The Cactus Course Outlines provide a learning framework for the Cactus Foreign Language Evening Courses. They are designed to provide you with a good idea of what you might cover over a 10-week period, and include typical themes, grammar and vocabulary fields. They are flexible rather than prescriptive, in that our teachers may decide to adapt their learning plans to the specific level, aims and interests of their classes. Use the tabs below to view the relevant Japanese course outline for your level.
Japanese Beginner 1
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Introduce yourself with greetings in Japanese
- Exchanging business card in Japanese
- Asking about of services in stores
- Shopping
- Describing about the whereabouts of things and people
- Transportation
- Time and numbers – telling and asking the time, counting cardinal numbers
- Everyday objects
- Places – shops, important buildings
- Daily life – routines, free time
- Job
- Home
- Culture
- Existence of People and Things
- Ordinal numbers
Grammar:
- Basic Japanese grammar rules – particles : か (ka), は (wa), の (no), と (to), を (o),に (ni),も(mo), が (ga), や (ya) .
- Present, Past, Future
- Pronouns – subject, object, possessive
- Singular vs. Plural
- Word order – sentence, question, negative
- Question formation
- Modal verbs
Cultural Content:
- Three writing systems in Japanese (Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji)
- How to bow
- Japanese currency
- Shops in Japan
- Transportation
- Excursions to Japanese spas (温泉onsen)
Skills Work:
- Lots of speaking-inc. situational exercises & interaction
- Basic pronunciation rules
- Listening activities
- Numbers and Counters rules
- Writing practice (Hiragana)
Japanese Beginner 2
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Talking about self & others, inc. family – key personal information
- Expressing gratitude
- Invitations
- Talking about plans
- Making a request
- Holidays
- Hotels & restaurants
- Exchanging
- Town & country
- Home
Grammar:
- Revisiting previous level’s grammar
- Understand Japanese aspect and use ‘give’ and ‘receive’ verbs
- Making Suggestion -including acceptance and refusal
- Use general action verbs to describe habits
- Use verbs with negative, past and past negative sentences
- Basic Japanese grammar rules – particles を (o), と (to), に (ni), で (de), も (mo).
- Adjectives : past negative , negative past using both -い (-i) and な (na) adjectives.
- Numbers and Counters rules
Cultural Content:
- Japanese cuisine
- Japanese sweets
- Visiting a Japanese home
- Festival
Skills Work:
- Lots of speaking – incl. situational exercises and interaction
- Pronunciation – key sounds
- Listening activities
- Write and Read sentences in Japanese without using Roman Alphabet
- Writing practice (Hiragana and Katakana)
Japanese Beginner 3
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Talking about self & others, incl. family – key personal information
- Japanese festivals
- Travel
- Holidays
- Health/illness
- Meetings
- Leisure Time
- Money & shopping
- Studying language
- Socializing
Grammar:
- Revisiting previous level’s grammar
- Attributive sentences
- Offers and suggestions -ましょうか。
- Connect a few actions in one sentence (-て …. -て)
- Continuous: past, present & future -ています
- Permission – Asking permission to do something -ても いいですか ?
- The -ない form (negative verbs)
- Polite forms – please do not -ないでください
- Present Progressive and Habitual Actions
- Preference and Desire -が 好きです (すきです)
- Express desires :verb –tai desu 行きたいです（いきたい）
Cultural Content:
- Business outside Tokyo
- Museum in Japan
- Working office in Japan
- Socializing
- Sports in Japan
Skills Work:
- Extensive speaking/active practice
- Extensive listening
- Pronunciation – keyWrite and Read sentences in Japanese without using Roman
- Alphabet
Japanese Elementary 1
Please note that knowledge of three writing systems in Japanese (Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji) is required to take this level.
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Transport
- Meeting Friends
- Complimenting someone
- Parties & Socialising
- Leisure time
- Travelling
- Buying Souvenirs
- Shopping
- Lost items
Grammar:
- Knowledge of three writing systems in Japanese (Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji) is required to take this level
- Revisiting previous level’s grammar
- Duration expressions
- Compound sentences
- Relative clauses (not only…but…)
- Descriptive adverbials (-く+v, -に+v.)
