California
Subject
Examinations for
Teachers®

TEST GUIDEJAPANESESUBTEST I
Sample Questions and Responses
and Scoring Information
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Sample Test Questions for CSET: Japanese Subtest I
Below is a set of multiple-choice questions and constructed-response questions that are similar to the questions
you will see on Subtest I of CSET: Japanese. You are encouraged to respond to the questions without looking at
the responses provided in the next section. Record your responses on a sheet of paper and compare them withthe provided responses.

California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

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Japanese Subtest I
General Directions
This test consists of two sections: (1) a multiple-choice question section and (2) a constructed-response
assignment section. Each question in the first section is a multiple-choice question with four answer choices.
Read each question and answer choice carefully and choose the ONE best answer.
Try to answer all questions. In general, if you have some knowledge about a question, it is better to try toanswer it. You will not be penalized for guessing.
The second section contains one or more constructed-response assignments. You will be asked to provide awritten response to each assignment. Directions for the constructed-response assignment(s) appear immediately
before the assignment(s).
You may work on the multiple-choice questions and the constructed-response assignment(s) in any order thatyou choose. Be sure to allocate your time carefully so you are able to complete the entire test within the testing
session. You may go back and review your answers at any time during the testing session.
You may NOT use any type of calculator or reference materials during the testing session.

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California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

Japanese Subtest I

1.

In the genetic classification of languages,
languages are classified according to:2.

A nonnative speaker who pronounces theJapanese words for aunt andgrandmother in the same way is failingto:A.

geographical relationships between
language populations.

A.

use the proper accent pattern.

B.

standard ordering of the basic unitsof speech (subject, verb, object).

B.

use the correct tongue position forpronunciation.

shared development from an earlier
common language.

C.

distinguish two different intonation
patterns.

overlapping semantic categories ofwords.

D.

distinguish between a long and ashort vowel sound.

C.
D.

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Japanese Subtest I

3.

The -te form of a verb, when used at theend of a sentence, would mean that the
speaker is:A.

giving a suggestion.

B.

making a request.

C.

asking for permission.

D.

4.

A.

the first five letters of the English
alphabet.

B.

the first five consonants of the
English alphabet.

C.

the five major English vowels.

D.

the five short vowel sounds in
English.

offering an apology.

5.

4

The first five characters of katakana in
the Gojū-on chart correspond to:

Traditionally, the -sama suffix inJapanese would be used when:A.

talking about oneself to thepresident of one's own company.

B.

talking to a senior manager abouta customer.

C.

talking about an office colleague
to someone outside the company.

D.

talking to a new acquaintanceabout one's parents or siblings.

California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

Japanese Subtest I
CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ASSIGNMENT DIRECTIONS:ASSIGNMENTS 6 & 7
For Assignments 6 & 7, you are to prepare a written response for each exercise in Parts I and II. Directions areprovided before each part.
Write your responses to the exercises on the Response Sheets provided to you. Before you continue, please do
the following:
1. Label one (1) response sheet "Part I"
2. Label one (1) response sheet "Part II"
Read the assignment carefully before you begin your responses. Think about how you will organize yourresponses. You may use the erasable notebooklet to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare yourresponses. However, your final responses must be scanned using the scanner provided at yourworkstation.
Instructions for scanning your Response Sheets are available by clicking the "Scanning Help" button at
the top of the screen.
Be sure to write your response to each part on the correct Response Sheet.
Your responses to the exercises will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria.
•

SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: the application of accurate subject matter knowledge as
described in the relevant CSET subject matter requirements
Assignments 6 &7: Relevant Subject Matter Requirements• Demonstrate an understanding of the morphology of the target language.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the syntax of the target language.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the semantics of the target language.
• Identify, analyze, and correct grammatical and mechanical errors in the target language.
The assignments are intended to assess subject matter knowledge and skills, not writing ability. Your responses,
however, must be communicated clearly enough to permit a valid judgment of your knowledge and skills. Your
responses should be written for an audience of educators in the field.
Your responses should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased fromsome other work. Please write legibly when using the response sheets. You may not use any referencematerials during the testing session. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will
improve your responses.
Any time spent responding to these exercises, including scanning the response sheets, is part of your testingtime. Monitor your time carefully. When your testing time expires, a pop-up message will appear on-screen
indicating the conclusion of your test session. Only response sheets that are scanned before you end your test or
before time has expired will be scored. Any response sheet that is not scanned before testing ends will NOT bescored.

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Japanese Subtest I

6.

Rewrite each sentence below, transforming it according to the directions given. Your responses
must be written in Japanese.
A.

Rewrite the following sentence as a request for permission.
この映画を見ます。

B.

Rewrite the following sentence, expressing a negative request.
ここで写真をとってはいけません。

C.

