Japanese Beginner 2

If you have already had experience with Japanese through a conversational beginner course, this is the right level for you. Add to your basic vocabulary in everyday situations. Expand sentence structure by learning adjectives and additional verb forms. Native-speaking instructors provide you with insight into the culture, traditions and etiquette of Japan. Master both the reading and writing of Hiragana and begin to learn Katakana.

Course outline

This is not a prescriptive list. Exact course outlines are determined by the instructor to best meet the needs of the class. This is meant to serve as a guideline and suggest what may be covered at this level. It is often necessary to repeat levels in order to become completely comfortable with the skills at each stage with a different teacher and style.

Course objectives

• Build vocabulary and fluency for discussing everyday situations
• Learn the necessary adjectives to describe feelings, places, people and things
• Learn verb forms and sentence patterns to extend invitations, make requests and ask for permission.

Course content

• Explaining your reasons for going somewhere
• Inviting and suggesting: Let’s do … Would you like to …
• Adjectives and conjugations
• Expressing desire: 1) what I want and 2) I want to do (something)
• Talking about your health: Parts of the body, health-related words
• Comparisons: 1) Which do you like better, A or B? and 2) What do you like the best?
• Verb forms and conjugations
• Describing actions in progress: Someone is doing such and such
• Using the verb “to wear”: Describing people by what they are wearing
• Making requests: Please do such and such
• Asking for permission: May I do such and such
• Describing locations and giving directions: There is something …, Something is at …
• Talking about family members: How many people, who they are, what they do, where they are, etc.
• Hiragana: Master reading and writing Hiragana
• Katakana: Learn to read and write the Japanese Katakana characters used for words of foreign origin

Expected Effort

You can expect to spend about three hours per week attending live, virtual classes and completing course work on your own time. Expect double this amount during the intensive summer term.

Textbook

This course does not require the purchase of a textbook. Course materials are provided by the instructor.

Course Format

This course is offered online and/or in-person. See Available Sessions for details on the course format.

Our online conversational courses offer a virtual classroom experience where you can see and interact with your teacher and classmates over Zoom. Log in at a set time to participate in individual, pair and group work, ask questions and receive feedback from your instructor.

Outside of class time, access course materials online at your own pace for up to three weeks after the course ends.

In-person classes are offered at UBC Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. 

Learn more about online learning at Extended Learning.

How am I assessed?

This is a non-credit course without letter or numerical grades. You receive verbal feedback on your conversation and grammar skills from your instructor during class. Written homework is typically corrected in class. Some lesson modules may include quizzes.

Record of completion

A record of completion will be emailed to students who participate and satisfy the course requirements within two weeks of the course end date. Course completion means 80% attendance and/or 80% completion of mandatory assignments.

Technology requirements

For all languages classes, you’ll need access to the internet, a personal email account and an up-to-date web browser.

For online classes, you will also need a video camera and a microphone on your device.

The day before your course starts, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access the course.