Japanese Courses

    Whether your goal for learning Japanese is to just reach the survival level or to get proficient enough to seek a professional career in Japan, we are here to help. We reach out to absolute beginners as well. So even if you do not know a word of Japanese, this is an awesome place to start.
    We also believe that learning a language is learning its culture. Even if your grammar and pronunciation is accurate, understanding how the language is used within its cultural context is the most important key to successful language acquisition. Our native staff who understand not only Japanese culture but relate to those who came from another culture will help you achieve you goal.
    Learning an additional language will expand your horizon and brings you another layer of happiness. We hope you begin the journey with us.

Japanese Courses for Beginners

We offer Japanese courses for all levels. (Advanced Japanese courses are held on a by request basis.) Beginning courses are currently divided into 3 sections: A1 (Absolute beginner), A2 (Intermediate beginner), and A3 (Advanced beginner). Each course is subdivided into 2 versions: A and B. Version A is for first time introduction while Version B will build upon what has been learned in Version A. You can sign up for version B immediately after the previous level. Each lesson is 50 minutes long. Please scroll down to see the details of each class.

A1-a/b: Absolute Beginner

This course is designed for absolute beginners. Students are encouraged to learn all “Hiragana” characters with some variations. Grammatical explanations will be kept to a minimum unless a question is asked or it is considered to be more helpful in learning at any points during the course.

	A1-a	A1-b
Course Length	2 mos	2 mos
# of Lessons	8	8
Lesson Length	50 mins	50 mins
Topics	– Hiragana (Reading) – Daily Phrases – To be “desu” – To be “alimasu” – Interrogative “doko” – Interrogative “itsu” – Interrogative “nan” – Months & Dates – Time – Numbers etc.	– Hiragana (Writing) – Casual Phrases – To be “imasu” – Personal Pronouns – Demonstrative Pronouns – “desu” variations – “alimasu” variations – Particle “ni” – Classifiers – Greater numbers etc.

A2-a/b: Intermediate Beginner

This course builds upon what has been learned in the previous course. Students will now move on to learning “Katakana” characters and their variations.

	A2-a	A2-b
Course Length	2 mos	2 mos
# of Lessons	8	8
Lesson Length	50 mins	50 mins
Topics	– Katakana (Reading) – i-Adjectives – Borrowed Words – “desu” Past Tense – Possesive “noh” – Compound Nouns – Particle “moh” – Particle “gah” – Verb “suki” – Adverbs of Place etc.	– Katakana (Writing) – na-Adjectives – More Borrowed Words – More on Past Tense – Interrogative “dare” – Practice on adjectives – Praticles “wa”, “gah”, “moh” – Verb Practices – Adverbs of Time – “yoh” & “neh” Endings etc.

A3-a/b: Advanced Beginner

This course serves as the transition to the intermediate level. After a successful completion of this course, students are expected to have minimum conversational skills. The instructor will speak more Japanese during the course.

	A3-a	A3-b
Course Length	2 mos	2 mos
# of Lessons	8	8
Lesson Length	50 mins	50 mins
Topics	– Intro to Kanji – Conjunctions “demo” & “dakara” – Comparatives “yori” & “hodo” – Frequency Expressions – Verbs “shiru” & “wakaru” – Verbs “hoshii” & “shitai” – Verbs “ageru”, “morau” & “kureru” – Conjugation “-mashoh” – Polite “goh” & “oh” – Prepositoins “deh”, “toh” & “kara” etc.	– More Kanji – More Conjunctions – More on Comparatives – 3 Verb Forms – Conjugation “-shite-kudasai” – Negative Questions – More Prepositions – More Interrogatives – Connectives – To be able to/can etc.

*The contents of the course may be changed depending on the level or preference of the students.

Private Lessons

For those who have difficulty joining our regularly scheduled group lessons or prefer more tailored lessons, we also offer a private course. This could be held either on a one-on-one basis or in a closed group. Lesson times will be decided to fit your schedule within our available hours. This course could be a typical Japanese course or a specific target skill course, such as a business email writing course, can be arranged. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in private lessons.

Free Trial

Not sure yet? Why don’t you sign up for a free trial lesson? If you are not absolutely sure whether our program fits your best interest, join a lesson free of charge to see yourself before you sign up. Please also feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about our programs.

A Free Trial is currently limited to 1 time per person.

Chat Groups

Either alone or with your friends, come join our chat groups. At our Immersion Center, we offer conversational meet-ups for practicing languages and learning about cultures in informal and enjoyable settings. Each session is hosted by a native-speaker and welcomes all levels of proficiency whether you are just starting or brushing up your acquired skills. Drop in to socialize!

Chat Groups
Japanese Chat Group	$10
English Chat Group	$10

Cultural Events & Potluck Parties

We are having monthly parties. Check out our event calendar for upcoming events or like our Facebook to be the first to know about our events. Our cultural event days provide opportunities to learn about people and cultures from various backgrounds through face-to-face interactions and help improve awareness of human and cultural diversity. These days are open to everyone who is interested.

Cultural Events & Potluck Parties
Schedule	Saturday/Sunday
On the day	$10
In advance	$8
Our students	$5
If you bring food to share	Free

Please check the Schedule page for the upcoming events!

Infants & Tots Class

Children under 4 and their care-givers will attend the class together. In this class, care-givers are informed of tips for bilingual upbringing. It should be noted that there is no reason to wait until your child starts speaking their first language as language learning starts before a baby speaks their first word. In this course, we learn baby sign language, play communicative games, sing, and explore the target language through immersion. The first three years of life is said to be the critical time period where one can achieve a native level of language proficiency. However, if this is your goal for your child, becoming multilingual is easier said than done. We will share what we know with you and help you on your journey. Come and join us in our Infants & Tots class!

Japanese/English Immersion for Infants & Tots
Ages	0-4

Dual Language Immersion Programs

Critical Period

Children under 4 and their care-givers will attend the class together. In our immersion programs, children with different native tongues are brought together by play dates. With their class mates they will sing, play and engage in language and cultural learning. They will work together to perform various activities, which naturally requires language communication in multiple languages. Our bilingual and/or native staff will be present to facilitate language learning as well. For certain course activities, the difference in target language proficiency levels is the primary concern so much more than students’ ages. We take this factor in account and divide children by their target language levels for certain activities for optimal benefit.

Dual Language Immersion
Pre-K & K (Japanese/English)	3-6 yrs
Elementary (Japanese/English)	6-12 yrs
7-9G (Japanese/English)	12-15 yrs

Class at Your School

We can bring our class to your school! We also reach out to nearby kindergartens, nursery schools, elementary schools, and daycare centers to offer our immersion programs. In many cases, a single parent’s interest makes the classes available. So please let us know if you and other parents are interested in having our fun and rewarding class at your child’s school/daycare. Email us at the address below and we will coordinate the process.

Please include the following information:

Name of your institution
Number of students who would be interested
Time and day to have our program
How to contact to the school

Note: Each group class has a minimum enrollment cut-off and is subject to cancellation if it is not met. In such cases, we can put you and/or your child on a waiting list and once the minimum enrollment is achieved, we will inform you and proceed to opening the class as soon as possible. We appreciate your support and understanding.