Japanese Language
Whatever country you may live in it is only sensible and respectful to learn the language. Every day living is made easier too. So whether you are intending to stay forever or just a few months it is best to start somewhere. Private tutors are one idea or swapping lessons in your own language with a newly acquired Japanese friend. However, starting a class will give you some healthy competition and be more sociable. Below are a sample of language schools and classes available in the Saitama and Tokyo area. Check your local city hall for others.
Japanese Language classes in Saitama offered by municipal governments
Kawagoe Minami Kominkan | Kawagoe | 0492-43-0038 |
Omiya Kominkan | Omiya | 048-643-5641 |
Shin Sayama Kominkan | Sayama | 042-953-9034 |
Urawa Chuo Kominkan | Urawa | 048-824-0161 |
Soka Shiritsu | Soka | 0489-22-5344 |
Private Japanese Language Schools in Saitama
Japan Foundation International Centre | Yono | 048-834-1180 |
Saitama University | Urawa | 048-852-2111 |
Sower Gaigo Gakuin | Tokorozawa | 042-925-4041 |
Tokyo Friendship Academy | Omiya | 048-647-3066 |
Tokyo International University | Kawagoe | 0492-32-1111 |
Private Japanese Language Schools in Tokyo
ARC Academy | Shinjuku | 03-3345-5781 |
Human Academy Language School | Shinjuku | 03-3342-4741 |
KAI Japanese Language School | Okubo | 03-3205-1356 |
Sendagaya Japanese Institute | Takadanobaba | 03-3232-6181 |
Shinjuku Language Institute | Takadanobaba | 03-5273-0044 |
Before parting with your money, which you usually have to in advance for one whole term, ask if it is possible to have a trial lesson first. If they say no ask a second member of staff or think twice about joining.
Publications to aid study
Manga Jin, learn Japanese language and culture through comics.
The Nihongo Journal, ALC press. Comes out every month with tapes available.
NHK Practical Japanese, bimonthly booklet that follows the TV programme.
The Hiragana Times, a tabloid type bimonthly, bilingual magazine, often with eye catching front page headlines about sex.
The Daily Yomiuri and The Japan Times have sections devoted to Japanese study on Monday and Thursdays respectively.
Books for Beginners
The Practical English-Japanese Dictionary, Noah S. Brannen. Words are written in romaji, hiragana and kanji. References are often given with sentence phrases for easier understanding and instant communication.
Survival Japanese, Boye De Mente. All the survival Japanese you need for your first few months in Japan on a host of subjects.
Japanese Simplified, Hugo. Also for the total beginners with no knowledge of hiragana, katakana or any grammar. Audio tapes available.
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, Makino and Tsutsui, The Japan Times. An excellent reference book of grammar listed alphabetically.
Shin Nihongo No Kiso 1, The Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship. Practical Japanese is presented in a textbook that is easy to use. Audi and video tapes are available.
Let's Learn Hiragana and Let's Learn Katakana, Yasuko Kosaka Mitamura, Kodansha International. Structured to learn by yourself, these books give your first steps into writing Japanese.
Kanji Isn't That Hard, Yoshiaki Takebe, ALC Press. An interesting book on how kanji developed and how to remember it. With two hundred or more beginning kanji.
A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese - Dictionary of Kanji, Charles E. Tuttle. An excellent guide for finding that kanji you cannot read. The 1,850 basic characters and common syllabaries are listed by strokes.
Books for Intermediates
Daily Concise Japanese-English Dictionary, Sanseido. Now that you feel that you are entering the world of intermediates, how about using a pocket dictionary that uses hiragana to look up its words.
A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar, Makino and Tsutsui, The Japan Times. Follow up to the one listed above.
Shin Nihongo No Kiso 2, The Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship. Solid follow up to number 1 listed on the previous page.
Introduction to Intermediate Japanese, Nobuko Mizutani, Bonjinsha. Learn Japanese through topical material with newspaper articles to sharpen your kanji and thorough grammatical explanations in English.
Intermediate Japanese, Akira Miura and Naomi Hanaoka McGloin, The Japan Times. With extensive cultural notes, newspaper articles and grammatical explanations in English.
Office Japanese, Hajime Takanizawa, ALC Press. Now you will know what to say next time you are in the office with easy explanatory notes.
Books for Advanced Students
Progressive Shogakukan English - Japanese and Japanese - English Dictionaries. These are very useful and easy to use dictionaries for the advanced student with sample sentences alongside definitions for clear understanding.
Advanced Japanese, Nobuko Mizutani, Bonjinsha. Continuing the series, another solid textbook from the author of so many others.
Modern Japanese: An Advanced Reader, Itasaka, Makino, Yamashita. Harvard University Press. Your kanji power should really be hot for this cookie.
An Introduction to Advanced Spoken Japanese, Brown. Fukuchi, Tani. Inter-University Centre for Japanese Language Studies. Good book for those who are now nearly Japanese.
An English Dictionary of Japanese Culture, Honna and Hoffer, Yuhikaku. Written in both English and Japanese, this has almost everything on Japanese culture listed.
Books for Entertainment
Making Out In Japanese and More Making Out In Japanese by Todd and Erika Geers. Claims to teach you lovers language and real spoken Japanese not found in textbooks. It also points out the differences between mens and womens speech. Well worth a read.
"Shikuwazu", one of many Japanese puzzle books made by Nikoli. Call them on 03-3485-2081.
An Illustrated Dictionary of Onomatopoeic Expressions, Taro Gomi, The Japan Times. A fun to read book full of illustrations of all those unusual sounding words like "peko peko" and "jime jime."
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