Japanese classes meet once per week for a 2-hour lesson*. At each level, the program length is 8 weeks. We offer levels 1 to 6 and beyond.

HIGHLIGHTS: Experienced and qualified teachers, structured teaching, communicative approach, and measurable results.

TEXTBOOK: Genki, An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese, third edition (The Japan Times Publishing). The textbook is not included in the price.

While we use the prescribed textbook throughout the course, the lesson plans exhibit teacher’s experience and the adaptability skills in view of the classroom's changing needs.  We believe that using a textbook yields the best results for beginner and intermediate students. Therefore, it’s advisable to buy the prescribed textbook(s). They also provide explanatory information that may be useful for a questioning adult student and for homework.

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
For questions and course descriptions of higher levels, please contact: japanese@merrimacklanguage.com

Japanese Level 1:
This beginner-level course is designed for students with little to no prior experience in Japanese. It focuses on building a strong foundation in everyday communication and essential grammar. Students will learn useful daily expressions, how to introduce themselves, and how to identify people and objects in Japanese. Topics include stating one’s name, nationality, and occupation, as well as understanding and using basic numbers. The course also introduces cultural elements such as greetings in a Japanese business setting. By the end of the course, students will be able to ask and answer questions about ownership, use pronouns and noun modifiers correctly, and inquire about the timing of services, events, and facility hours.

Japanese Level 2:
This course builds on the foundational skills developed in Japanese Level 1, with a focus on practical language use in everyday situations. Students will learn how to interact effectively in shopping environments, including how to ask and answer questions about prices and use appropriate counters for various items. The course introduces adjectives to describe objects, expands knowledge of numbers (including large numbers and decimal points), and provides an overview of Japanese currency. Through interactive practice, students will gain confidence in navigating real-life scenarios involving money, quantities, and descriptions.

Japanese level 3:
This intermediate course expands students’ ability to communicate about daily life and personal experiences. Learners will practice describing their daily routines using motion verbs and will learn to express how often events or actions occur. The course covers essential grammar, including the use of past, present, and future tenses, and introduces how to confirm schedules and talk about upcoming plans. Students will also learn how to ask for directions and discuss the existence of people and things using appropriate expressions. By the end of the course, students will be able to engage in more detailed conversations about everyday activities and schedules with greater fluency and accuracy.