Japanese language studies offered by the Center for Japanese Language at Waseda University consist of Comprehensive Courses and Japanese Theme Subjects.
Comprehensive Courses are for students from beginner to pre-advanced (levels 1–6) who comprehensively study the four key skills according to a standardized syllabus and set of materials. There are 14-week courses “Japanese for Comprehensive Japanese”, “Nihongo”, “Japanese for ‘Zero’ Beginners”, and 4-week courses “Japanese (Short-term) “. “Kanji” and “Conversation” courses are also offered to complement the four key skills.
In Japanese Theme Subjects, teachers draw up materials and syllabuses utilizing their respective expertise to provide students from beginner to superior (levels 1–8) with unique, progressive lessons. Rather than focus on the language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, these subjects cover a wide range of topics to meet the diverse interests and needs of foreign students, from creative subjects such as haiku poetry and theater to specialized Japanese language useful in job-hunting, further education, and so on.
As shown above, the Center for Japanese Language offers courses at a wide range of levels from beginner to superior. Also, you can design your own Japanese learning according to your level and learning needs. Let’s look at some specific examples of this.
First of all, you take an on-line test to find out your level. Let’s say, for instance, the test results show your Japanese is level 5. However, you may be more proficient at certain skills than others, better at speaking, for example, than writing or kanji. In that case, you can take a Comprehensive Course and some Japanese Theme Subjects to suit your level and learning objectives. For instance, taking your base level as 5, you can select Comprehensive Japanese Level 5 to study the language comprehensively, along with a level 4 Japanese Theme Subject that focuses on writing and a level 4 Kanji course. At the same time, you can have a personal consultation about your subjects and create a personalized “My Schedule.”
Below we describe the learning objectives and content of the Comprehensive Courses and Japanese Theme Subjects offered.
*Click here for information on the level of beginner courses in the Comprehensive Course Group.
| Course name | Learning objectives |
| Japanese for ‘zero’ beginners | For students with zero knowledge of Japanese. Learn how to read and write hiragana and katakana. Learn simple expressions and basic phrases used in everyday conversation, and become able to introduce yourself.
Textbooks: Marugoto, Starter (A1) Rikai (Sanshusha) |
*Click here for information on the level of beginner courses in the Comprehensive Course Group.
| Course name | Learning objectives |
| Comprehensive Japanese 1 | Learn lower beginner sentence patterns and vocabulary, and become able to communicate properly in everyday situations.
Textbook: Marugoto, Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai (Sanshusha) |
| Comprehensive Japanese 2 | Study upper beginner sentence patterns and vocabulary, and become able to communicate properly in everyday situations.
Textbook: Marugoto, Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai (Sanshusha) |
| Comprehensive Japanese 3 | Reinforce and expand your beginner Japanese while learning intermediate sentence patterns and vocabulary. Learn what others think about familiar social themes and become able to convey your own ideas.
Textbook:Marugoto, Intermediate 1(B1)(Sanshusha) |
| Comprehensive Japanese 4 | Become able to describe familiar social themes logically and objectively while increasing your intermediate sentence patterns and vocabulary.
Textbook: Marugoto, Intermediate 2(B1)(Sanshusha) |
| Comprehensive Japanese 5 | Learn upper intermediate vocabulary and expressions with someone’s help and become able to read newspaper articles and books. Learn to discuss social topics.
Textbook: Ikita sozai de manabu shin chūkyū kara jōkyū e no Nihongo （The Japan Times） |
| Comprehensive Japanese 6 | Learn pre-advanced vocabulary and expressions by yourself and become able to read newspaper articles and books. Learn to discuss a wide range of social issues.
