Courses are available for all age groups, from young children to adults. Classes are structured to give students as much exposure to the Japanese language as possible.  Students will have ample opportunity to speak, read and write Japanese during class. Our educational philosophy is to assist students in acquiring a well-balanced grasp of the language, including the four essential skills of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will also be introduced to different aspects of Japanese culture.

The following is a list and description of courses currently being offered:

ELEMENTARY 101
At the end of this course, students will be able to speak and understand everyday greetings.  In addition, students will acquire a basic Japanese vocabulary, including numbers and time expressions. In the Elementary 101 course, students will also learn correct pronunciation and will practice reading/writing hiragana, which is the Japanese phonetic alphabet.

 ELEMENTARY 102
This course builds upon the students’ basic vocabulary to include days and months, counters, adjectives, and adverbs.  In addition, students will learn the proper way of referring to objects and how to ask and answer questions. Students will be introduced to katakana, a phonetic alphabet used exclusively for foreign words.

INTERMEDIATE 103
This course will cover a number of commonly used action/motion verbs.  Emphasis will be placed on mastering the present-tense form of these verbs.  Students will also be taught vocabulary used for daily activities and how to articulately express their likes/dislikes.  The course will also formally introduce students to basic kanji (Chinese characters).

 INTERMEDIATE 104
In Intermediate 104, the students’ vocabulary will expand to a point where they will be able to competently explain their hobbies and activities.  The past tense will be covered, and students will learn an expanded list of verbs.  Students will start to read and comprehend short passages in Japanese.  In addition, they will learn how to read and write basic kanji.

 ADVANCED 105
At this level, students will perfect constructing complete and relatively complex sentences in Japanese. They will learn how to use infinitives and express habitual as well as past experiences. Moreover, the students will continue to build their vocabulary, learn how to read and write additional kanji, and improve their comprehension of longer passages.

 ADVANCED 106
Upon completing this course, students will be able to effectively communicate with others in a variety of situations.  This course will cover more specialized vocabulary relating to health and business.  Students will also be taught how to properly use honorifics. In this advanced course, students will be required to comprehend longer, more complex passages and write short essays. New kanji will also be introduced.

 JAPANESE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST PREP COURSE
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (Nihongo Noryoku Shiken) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Language_Proficiency_Test measures a person's proficiency in the Japanese language. Test results are able to be used by professionals seeking employment at Japanese companies and students seeking acceptance at Japanese educational institutions to certify their language proficiency. The JLPT is held once a year in December in various cities inside and outside of Japan. The exam has four levels; the lowest being level 4 for beginners to the highest being level 1 for advanced students. Writing, vocabulary, listening, reading and grammar skills are tested. If you are interested in taking this test, we have an original test prep course available that is designed to familiarize the student with the test, its requirements, and its contents.

 NOW OPEN!  SAT II PREP COURSE
SAT II offers a new Japanese Language test. Our goal is to help the student achieve the maximum score, and master the Japanese language as well. http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/lc_two/japanlist/japanlist.html

 MOMMY, DADDY, AND ME COURSE (Age: 2– 5 years old + Parents)
In this course, students and their parents have an interactive lesson together with a teacher. We cover Japanese nursery songs and dance, and students are able to learn Japanese by playing games. Students learn a basic vocabulary to include days and months, counters, adjectives, and adverbs.  In addition, students will learn the proper way of referring to objects and how to ask and answer questions. We introduce Japanese culture, events, history, and customs as well. Students will be taught Hiragana, which is the Japanese phonetic alphabet, and learn the handwriting.