Rewrite the following sentence in the active voice.
ウェィトレスに注文を聞かれました。

D.

Combine the following sentences into a single sentence, transforming one of the original
sentences into a modifying clause. Be sure to make all changes necessary for consistency
and correctness.
私は車を運転しています。
その車は赤い色です。

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California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

Japanese Subtest I

7.

Rewrite each sentence below, correcting the error in each sentence and providing a rationale(explanation) for each correction. Be sure that the corrected sentences retain the meaning of theoriginal sentences. Your rewritten sentences must be written in Japanese. Your rationales may
be written in either Japanese or English.
A.

私の母はそちらにいらっしゃいますか。

B.

昨日のコンサートは長いかったけど、すてきでしたね。

C.

前にすんでいた家は広かったし、きれかったです。

D.

暑いのでクーラーをついてください。

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Japanese Subtest I
CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ASSIGNMENT DIRECTIONS:ASSIGNMENTS 8 AND 9
For each constructed-response assignment in this section, you are to prepare a written response of
approximately, but not limited to, 75–150 words on the assigned topic. The assignments can be found beginningon the next screen.
Read each assignment carefully before you begin your responses. Think about how you will organize yourresponses. You may use the erasable notebooklet to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare yourresponses. However, your final responses must be either typed into the on-screen response box(es) or
written on the response sheet(s) and scanned using the scanner provided at your workstation.
Instructions for scanning your response sheet(s) are available by clicking the “Scanning Help” button at
the top of the screen.
Your responses will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
PURPOSE: the extent to which the response addresses the constructed-response assignment's charge in
relation to relevant CSET subject matter requirements
SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: the application of accurate subject matter knowledge as described in
the relevant CSET subject matter requirements
SUPPORT: the appropriateness and quality of the supporting evidence in relation to relevant CSET subject
matter requirements
Assignment 8: Relevant Subject Matter Requirements• Demonstrate an understanding of pragmatic and sociolinguistic features of target-language discourse.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the origins and social implications of accentual and dialectal
differences within the target language.
• Describe the differences among the varieties of the target language and the factors that account for thesedifferences.

•
•
•
•

Assignment 9: Relevant Subject Matter Requirements
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature, purposes, and uses of language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the development of language and the significance of language change,
including the variations that occur within the contexts of time, place, age, gender, and situation.
Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of pragmatics, discourse analysis, and the theory ofspeech acts.
Demonstrate an understanding of theories of language acquisition and learning.

The assignments are intended to assess subject matter knowledge and skills, not writing ability. Your responses,
however, must be communicated clearly enough to permit a valid judgment of your knowledge and skills. Your
responses should be written for an audience of educators in the field and may be written in the target language orEnglish.
Your responses should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased fromsome other work. Please write legibly when using response sheets. You may not use any reference materials
during the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your responses.

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California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

Japanese Subtest I
Any time spent responding to the assignments, including scanning the response sheet(s), is part of your testingtime. Monitor your time carefully. When your testing time expires, a pop-up message will appear on-screen
indicating the conclusion of your test session. Only response sheets that are scanned before you end your test or
before time has expired will be scored. Any response sheet that is not scanned before testing ends will NOT bescored.

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9Japanese Subtest I

8.

Use the information below to complete the exercise that follows.
Mr. Kameyama, a young man in Japan, has just reported for work on the first day of his new job.
He is waiting to talk to his new boss, Ms. Mizutani, about his work assignments and various officeprocedures. He also has a number of questions he wishes to ask his boss.
Write a response, in either Japanese or English, in which you:10•

identify the sociolinguistic factors (e.g., age, gender, experience) that would influence a
conversation between Mr. Kameyama and Ms. Mizutani; and•discuss how these factors would likely affect such a conversation.

California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

Japanese Subtest I

9.

Complete the exercise that follows.
The study of morphology is an important part of the study of language. Using your knowledge of
linguistics, write a response, in either Japanese or English, in which you:•define morphology; and•explain two central concepts of morphology (e.g., morpheme, affix, inflectional vs. derivational
morpheme, free vs. bound morpheme, root, stem, allomorph, back formation).

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Annotated Responses to Sample Multiple-Choice Questions for CSET:Japanese Subtest I
General Linguistics
1. Correct Response: C. (SMR Code: 1.1) The genetic classification of languages assumes that certain
languages are related because they have evolved from a common ancestral language; for example, Frenchand Spanish are classified as Romance languages because they can be traced back to a form of Latin usedin the Roman Empire. Sometimes, though, the shared ancestral language is not as easily identifiable, andthen the genetic classification is based on hypothetical reconstructions of the earlier forms of languages.

