If you work with Japanese colleagues or you’re planning a future trip to Japan for business, our Japanese Language Classes will help.
We cover business situations even at the beginner levels, but also conversation for after work and getting to know each other.
At more advanced levels we study articles or videos on current affairs and hot topics in Japan.
Our Philosophy: Class is intense! We’re busy working professionals and come to class to study. We use the immersion method – don’t expect to hear much English once class has started. We demand that you learn by preparing for class beforehand, then we practice and expand in the classroom setting. Then review again at home. Expect up to 2 hours preparation each week! More advanced levels include a presentation element.
You or your company must be a current JASO member to participate. All membership details at www.jaso.org.
Group Class Information
Small group classes run 8 weeks total.
Maximum 10 students. Minimum 4 needed for class to run.
Classes held online through Zoom or Google Meet (Teacher’s choice).
Week 1 starts from Monday April 25, Week 8 finishes Monday June 13, with following week in case emergency make-up needed due to unavoidable teacher cancellation or National Holiday.
Note: There are no classes on Monday May 30 – Memorial Day.
It is the student’s responsibility to use an up-to-date operating system, camera, headphones and microphone to ensure you can engage effectively and responsibly in the classroom.
Quality connectivity is also the student’s responsibility, not the instructor’s. The instructor will try to make a reasonable effort in case of a student’s connectivity trouble. However, the instructor will not pause, halt or interrupt class in a way that overly impacts other students.
Process
Sign-up online. Select your class. Pay the fee.
New students only will receive a survey that ensures we place you correctly. We CANNOT move students this term if the actual correct class is full. Complete the information and return.
We communicate using Dropbox. Once assigned to a class, you’ll receive notification that you are added to this class Dropbox folder. Inside this folder is course textbook (if used), welcome letter, and class preparation. For Improver level courses, you are required to purchase a textbook separately.
Your teacher will inform you of any meeting codes or passwords to enter the classroom. Please do your best to find a quiet space for class, so as not to disrupt others.
You are always expected to prepare for class in advance. Instructors will use Dropbox to place class preparation notes several days prior to class. You will receive notification from Dropbox when materials are placed there – you’ll need to set up your Notifications, so keep checking anyway.
Description of our Levels
Choose your level by signing up. If you’re new, we’ll contact you to check your level before class starts.
Reviewing curriculum. If on a laptop/PC and curriculum outline does not open, use Chrome as your browser and try again.
Our Classes
Beginner 1
Instructor: Narumi Iwasaki
Day & Time: Monday 7 – 8:15pm
Description: Students will be introduced to concepts around working at a Japanese company including introductions, basic situational cultural expressions and language, pronunciation, and the building blocks of starting to speak.
Students are expected to have very little knowledge of the language. Textbook provided. Curriculum Outline.
Beginner 2
Instructor: Narumi Iwasaki
Day & Time: Monday 5:30 – 6:45pm
Students should have completed Beginner 1. Textbook provided. Curriculum Outline.
Beginner 6
Instructor: Shoko Parker
Day & Time: Monday 5:30 – 6:45pm
Students should have studied and be familiar with the present tense, introduced to particles such as は、が、を、に、で、and もう. And concepts including telling time, the calendar, numbers and counting, adjectives and adverbs. The －て verb form is introduced in Beginner 5, so you should already have some knowledge. Textbook provided. Curriculum Outline.
Improver 6
Instructor: Tetsuko Sugawara
Day & Time: Wednesday 6:30 – 7:45pm
Description: Students have completed the Japanese Language for Professionals series. Focus is on reported speech, possibility, transitive/intransitive, describing decisions and requests to not do something. Curriculum Outline.
This class will use the textbook Basic Japanese for Expats Book 2. New students should purchase the course text in advance.
Intermediate
Instructor: Ikuyo Suzuki
Day & Time: Monday 6:30 – 7:45pm
Description: This class uses articles/video on news/culture to study. Students are expected to be able to verbally express ideas in a variety of tenses, strive for more complex sentence structures, and know a minimum of 500+ kanji. All materials provided. Previous recent class example.
Our Teachers
Refund Policy
