Group Japanese Class

At this level you start from zero: basic greetings, how to introduce yourself, and everyday vocabulary, while gradually getting familiar with Hiragana and Katakana. You will also learn polite speech and pick up a bit of Japanese culture so you do not feel awkward in a real conversation.

Chapter 1: Getting to Know Japanese Sounds

• Getting familiar with basic Japanese sounds
• Understanding the Japanese Writing System
• Learning vowels and double consonants
• Easy tricks for memorizing new words and sentences

Chapter 2: Wow!

• Expressing emotions using exclamations (interjections)
• Short Dialogue Exercises
• Vocabulary plus the difference between formal and casual speech

Chapter 3: Excuse me, …?

• Short dialogue practice and key vocabulary
• Understanding the word "hai," which turns out to work in many situations

Chapter 4: Let Me Introduce Myself…

• Learning how to introduce yourself and terms for relationships between people
• Practice through dialogue and vocabulary

Chapter 5: Help Me!

• Understanding the nuances of conversation through comics
• Understanding the difference between male and female speech styles

Chapter 6: What’s This? It’s a Cat – Using “Da” (“Is”)

• Understanding basic nouns and how to ask questions with them
• Practicing the past tense for nouns

Chapter 7: Is This My Bento?

• Dialogue practice on ownership
• Vocabulary and a short cultural story about bento

Chapter 8: I'm Happy, You're Happy – Using "Da" with Na-Adjectives

• Understanding na-adjectives and their tense forms
• Question-and-answer practice on the characteristics of things

Chapter 9: Is It Easy? Yes, It's Easy!

• Dialogue practice using “da”
• Vocabulary plus cultural insights, such as questions about karaoke

Chapter 10: The Girls' Chat

• Understanding the nuances of everyday conversation
• Exploring the word "chotto," which can be used in many contexts

Continuing from A1.1, at this level you start learning through comics, get to know basic adjectives and verbs, and practice customer service dialogues. Cultural topics like pachinko and yukata are also covered to make learning more engaging.

Chapter 11: Grandpa Doesn’t Know Either!

• Learning through comics
• Distinguishing interjections and particles

Chapter 12: Cold? Noisy? Funny? – Describing Something

• Understanding basic adjectives and how to ask questions with them
• Learning to describe things in the past tense
• Quick Reference: Adjective Tense Forms

Chapter 13: How Funny Is This? – More on Describing

• Dialogue and vocabulary practice
• When to use "ga" and when to use "wa"
• Getting to Know Pachinko Culture

Chapter 14: Sorry, We Cannot Give You a Refund

• Customer Service-Style Dialogue Practice
• Vocabulary plus cultural stories about yukata and dragon boats

Chapter 15: I Have to Go on a Diet!

• Understanding the nuances of conversation through comics

Chapter 16: Action! Making Things Happen with Verbs

• Identifying Verb Forms in a Dictionary
• Learning to change verbs into the negative (nai) form and the te-form

Chapter 17: Are You Working? – More on Verbs

• Understanding basic verbs and practicing forming questions
• Learning the past tense of verbs plus a quick reference

Chapter 18: Can You Speak English? – More Questions and Answers

• Short dialogue and vocabulary practice
• Getting to Know Bonsai Culture

Chapter 19: Please Show Me—More About Verbs

• Dialogue practice for asking someone to do something
• Getting to know inkan and hanko, personal seals in Japanese culture

At level A2.1, you start being able to make polite requests, express needs, make comparisons, and share opinions about groups of people or things. The focus is not just understanding but also explaining your meaning more fluently in general.

What You Can Do

• Making requests, commands, and questions politely
• Explaining needs and describing things
• Making comparisons and expressing emotions
• Making statements about groups of people
• Conveying general meaning and intent

Skills You Will Gain

• Reading: Hiragana, Katakana, 300 Kanji, 1,600 vocabulary words (equivalent to JLPT N4); able to grasp the meaning of short texts like ads, tickets, brochures, and short stories.
• Writing: Hiragana, Katakana, 300 Kanji; able to write simple paragraphs, letters, and guided compositions.
• Listening: Understanding polite questions and commands plus fairly simple conversations; able to grasp the gist and main point.
• Speaking: Constructing sentences and polite requests; conveying meaning accurately.