Linguistics of the Target Language
2. Correct Response: D. (SMR Code: 2.1) In Japanese, the word for aunt (おばさん) is pronounced
obasan, and the word for grandmother (おばあさん [おばーさん]) is pronounced obaasan. The
difference between the two spoken words is that the word for aunt has a short vowel sound, while theword for grandmother has a long vowel sound. Therefore, a speaker who pronounces the Japanese words
for aunt and grandmother in the same way is failing to distinguish between a long and a short vowel
sound.
3. Correct Response: B. (SMR Code: 2.1) In Japanese, using the -te form of a verb at the end of asentence indicates that a speaker is asking someone to do something. For example, the verb taberu means
to eat, while tabete means please eat.
4. Correct Response: C. (SMR Code: 2.3) The first five characters of katakana in the "Gojū-on" chart are
あいうえお, or A, I, U, E, and O, which are the five major English vowels.
5. Correct Response: B. (SMR Code: 2.4) The -sama suffix is generally placed after a person's name toshow respect. This suffix is used when referring to someone outside one's own "circle" (e.g., outside one's
family or one's company). Of the options given, only option B, talking to a senior manager about acustomer, meets these criteria.

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California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test GuideExamples of Strong Responses to Sample Constructed-Response
Questions for CSET: Japanese Subtest I
Linguistics of the Target Language
Question #6 (Score Point 3 Response)

A. この映画を見てもいいですか。
B. ここで写真をとってはいけませんか。
C. ウェートレスは注文を聞きました。
D. 私は赤い車を運転しています。

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Japanese Subtest I
Question #7 (Score Point 3 Response)

A. 私の母はそちらにおりますか。
Rationale:「母」という存在は身内で「あるので」、この場合は尊敬語を使う必要はない。そのため、身内の格を下げて言う謙譲語、つまりこの場合は「おりますか」を使うのが適当であるう。
B. 昨日のコンサートは長かったけど、すてきでしたね。
Rationale:「長い」という単語、また、大体の動詞の語尾が「い」である場合その後に抜の音「つ」が続く場合、「長かった」とするのが良い。
C. 前にすんでいた家は広かったし、きれいでした。
Rationale:「きれい」は形容詞なので、動詞のように時制によって変化させる必要はない。変わりに、「です」を過去形にする必要があるので、「でした」とするのが適当。

D. 暑いのでクーラーをつけて下さい。
Rationale:「ついて」は自動詞であるが、クーラーは無生物主語であるため、「つける」の他動詞を使うべきである。

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California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

Japanese Subtest I
Question #8 (Score Point 3 Response)

まず初めに，カメヤマさんは部下であり、ミズタニさんは彼の上司であるという、社会的立場から、彼が尊敬語を用いて彼女に接する必要があるというのは明らかである。
また、彼が多くの質問を抱えていることから、用件を端的にまとめて話すべきであろう。
性別についてだが、現代社会では男女の地位の差ていうものは、以前に比べて格段に減少してきているため、上司が女性であるからといって、また、部下が男性であるからといて、尊敬語を男性が用いなければいけないということに変わりはないのである。
カメヤマさんが尊敬語を用いることによって、ミズタニさんは改く質問に応じてくれるだろう。そうでなくても、カメヤマさんは、腰を低くしているべきである。

General Linguistics
Question #9 (Score Point 3 Response)

Morphology is the study of the parts of words and how those parts combine. One central
concept of morphology is the difference between a bound and a free morpheme; a boundmorpheme cannot stand on its own, but a free morpheme can. Another central concept ofmorphology is the idea of an affix. An affix is a bound morpheme that gets attached to aword; it can be attached at the beginning or end of a root word. When it is attached to thebeginning of the word, it is called a prefix, and when it is attached to the end of a word, it iscalled a suffix. The word unthinkable contains examples of free and bound morphemes andof affixes. It has a free morpheme (think) and two bound morphemes that are affixes (theprefix –un and the suffix –able).

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Scoring Information for CSET: Japanese Subtest I
Responses to the multiple-choice questions are scored electronically. Scores are based on the number ofquestions answered correctly. There is no penalty for guessing.
There are four constructed-response questions in Subtest I of CSET: Japanese. Each of these constructedresponse questions is designed so that a response can be completed within a short amount of time—
approximately 10–15 minutes. Responses to the Linguistics of the Target Language (Transformation and Error
Analysis) constructed-response questions are scored by qualified California educators. Responses to theGeneral Linguistics and remaining Linguistics of the Target Language constructed-response questions arescored by qualified California educators using focused holistic scoring. Scorers will judge the overall
effectiveness of your responses while focusing on the performance characteristics that have been identified asimportant for this subtest (see below and pages 17 and 18). Each response will be assigned a score based on an
approved scoring scale (see pages 17 and 18).
Your performance on the subtest will be evaluated against a standard determined by the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing based on professional judgments and recommendations of California educators.

