Course Information

We offer the following standard Japanese language courses. All courses have ten 50-minute classes per week of Japanese grammar, ten classes of 4-skills conversation Japanese, plus additional subject-specific classes.

Use the table below to help select the best course for you:


Course	Hrs per week	Speaking	Reading, Kanji	Cultural study	Fun	Formal Jpese	Conditions
Standard Course	20	Medium	Medium	Medium	High	Medium	None
Intensive Conversation Course	25	High	Medium	Medium	High	Medium	None
Japanese through Pop Culture	25	High	Medium	High	High	Medium	Must be Beginner 2 or above
Japanese and Traditional Culture	26	Medium	Medium	High	High	Medium	None
Farmstay Japanese	25	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Limited start dates
Japanese for Exams	25	Medium	High	Medium	Medium	High	September - November only

Exam Skills Option	1	Low	High	Low	Low	High	Year-round, once per week. JLPT levels 2-4 only.

A sample week schedule is available here (PDF, contains Japanese text).

1. Standard Course Small group lessons.	For people who need to be able to communicate in Japanese, this course offers a heavy emphasis on real-life skills. Learning Japanese just by reading textbooks and listening to tapes doesn't make you a Japanese language speaker. You will learn common sentence patterns and vocabulary with your teacher, then use them in practical situations both inside and outside of the classroom. Our course offers a full range of activities that you will find both useful and exciting. Schedule: 10 grammar and 10 4-skills application classes per week

2. Intensive Conversation Course Small group lessons.	This course builds on the standard course by adding one extra very-small-group conversational Japanese lesson each day. These lessons focus on some of the interesting aspects of conversational Japanese that it can be hard to cover in the standard classes, such as slang, dialects, specialized vocabulary, and more. Schedule: 10 grammar and 15 4-skills application classes per week

3. Japanese and Traditional Culture Practical activity classes!	Are you interested in Japanese culture? This course offers you the opportunity to learn about the culture while learning the language, and the chance to participate in it with other Japanese people. You will study topics such as ceramics, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and flower arrangement at school, and then join real lessons run for Japanese people with a specialist teacher, as well as learning about Japanese customs, history, and art. We guarantee that you will have a great experience! Schedule: 10 grammar, 10 4-skills application and 3 cultural classes per week

4. Japanese Through Pop Culture Yes, learning can be fun.	Do you love Japanese manga, music, and movies? Do you wish you knew what they were really saying? This course uses all the latest trends in Japanese pop culture to teach you the Japanese language as it is really spoken today. You will learn Japanese through movies and TV shows, practice with roleplays, and write your own manga. The materials for learning are decided based on your interests and Japanese level. You must be Beginner 2 level or above to take this course. Schedule: 10 grammar, 10 4-skills application and and 5 pop culture classes per week

5. Farmstay Japanese Get your hands dirty!	In conjunction with Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF), we offer a package of either two or four weeks of classes to prepare you for life on the farm. We will also arrange the details of your farmstay, to place you in the Kyushu area. You are free to stay for up to six months with one or several of the many participating farms. This course is only available at certain times of year. Schedule: 10 grammar, 10 4-skills application and 5 farming-topic-related classes per week

6. Japanese for Exams You're almost guaranteed to pass!	For people who want to pass any of the Japanese proficiency tests. You will learn grammar, vocabulary (including kanji), reading skills and listening with your experienced teachers, aimed at achieving your exam goals with ease. You will have the chance to check your progress every week, using previous test papers. This course is only available in September, October and November. Schedule: 10 grammar, 10 4-skills application and 5 exam study classes per week

Exam Skills Option	Preparation for the JLPT. Each week a teacher gives you homework, then analyzes your weak points and discusses learning strategies with you. This option is available year-round, as a once-weekly option. Schedule: One hour of class per week, plus about 3 hours of homework.