- Conjunctions
- Modal Perfect
- Wish
- Common collocation
- Language to express opinions, eg. dis/agreement, un/certainty
- Comparatives [-のほうが- より, -が一番 (いちばん)]
- Adjective forms (-くて, – / -で,-)
- Express ability -ことができる
Cultural Content:
- Souvenir shopping
- Building rapport with colleagues
- Going to pub (いざかや) and カラオケ(Karaoke)
- Talking about big cities in Japan
- Japanese traditional things
Skills Work:
- Frequency of time expressions
- More extensive word-building
- More extensive word families (noun-verb-adjective-adverb)
- Phrasal verbs
- Invitation
- Wider range of functions – inc. social language, giving advice, making enquiries
- Extensive speaking/active practice
- Extensive listening
- Pronunciation
- Read short Japanese texts (800 word vocabulary)
- Write basic Kanji (60 characters)
Japanese Elementary 2
A wide range of possibilities, inc. Entertainment, mass media, work, education, school life and routine, the environment, tourism & travel, news, social & political issues, books, generation changes, cities, people, relationships, the arts, technology, health & fitness, social life, night life, national traditions/customs & culture, consumerism, globalisation.
Grammar:
- Revisiting previous level’s grammar
- Duration expressions
- Compound sentences
- Usage of plain forms of verbs (する, しない, した, しなかつた)
- Express personal experiences using “have done ” -しことがある
- Express actions -たり-たり
- Understand the aspect of using dictionary form and た-form – (before doing something and doing something…dictionary form + まえ, た-form +あと)
- Suggestions/Recommendations –ほうがいいです
- Usage of plain form of adjectives and of nouns (おいしい、おいしくない、あめだ、あめではない、べんりだ、べんりではない)
- Modifying noun
- Common idioms
- Common linking words.
Cultural content:
- How to greet when you meet someone again after being apart
- Original Japanese notation rules for writin
- Common signs at a department store
- Popular places in Japan
- Traditional Japanese-style hotel (ryokan)
- Mt. Fuji
Skills Work:
- Extensive speaking/active practice
- Extensive listening
- Pronunciation
- Read and write essays in Japanese
- Read and write some basic kanji (120 characters)
Japanese Elementary 3
A wide range of possibilities, inc. Entertainment, mass media, job advertisements, applications and interviews, education, environmental protection, global warming, tourism & travel, news, social & political issues, books, generation changes, cities, people, the arts, technology, health & fitness, social life, night life, national traditions/customs & culture, consumerism, pollution, website, famous personalities.
Grammar:
- Revisiting previous level’s grammar
- Present/Past
- Duration expressions
- Compound sentences
- Relative clauses (not only…but…)
- Descriptive adverbials (-く+v, -に+v)
- Conjunctions
- Modal perfect
- Describing a change in state-てきました
- Making hypothetical statements/stating the result of an action of event -たら
- Indicating that an action or event has been completed –てしまいます
- Conditional form -ば
- Speaking of natural or habitual results
- Expressing necessity -なければ なりません
Cultural Content:
- Drinking manner
- Strict manner of taking out the garbage
- Mixing of speech styles -です/ ます plain styles
Skills Work:
- Extensive listening
- Pronunciation
- Translation from Japanese into English and vice versa
- Writing essays about (250 characters) in Japanese
- Discussion to express your opinions
- Read and write some basic Kanji (160 characters)
- Read Japanese texts (1500 word vocabulary)
Japanese Advanced
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Talks and discussions on economic and cultural issues.
- Reading news papers and magazines
- Watching films and having a discussion
Grammar
Cultural Content
- Business
- Cultures and Customs
- Difference between Japan and other countries
Skills Work
- Extensive listening
- Translation from Japanese into English and vice versa
- Writing essays in Japanese
- Discussion to express your opinions
- Formal speech and writing of basic patterns
Japanese Proficiency
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Talks and discussions on economic and cultural issues.
- Reading news papers and magazines
- Watching films and having a discussion
Grammar:
Cultural Content:
- Business
- Cultures and Customs
- Difference between Japan and other countries
- Economics status
Skills Work:
- Extensive listening
- Translation from Japanese into English and vice versa
- Writing essays in Japanese
- Discussion to express your opinions
- Formal speech and writing of basic patterns