Performance Characteristics and Scoring Scales for CSET: Japanese Subtest I
A. LINGUISTICS OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE (TRANSFORMATION AND ERROR ANALYSIS)
Performance Characteristics. The following performance characteristic will guide the scoring of responses tothe Linguistics of the Target Language (Transformation and Error Analysis) constructed-response questions on
CSET: Japanese Subtest I.
SUBJECT MATTERKNOWLEDGE

The application of accurate subject matter knowledge as described in the relevant
CSET subject matter requirements.

Relevant Subject Matter Requirements for Linguistics of the Target Language(Transformation and Error Analysis)
•
•
•
•

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Demonstrate an understanding of the morphology of the target language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the syntax of the target language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the semantics of the target language.
Identify, analyze, and correct grammatical and mechanical errors in the target language.

California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide

Japanese Subtest I

Transformation: Tasks 1–4
For the four tasks, a "Correct" response is described by the following:
The candidate's response correctly transforms the sentence as instructed, i.e., the response follows all
applicable grammatical rules of the target language and accurately supplies a transformed word, phrase,or clause construction as directed.
Error Analysis: Tasks 5–12
For the eight tasks, a "Correct" response is described by the following:
The candidate's response acceptably corrects the syntactic or linguistic error found in the sentence, i.e.,
the response has located and corrected the error of language structure found within the sentence and has
retained the original meaning.
The candidate's response, i.e., the provided rationale, correctly states the syntactic or linguistic reason(s) forthe correction of the identified error contained in the sentence.
Scoring Scale. Scores will be assigned to the Linguistics of the Target Language (Transformation and Error
Analysis) constructed-response questions on CSET: Japanese Subtest I as a composite score according to thefollowing scoring scale.
SCORE
POINT

SCORE POINTDESCRIPTION

3

10–12 tasks correct2

6–9 tasks correct

1

0–5 tasks correct

B. GENERAL LINGUISTICS AND REMAINING LINGUISTICS OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE
Performance Characteristics. The following performance characteristics will guide the scoring of responses
to the General Linguistics and remaining Linguistics of the Target Language constructed-response questions on
CSET: Japanese Subtest I.
PURPOSEThe extent to which the response addresses the constructed-response assignment's
charge in relation to relevant CSET subject matter requirements.

SUBJECT MATTERKNOWLEDGE

The application of accurate subject matter knowledge as described in the relevant
CSET subject matter requirements.

SUPPORT

The appropriateness and quality of the supporting evidence in relation to relevant
CSET subject matter requirements.

•
•
•
•

Relevant Subject Matter Requirements for General Linguistics
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature, purposes, and uses of language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the development of language and the significance of languagechange, including the variations that occur within the contexts of time, place, age, gender, and situation.
Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of pragmatics, discourse analysis, and the theory ofspeech acts.
Demonstrate an understanding of theories of language acquisition and learning.

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Japanese Subtest I

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Relevant Subject Matter Requirements for Linguistics of the Target Language
Demonstrate an understanding of the phonology of the target language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the orthography of the target language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the morphology of the target language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the syntax of the target language.
Demonstrate an understanding of the semantics of the target language.
Describe changes that occur in the target language over time.
Analyze and contrast linguistic structures of the target language and English.
Compare and contrast particular words, idioms, and inflections in the target language and English.

Scoring Scale. Scores will be assigned to each response to the General Linguistics and remaining Linguistics of
the Target Language constructed-response questions on CSET: Japanese Subtest I according to the following
scoring scale.

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SCORE
POINT

SCORE POINT DESCRIPTION

3The "3" response reflects a command of the relevant knowledge and skills as defined in the
CSET subject matter requirements for World Languages.
• The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved.
• There is an accurate application of relevant subject matter knowledge.
• There is appropriate and specific relevant supporting evidence.

2

The "2" response reflects a general command of the relevant knowledge and skills as
defined in the CSET subject matter requirements for World Languages.
• The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved.
• There is a largely accurate application of relevant subject matter knowledge.
• There is acceptable relevant supporting evidence.

1

The "1" response reflects a limited or no command of the relevant knowledge and skills as
defined in the CSET subject matter requirements for World Languages.
• The purpose of the assignment is only partially or not achieved.
• There is limited or no application of relevant subject matter knowledge.
• There is little or no relevant supporting evidence.

U

The "U" (Unscorable) is assigned to a response that is unrelated to the assignment, illegible,
not in the target language or English, or does not contain a sufficient amount of original
work to score.

B

The "B" (Blank) is assigned to a response that is blank.

California Subject Examinations for Teachers Test Guide