The course begins with the theme of meeting new people and professional communication. Students develop the ability to give structured self-introductions, initiate conversations with people they do not know, and respond appropriately in casual and semi-formal situations. They also strengthen workplace communication skills, including discussing job responsibilities, understanding professional emails, and using basic honorific (keigo) expressions. 

Can-Do Statements: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to: 

· Ask to be connected to someone at a company reception. 

· Talk about their job, workplace, and work responsibilities. 

· Read and understand email exchanges related to job counseling and application processes. 

· Demonstrate understanding of basic honorific (keigo) expressions in the workplace and formal settings. 

· Listen to a coherent self-introduction and understand key points such as the speaker’s profile, interests, goals, and aspirations. 

· Initiate conversation with someone they do not know, ask relevant follow-up questions, and share information about themselves with appropriate details. 

· Give a structured and coherent self-introduction including personal background, interests, goals, and future aspirations. 

· Read a self-introduction on a social networking site and understand what kind of person the writer is. 

· Write a self-introduction that clearly describes their interests, goals, and aspirations using appropriate tone and organization. 

· Expand their vocabulary with 19 new topic-based words and phrases introduced in this course. 

· Kanji study will include review of N4-level characters and introduction of N3-level kanji, with continued emphasis on reading comprehension and contextual use, along with appropriate writing practice. 

Use of the Language: This course has been designed in such a way that most of the class time will be devoted to communication and will be taught in the target language (i.e., the language that you are studying). As you already have some experience with the language, you are encouraged to use the target language as much as possible from Day 1. You are not expected to understand everything, and you can expect to be pushed beyond your comfort zone. However, your instructor is there to make sure you can succeed in meeting the goals of the activities and of the class in general. Our goal is for you to be able to communicate in the target language, and we cannot learn to speak a language without speaking it. Please remember that we learn best by making mistakes, and we encourage you to try to do your best. Don’t forget that your instructor is there to support you in class and is also available via the Matrix messaging system for assistance.

Expectations/Time Commitment: It is strongly recommended that you schedule about 4 hours per week outside of the weekly 2-hour class to engage with this course material. Please plan accordingly by scheduling your time on your calendar now. Active engagement in all course activities (e.g., class participation, module completion, homework, written assignments, studying vocabulary, etc.) will contribute to your learning and success in this course. 

Required Materials: (Note: the coursebooks may be purchased from the vendor of your choice; possible sources are linked below) 

1. MARUGOTO: Japanese Language and Culture Intermediate 1 B1 (ISBN-13: 978-4384057591)) Amazon.com: Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture Intermediate1 B1 (Japanese Edition): 9784384057591: The Japan Foundation: Books 

2. Kanji Master N3 (ISBN-13: 978-4384059632) Amazon.com: Kanji Master N3 - Kanji for Intermediate (Revised Edition) (Japanese Edition): 9784384059632: Arc Academy: Books 

3. Kanji writing practice notebook (ISBN-13: 979-8521126941) 

Strongly recommended website: Marugoto.jp 

This course will cover Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture Pre-Intermediate (A2/B1) Coursebook Topic 9, and Intermediate(B1) Coursebook Topic 1