Kid's Intro to Japanese

Kid's Intro to Japanese (KIJ) will take students through the very basics and essentials of speaking and writing Japanese! No previous knowledge is required for this course. Keep scrolling to read the curriculum below.

This course will be broken up into five sessions that build off of each other, so it is important to not miss class. KIJ is unique because it focuses on teaching students structures and patterns, rather than just having them memorize set phrases. Also, rather than focusing on just one topic, for example verbs, for eight weeks, I teach little important topics that come together and help students speak more complex sentences. We also learn 5 hiragana and about 10 vocabulary words each session.

The curriculum is as follows:
   SESSION 1
       The Three Writing Systems and Sounds
       The First Five Hiragana
       Aisatsu (Greetings) and Honorifics
　　Introducing Yourself
   SESSION 2
       Japanese Grammar
        Basic Sentences with SはDです
        Long Vowels
   SESSION 3
       Basic Sentences with これ・それ・あれ
       Counting in Japanese
       Age and Grade in School
   SESSION 4
       Likes and Dislikes with Nouns
　　Likes and Dislikes with Verbs
        What I Want to Become (in the future)
   SESSION 5
       Final Project


It seems intimidating at first, but I can assure you that Japanese is a lot easier (and a lot more fun) than you'd ever imagine!


***IMPORTANT NOTES FOR PARENTS***
I want to mention that I am well aware that students move at their own paces. It would make no sense to go on to the next topic if my students were still confused about the previous one. I prioritize quality of learning over quantity, and I will accelerate and decelerate the course according to how quickly or slowly my students pick up the information, and will revisit topics that need revisiting. However, if students are showing up more than 15 minutes late to class, I will not be able to take the entire class back for that one person. If we fall behind as a result of one person or another showing up late each time, then I will not be able to deliver on all that I have promised to teach, which would then upset other students and parents. Thus, I strongly encourage students to show up in a timely manner and to watch the class recordings should they miss class or show up late.

Homework is also very important. I do my best to make classes fun and supportive, but I really do want my students to be able to learn and retain the things I teach them. Thus, there will be homework for practice after almost every single session. I encourage and remind the students about this homework as best I can, as failing to keep up with the homework will more than likely result in falling behind in class, so I ask that parents also encourage their student(s) to complete the homework and practice what they've learned in class often.