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

102 | Japanese for Busy People Vol 1 (4th Ed.) | Lessons 8-11
Students learn:

  • A variety of verbs and their conjugations (affirmative, negative, present, and past tense)

  • Two types of adjectives and conjugations (i-adjective and na-adjective

  • The time reference words and means of transportation

  • The interrogative pronouns (where, with whom, when)

  • Counter for people

Goals:

  • Can talk about daily activities

  • Can talk about activities that one is frequently engaged in

  • Can talk about the plan on weekends

  • Can ask and answer the time, days, or dates for a meeting or a business appointment

  • Can express impressions about experiences

  • Can place an order at Izakaya (Japanese-style bar)

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

201 | Minna no Nihongo Vol 1 | Chapters 12, 13, 16
Students who have finished Minna no Nihongo Vol. 1 Chapter 11 or at the equivalent level learn:

  • Comparatives

  • Superlatives

  • Temporal Clause: Te Form + から　after doing

  • Te Form for adjectives

  • …は~が　Construction （が for specifier）

    • …が　ほしい

    • …が　すき

    • verb masu form stem + たいです

303 | Minna no Nihongo Vol 2 | Chapters 32-34
Students who have finished Minna no Nihongo Vol. 2 Chapters 29-31 or at the equivalent level learn:

  • Giving advice　Ta-Formほうがいい　　Negative Plain Formほうがいい

  • Speculation　でしょう　だろう　かもしれない

  • Imperative Forms

  • Expressing “the same way as~” …とおりに

  • Expressing ”without doing…”　…ないで

  • Compare and Contrast 　…てから and …たあとで

Goals:

  • Can offer advice or make a strong suggestion

  • Can understand the expression used in the weather forecast

  • Can express one’s speculation appropriately according to the level of uncertainty

  • Can use the appropriate imperative form according to various circumstances

  • Can give instruction with various grammar patterns

  • Can explain information in chronological order

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 Japanese Across the Four Language Skills | Ch. 3

  • 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