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

101-1 | 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:

  • 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

104 | Japanese for Busy People Vol 1 (4th Ed.) | Lessons 17-20
Students learn:

  • Dictionary form of verbs and the Te-form conjugation for various expressions

  • Verb Masu-Form Stem たいです

Goals:

  • Express desires effectively

  • Request using appropriate conjugations

  • Describe sequences of actions with suitable conjugations

  • Recognize basic vocabulary related to communications, positions, directions, and giving directions

  • Develop conversation skills for:

    • providing directions and estimating travel time

    • Requesting deliveries

    • Requesting room service

    • Describing daily schedules effectively

203 | Minna no Nihongo Vol 1 | Chapters 20-22
Students who have finished Minna no Nihongo Vol. 1 Chapter 19 or at the equivalent level learn:

  • Suffixes for casual speech

  • Verbs

  • I-adjectives

  • Na-adjectives

  • Nouns

  • Embedding a quote in a statement.　…と思います、…と言っていました。

  • Modifying a noun by a relative clause

Goals:

  • Can talk about duties and responsibilities

  • Can talk about hobbies and interests

  • Can talk about experiences and weekend activities

305 | Minna no Nihongo Vol 2 | Chapters 38-40
Students who have finished Minna no Nihongo #2   Chapter 35 - 37、or at the equivalent level.

Grammar

  • Nominalizer　の　＆　こと

  • Te-Form for cause and effect

  • Expressing reasons ので

  • Quoted questions

Goals:

  • Can construct complicated sentences by inserting nominalized phrases and can differentiate between the two nominalizers, の and こと.

  • Can describe impressions and feelings including the reason behind them.

  • Can make statements inserting quoted questions and can ask questions inserting indirect questions.

Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills | Ch. 5

  • Reading:

    • Learn the necessary travel information by reading guides and columns

  • Conversations:

    • Change restaurant reservations over the phone

    • Ask about the menu and place an order at a restaurant

  • Writing:

    • Write a description about the characteristics of a tourist destination

  • Listening:

    • Listen to a speech by an Italian exchange student on Japanese behavior and have a class discussion about it