Course Overview 

Our afternoon Japanese Level 1 is course a Beginners course for students who have never studied the language before. This is a less intensive course than our evening 6-week Level 1 Japanese course, allowing you to ease your way into the language at a slower and more relaxed pace. If you’re unsure of your level, then take our quick Japanese language level test here or check our levels chart. 

Our Japanese language classes take place at our school in Covent Garden with a qualified, experienced teacher and fellow students. Evening language classes at IH London are dynamic and interactive as the emphasis is on spoken communication, which is achieved through lots of group work and role-plays. At the same time, there is systematic work on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, so that you can improve on all aspects of the language. Your teacher speaks in the target language throughout, so that you can refine your comprehension and listening skills. 

Course Content

Communicative aims

– Greeting people

– Introducing yourself and someone else

– Asking and giving personal details

– Shopping

– Locations

Linguistic aims

– Forming affirmative & negative sentences in present tense.

– Forming questions.

– Particles “wa”, “mo”, “ka” and “no”

– The Ko, So, A, Do system of demonstrative words.

Examples

(1) Watashi wa Tanaka Yoshio desu. – I am Yoshio Tanaka.

(2) Suzuki san wa isha ja arimasen. – Ms Suzuki is not a doctor.

(3) Yamada san wa gakusei desuka. – Is Mr Yamada a student?

(4) Sasaki san mo gakusei desu. – Ms Sasaki is a student too.

(5) Kore wa hon desu. – This is a book.

(7) Kore wa kuruma no hon desu. – This is a book on cars.

(8) Sore wa watashi no pen desu. -That is my pen.

(9) Kono kaban wa watashi no desu. – This bag is mine.

(10) Koko wa ima desu. – This is a living room.

(11) Tokei wa asoko desu. – The clock is over there.

Vocabulary

– Leisure activities

– Numbers 0 – 10.000

– Professions

– Hiragana Alphabet

– Country and Nationality

– Family names

– Items in a department stores and office buildings

Based on the course book – Minna no Nihon-go Beginners Book 1*

Chapters 1 to 3

*Materials may be based on the coursebook but it is not required as teachers may use different resources.

Course Information 

• Average class size: 8 (maximum 15) 

• Students must be 18+ years old 
• Existing language ability: this is a course for complete beginners 
• Classes will take place at our school in Covent Garden (16 Stukeley Street, Holborn, London WC2B 5LQ) 

Class Schedule 

• The classes are 1.5 hours per week 
• The course runs for 10 weeks 
• The course takes place on weekday afternoons from 16.30 – 18.00
• The possible study options for this course are as follows: 

Thursdays: 25th January – 28th March 2024

Tuesdays: 16th April – 18th June 2024

Wednesdays: 10th July – 18th September 2024*

Mondays: 7th October – 9th December 2024

*There is a week’s break in the course from 29th July – 2nd August 2024 for the summer holiday. The course still consists of 10 lessons spread out over 11 weeks.

This language course includes: 

• Access to our online platform to download lesson summaries, notes and resources 
• Support and advice from Japanese language teachers 
• Japanese language study tips