Topics Covered

• Personal: family, friends, home, rooms, health, school, hobbies, student life, shopping, clothing, pets, and animals.
• Abstract: schedules, prices, sizes, quantities, symbols, colors, numbers, days, dates, time, directions, weather, and seasons.
• Culture: holidays, festivals, geography, monuments, cultural and historical figures, food, customs, travel, and work life.

Continuing from A2.1, this level strengthens your communication skills through deeper cultural understanding and practical everyday skills.

What You Can Do

• Making polite requests, questions, and expressing needs
• Describing things and making comparisons
• Expressing emotions, making statements about groups, and conveying specific meaning

Skills You Will Gain

• Fluent in reading and writing Hiragana, Katakana, and 300 Kanji
• Mastering 1,600 words
• Able to read short texts like ads and brochures
• Able to write paragraphs, letters, and guided compositions
• Confident listening to and understanding polite conversation
• Able to take part in structured conversations with accurate grammar and meaning

Topics Covered

• Personal topics like family, hobbies, health, and shopping
• Abstract concepts like schedules, prices, and directions
• Cultural topics like holidays, festivals, and iconic Japanese monuments

At level B1.1, your Japanese moves up to more complex communication and deeper cultural understanding.

What You Can Do

• Expressing clarification, opinions, and emotions
• Telling stories in the present, past, and future tenses
• Discussing abstract ideas, intent, and meaning in more depth

Skills You Will Gain

• Reading and writing Hiragana, Katakana, and 700 Kanji
• Mastering 3,300 words
• Able to analyze authentic texts like articles, essays, and poems
• Able to write journals, letters, and essays
• Listening with more sensitivity to meaning and important details
• Speaking more confidently with connected sentences

Topics Covered

• General knowledge topics like art, history, science, and literature
• Cultural discussions on current issues, society, politics, and the education system

This level deepens your language ability and cultural insight through more mature communication techniques.

What You Can Do

• Clarifying ideas and expressing opinions
• Telling stories across time (present, past, future)
• Sharing emotions and discussing abstract concepts more precisely

Skills You Will Gain

• Mastering Hiragana, Katakana, and 700 Kanji with 3,300 vocabulary words
• Reading authentic material like articles, essays, and stories
• Writing journals, letters, and essays fluently
• Listening comprehension of more nuanced language
• Speaking confidently with interconnected sentence structures

Topics Covered

• Knowledge areas like art, history, science, and literature
• Cultural topics like current issues, politics, the environment, and the education system

At this level, you sharpen your Japanese further through more complex ideas and richer cultural discussions.

What You Can Do

• Mastering clarification and expressing more nuanced opinions
• Telling stories across time and expressing emotions
• Discussing abstract concepts

Skills You Will Gain

• Reading authentic texts more fluently with Hiragana, Katakana, and 700 Kanji
• Build a vocabulary of up to 3,300 words
• Writing paragraphs, journals, letters, and essays clearly
• Improved listening comprehension
• Speaking confidently with structured, connected sentences

Topics Covered

• Knowledge areas like art, history, literature, and science
• Cultural themes like politics, current issues, social issues, and the education system

This is the highest level in our group class track, focused on critical thinking skills and deeper cultural understanding.

What You Can Do

• Clarifying, expressing opinions, and telling stories across time with sharper precision
• Sharing emotions and discussing abstract concepts with precision

Skills You Will Gain

• Reading: Mastering Hiragana, Katakana, and 700 Kanji with 3,300 vocabulary words to understand articles, essays, poems, and more.
• Writing: Composing coherent paragraphs, journals, letters, and essays.
• Listening: Understanding complex language along with its intent and details.
• Speaking: Communicating with structured and accurate sentences.

Topics Covered

• Art, history, literature, and science
• Cultural themes like politics, current issues, social issues, and the environment