Part I

Be excited to learn Japanese and reconnect with your roots! This 8-week course is an introduction to the Japanese language and culture. It is designed for Nikkei who have had little to no experience studying Japanese. We have included several new learning tools for our students, including a section on reading, listening and more conversation-based activities. This course does not focus on writing, but we will go over hiragana and katakana with you during the Zoom sessions.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this eight-week course, you will be able to:

• Effectively converse in "Standard Japanese" to perform basic communicative tasks such as shopping and ordering food at a restaurant and arranging a meeting.

• Use relevant vocabulary to talk about your Nikkei experiences

• Exchange greetings, personal information, tell the time and give directions.

• Talk about daily tasks in the non-past tense and in the formal speech style.

• Understand how to conjugate simple verbs, the use of particles and basic counters.

• Identify hiragana and katakana.

• (Re)gain a sense of pride and confidence about your heritage culture and speaking abilities

• Understand Nikkei history and culture

  Early bird registration closes February 7, 2024 | Regular registration is open until February 17, 2024

  Classes run on Zoom every Sunday from 12:30 - 2:45 pm EST for an 8-week period

  Start date: Feb 18, 2024 - End date: April 14, 2024

  Once you register, you will gain full access to the course page, class links and all of the course materials!

Part II

This 8-week course builds on Part I. It is designed for Nikkei who have had previous exposure to Japanese but struggle to string together complex sentences. For students who took the pilot course with us in 2020, and breezed through the material, we recommend you start here.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of this eight-week course, you can:

• Effectively converse in Standard Japanese to perform basic communicative tasks such as expressing likes and dislikes, providing explanations.

• Use relevant vocabulary to talk about your Nikkei experiences

• Effectively converse in Standard Japanese with cultural appropriateness, accuracy, and fluency in the past tense in the formal and informal speech styles.

• Understand how to conjugate adjectives and verbs

• Talk about past events and about yourself and others using the verbal te form.

• Identify and read hiragana and katakana, and identify basic kanji.

• (Re)gain a sense of pride and confidence about your heritage culture and speaking abilities

• Understand Nikkei history and culture.

  Early bird registration closes February 7, 2024 | Regular registration is open until February 17, 2024

  Classes run on Zoom every Monday and Wednesday from 8-9 pm EST for an 8-week period

  Start date: Feb 19 - End date: April 10

  Once you register, you will gain full access to the course page, class links and all of the course materials!

Part III

This 8-week course completes the Beginner series and is designed for Nikkei who have taken Parts I and II or for students who have previously studied Japanese, but struggle to string complex sentences together and express their hopes and desires. It is ideal for students wanting to brush up on their Japanese skills before taking the elementary-level courses. Students in this course should be able to identify hiragana and katakana and have basic conversational skills.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of this eight-week course, you can:

• Effectively converse in Standard Japanese to perform basic communicative tasks such as expressing your hopes and desires, making choices, recommendations and guesses, and giving explanations.

• Use relevant vocabulary to talk about your Nikkei experiences

• Build on conversing in Standard Japanese with cultural appropriateness, accuracy, and fluency in the past and non-past tenses and in both the formal and informal speech styles.

• Understand how to use relative clauses, connect clauses, conjugate verbs in the past tense informal style, and make comparisons.

• Arrange future trips and meetings.

• Read hiragana and katakana and identify more basic kanji.

• (Re)gain a sense of pride and confidence about your heritage culture and speaking abilities

• Understand Nikkei history and culture

Registration is currently closed. Please contact connect@japanesefornikkei.com for information.