Japanese Language Program
Course Descriptions

Just Getting Started (Pre 101-1)
Students learn:

  • Basic expressions for:

    • Greetings

    • Self-introduction

    • Communicating with front desk clerks at hotels

    • Communicating with salesclerks

    • Communicating with taxi drivers, bus drivers, etc.

    • Buying over-the-counter medication

101-1A & 101-1B | Japanese for Busy People Vol 1 (4th Ed.) | Lessons 1-3
Students learn:

  • Japanese Phonetic Symbols: Master the basics of Hiragana

  • Greeting and Self-Introduction Expressions: Acquire common expressions for greetings and self-introductions

  • Numbers 1 through 10: Learn numbers from 1 to 10

  • Demonstrative and Interrogative Pronouns: Understand demonstrative pronouns and interrogative pronouns (who, whose, what, what time, how much)

Goals:

  • Achieve proficiency in recognizing and using Hiragana

  • Gain insight into Japanese culture

  • Comprehend the distinctions between Japanese and English syntax

101-2 | Japanese for Busy People Vol 1 (4th Ed.) | Lessons 4-7
Students learn:

  • Japanese Loan Words: Learn Katakana symbols used for loan words

  • Large Numbers: Understand numbers greater than 10

  • Counters: Familiarize yourself with counters for solid items, floppy items, and rod-like or cylindrical items

  • Interrogative Pronouns: Grasp interrogative pronouns such as "how much," "where," "when," and "with whom"

  • Verbs of Movement: Learn verbs for "go," "come," and "return"

  • Vocabulary for Destinations: Expand your vocabulary related to destinations

  • Particles に: Understand the use of the particle に for direction and time reference

  • Japanese Currency: Familiarize yourself with Japanese currency

  • Days of the Week and Month: Learn the days of the week and days of the month

Goals:

  • Able to recognize Katakana symbols proficiently

  • Can identify and understand vocabulary related to transportation and destinations

  • Capable of communicating effectively with salesclerks

  • Can recognize and understand the prices of merchandise

  • Destination Arrival Inquiries

103 | Japanese for Busy People Vol 1 (4th Ed.) | Lessons 12-16
Students learn:

  • The verbs for giving and receiving

  • Describing locations of things and people

  • Words for positions, things near a station, office supplies, etc.

  • The expressions for:

    • Inviting someone

    • Making suggestions

    • Offering to help someone

Goals:

  • o Can ask and describe things’ characteristics in adjectives with appropriate conjugation

  • Can recognize basic vocabulary

  • Words for gifts

  • Events

  • Places for rendezvous spots

  • Verbs for offering to do something

  • Develop conversation skills for the following situation:

  • Being Invited to a friend's house and commenting about the food served.

  • Talking about birthday gifts

  • Talking about the weather

  • Inviting someone to an event and scheduling for meeting

  • Accepting an invitation or refusing an invitation

  • Offering to help someone

204 | Minna no Nihongo Vol 1 | Chapters 23-25
Students who have finished Minna no Nihongo Vol. 1 Chapter 22 or at the equivalent level learn:

  • Temporal clause とき

  • Giving and Receiving benefits

    • ～てあげる

    • ～てもらう

    • ～てくれる

  • Conditional Form　　たら　＆　と

  • Expressing to present contrasting conditions ～ても

301 | Minna no Nihongo Vol 2 | Chapters 26-30
Students who have finished Minna no Nihongo Vol. 1 or at the equivalent level learn:

  • Express explanatory mode　Plain Form + んです

  • Giving a suggestion たらいい

  • Potential Form

  • Describing simultaneous actions …ながら

  • Stating multiple reasons　…し、…し

Goals:

  • Can ask for suggestions politely and can give advice courteously

  • Can use explanatory mode effectively for smooth and effective oral communication

  • Can understand and describe possibilities and capabilities using the Japanese potential forms effectively

  • Can explain reasons using a variety of grammar patterns

304 | Minna no Nihongo Vol 2 | Chapters 35-37
Students who have finished Minna no Nihongo Vol. 2 Chapters 32-34 or at the equivalent level learn:

  • ば conditional forms for describing hypothetical situations.

  • Expressing purpose ように

  • Expressing a change　ようになる

  • Expressing striving toward a certain state　ようにする

  • Passive Voice

Goals:

  • Can describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might have happened but didn't (in the past)

  • Can express efforts to bring about a desired outcome or prevent an adverse condition

  • Can convey a sense of damage by the passive voice

  • Can emphasize the result or the recipient of an action by the passive voice

  • Can depict objective reality by passive voice when the agents are unknown.

Intermediate 9 | Marugoto Intermediate-1 | Topic 9: Traditional Festivals

  • Can understand programs about festivals on TV, videos on the internet, social media, etc.

  • Can talk about ones’ experiences and impressions of festivals

  • Can understand articles about festivals and events