Textbook:Nihongo de kangaetakunaru kagaku no toi_Bunka to shakaihen |
*Click here for information on the level of beginner courses in the Comprehensive Course Group.
| Course name | Learning objectives |
| Nihongo 1 (1) | For students at the beginner level. Learn simple Japanese grammar and vocabulary, and practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing using the acquired knowledge of grammar and expressions.Teaching Material: “Steps in Japanese for beginners 1″ |
| Nihongo 1 (2) | For students at the beginner level. Learn simple Japanese grammar and vocabulary, and practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing using the acquired knowledge of grammar and expressions.Teaching Material: “Steps in Japanese for beginners 2″ |
| Nihongo 1 (3) | For students at the beginner level. Learn simple Japanese grammar and vocabulary, and practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing using the acquired knowledge of grammar and expressions.Teaching Material: “Steps in Japanese for beginners 3″ |
| Course name | Learning objectives |
| Kanji (For Nonnative Kanji Learners) 1 | For students learning kanji for the first time. Study basic kanji, including how they are written and the meaning of their radicals, and learn to read and write them. Become able to understand and write them in sentences.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
| Kanji (For Native Kanji Learners) 1 | For students with basic knowledge of kanji. Learn the meanings of kanji radicals and basic kanji idioms, and become able to understand and write them in sentences.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
| Kanji (For Nonnative Kanji Learners) 2 | For students from countries or regions that do not use kanji, but have basic knowledge of kanji, as well as basic knowledge of Japanese corresponding to Comprehensive Japanese 1. Learn the characteristics of Japanese kanji and how to read and use kanji commonly used in daily life.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
| Kanji (For Native Kanji Learners) 2 | For students from countries or regions that use kanji and have basic knowledge of kanji (about 160 characters), as well as basic knowledge of Japanese corresponding to Comprehensive Japanese 1. Learn the characteristics of Japanese kanji and how to read and use them.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
| Kanji 3 | For students with experience of learning basic kanji idioms. Understand kanji in sentences and increase the number of kanji they can write and recognize.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
| Kanji 4 | For students who know the meaning of basic kanji idioms and how to read and write them. Lean the composition of kanji idioms and become able to use synonymous kanji words differently according to the context. Increase your kanji knowledge in your own field of interest.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
| Kanji 5 | For students who know the meaning of kanji idioms and how to read and write them, and who know basic kanji compound words. Learn the composition of kanji words and the distinction between words of Chinese origin and those of Japanese origin, and become able to use them differently according to the context. Learn to guess the meaning and pronunciation of new kanji.
Textbook: INTERMEDIATE KANJI BOOK Kanji 1000 Plus Vol.1 (Bonjinsha) Chapters 6–10 |
| Course name | Learning objectives |
| Conversation 1 | The goal of this course is enable you to conduct the daily conversation with basic Japanese grammar and words.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
| Conversation 2 | The goal of this course is to enable you to have a conversation about a familiar topic with upper basic Japanese grammar and words.
Textbooks: Original learning materials developed by CJL |
Japanese Theme Subjects cover more than 230 diverse and unique topics. The skills-oriented subjects are “Reading,” “Writing,” “Listening,” “Pronunciation,” “Politeness,” “Grammar,” “Vocabulary” and “Kanji” that let you focus on a skill you want to master. There are also society- and culture-oriented subjects titled “Literature,” “Movie, Drama and Entertainment,” “Living” and “Society and Culture” that enable you to acquire a range of knowledge and skills other than language, as well as specialist subjects titled “Career” and “Academic.” All Japanese Theme Subjects share the aim of developing the ability to think and solve problems. Please think about what interests you and what kind of Japanese you need to learn before selecting your subjects.
◆ Course List by Category
| Category | Primary Aim |
| Oral Expression | ・Improve speaking competence by learning conversational expression and pronunciation
・Improve speaking competence through discussions, presentations and other oral activities |
| Written Expression | ・Improve writing competence by studying the methods of written expression, including phrasing and construction
・Improve writing competence through essays, reports and other writing tasks |
| Listening Comprehension | ・Master listening comprehension strategies and improve listening comprehension ability |
| Reading Comprehension | ・Master reading comprehension strategies and improve reading comprehension ability |
| Grammar | ・Master grammar and improve expressiveness |
| Vocabulary | ・Master a robust lexicon and improve expressiveness |
| Society and Culture | ・Study socio-cultural elements of Japan and learn, as well as be able to utilize, the Japanese words and expressions associated with them |
| Academic Japanese | ・Learn and be able to utilize Japanese suited to undergraduate and graduate student life and research activities at a Japanese university |
| Business Japanese | ・Learn and be able to utilize Japanese required for business contexts |
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