The Japanese Language Program at JASDFW offers beginning level Japanese classes to help learners build foundations of learning the Japanese language. The focus is on conversational Japanese and learning the language in social context. Classes will cover familiar topics regularly encountered in daily life and friendly social situations.  The goal is for learners to have a basic understanding of how the language is used in different social circumstances while learning some essential Japanese language structures and cultural/social values.

The program also offers several workshops throughout the year that focuses on specific themes (travel tips, tv shows, etc)  or particular structure of the language (the use of des, particles,  the writing characters, etc). 

These Japanese classes will be conducted via Zoom. Attendees must have a device with audio and video capabilities, as well as an internet connection. The Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth reserves the right to cancel the class if it does not meet the minimum attendance number. Please contact us at ikuko@jasdfw.org if you have questions about language classes.

Adults Class (Age 18 +)

Fee

Members: $160
Non-Members: $210
Membership Bundle: $190 (Save $15!)

Register Here

Japanese class 3

This course is a continuation of Japanese Language Class 2 and designed for beginning-level to lower-intermediate learners who understands the hiragana system and have some basic understanding of the Japanese language. The course focuses on practicing common expressions useful to describe daily activities and future plans, while also learning basic structures of verbs and verb sentences. The course will also introduce useful particles and continue reviewing and practicing basic particles from previous classes. Prior knowledge of hiragana and katakana is required to take this course. 

Prerequisite:  

While taking Japanese Class 2 is highly recommended before taking Japanese Class 3, it is not a requirement. However, students should have some basic understanding of the following: 

• Hiragana Characters (Ideally also katakana) 
• The function of desu (です) in a sentence. 
• Noun and adjective sentence structures. 
• Adjective structures (い adj vs. な adj and basic conjugation) 
• Particles: ka (か）wa（は）ga（が）wo（を）mo（も） to（と）, 
• How to ask a simple question: Korewa nandesuka? （これは　なんですか。） 
• Demonstrative Pronouns: Kore/Sore/Are（これ・それ・あれ）Kono/Sono/Ano (この・その・あの） 
• Plain form vs. Polite form  

 Students will be able to: 

• Understand and use familiar and basic expressions and phrases.  
• Understand and use a variety of greetings useful in daily conversations. 
• Practice sharing daily activities, future plans, and past events 
• Learn 15 essential particles, conjunctive particles and the kara (から）particles  
• Understand basic sentence structures, particularly verb sentences and create original simple sentences.  
• Learn and practice asking questions about when, where, who, what and why (いつ、どこで、だれが、なにを、なぜ）.

Instructor

Ikuko Fujiwara
Her academic and professional background is in TESOL and Composition which began with earning a Master’s degree in TESOL from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her career has been devoted to instruction and supporting student success while promoting diversity and inclusion in educational spaces. She has experience teaching Japanese, ESOL and college composition at various colleges in the United States. She is committed to creating inclusive and meaningful learning spaces where people engage in cross-cultural/intercultural understanding and learn to use language in empowering ways.