grade you very badly if he doesn't like you,even though you are fluent at Japanese.1 of the worst professor I have ever met.DO NOT take his course if you want fairness.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

If you're planning on taking any courses other than Japanese, don't bother with this. The grading scale makes it so that you need an 84% for a B+. The tests are extremely difficult and make up 50% of the grade. His lectures are random/unhelpful but attendance is graded. Expect to spend 20 hours a week working for a B. Good luck.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He expects a LOT out of his students, but I suppose any language course should be like that. Material to cover might be overwhelming at times but all he wants to see is you put in the honest effort. If you do, you should do well. You have 5 tests that combined are worth 50%; if you mess up one or two its not too bad. Just keep on the material.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: JP3000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Doesn't have clear lecture notes. WILL NOT like you if you don't show interest in Japanese. He doesn't understand that students have other classes beside japanese, therefore expects A LOT of effort from them. People who do well, are those who speak fluent japanese.If you are studying for other courses beside japanese, don't expect higher than D.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: JP3000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He loves to teach, and he loves his students. I see a lot of people complaining about him going on tangents or getting off topic. But this will make mroe sense as you progress to third year. He wants to make his class interesting by not using textbooks and I love this method of teaching. You will LOVE him. you have to.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is not my tutorial leader but the main prof for the course. He really understands how to teach the Japanese language and expects a lot of hard work and commitment. I really recommend this course for someone who really wants to gain an understanding of the Japanese language and culture.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: JP2000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dedicated Prof. Materials easy to understand. If you make an effort in this class(which is Ota's intention. He's serious about teaching people Japanese)you will acquire the Japanese language in no time. He personally tutored me for the OJSC so I understand his teaching methods. All you gotta do is put in the effort he encourages you to.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: JPYEAR
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

great

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

long winded and boring. likes to go on personal tangents for no reason. his notes are impossible to understand and he doesn't explain them.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: JP1000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Possibly the most difficult prof I have ever experienced. Bumps up the grading difficulty by 5% (one letter grade), doesn't translate his notes for those trying to learn the language, never gives definitions of his notes, and uses one of the most difficult methods of testing: online, case-sensitive, character sensitive, fill in the blanks.