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** This course is for students that have completed Japanese Beginner 1 through Beginner 4. Instructor: Tomi Kawamura & Naoko Takeda Objective: This mini-review course is for the entry-level learners who wish to review Japanese scripts; hiragana and katakana and be familiar with the basic grammar, pronunciation and the expressions to support their understanding of the language.
**Pre-requisite: This special course is for the learners who have completed TLC Japanese courses: Beginner 5, 6 and Explorer 1-6 The students who are new to TLC are also welcome, however, they will be asked to take a test and an interview as a part of the placement process. The instructors will communicate with the students mainly in Japanese at the level. Instructor: Naoko Takeda & Tomi Kawamura Objective: The course is focused on brushing up their reading and listening comprehension to improve their speaking and writing skills.
Join us for this FREE calligraphy event on Saturday, Jan. 13! This event will run from 10am to 12:30pm. It will be held at the Tennessee Language Center, 220 French Landing Drive, in Nashville, TN. TLC Japanese instructor Tomi Kawamura will lead the class in a Kakizome workshop. Kakizome is traditionally known as the first calligraphy written at the beginning of the new year. Who is this for? Not limited to Japanese language students Family and friends of students interested in Japanese language and culture People who are interested in Japanese language and culture (in this case, no Japanese language background required)
This class is for students aged 11-15. Students who are 16 and above can enroll in our regular group courses. Instructor: Minae Hayashi Objective: The learners in this class will be introduced to a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases related to personal details and real-life situations in varieties of communicative activities. The general goals of this course will be to create a solid foundation the Japanese language in the four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing, to strengthen the conversational skills and deepen the understanding of the Japanese people and the Japanese culture, and to encourage the learners to rediscover the learners’ own culture through the study of Japanese language and culture and to become a culturally sensitive, globally aware, responsible world citizens.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing, Nashville, TN This class is for students aged 11-15. Students who are 16 and above can enroll in our regular group courses. Instructor: Naoko Takeda Objective: The learners in this class will be introduced to a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases related to personal details and real-life situations in varieties of communicative activities. The general goals of this course will be to create a solid foundation the Japanese language in the four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing, to strengthen the conversational skills and deepen the understanding of the Japanese people and the Japanese culture, and to encourage the learners to rediscover the learners’ own culture through the study of Japanese language and culture and to become a culturally sensitive, globally aware, responsible world citizens.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing, Nashville, TN Instructor: Naoko Takeda Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. More kanji (Chinese characters) are introduced to support developing their comprehension in reading longer passages and express themselves in a more complex sentences with personal details. Practice will focus on expanding the expressions using a variety of vocabulary including counters to count different types of objects, emotions, physical conditions of the future and the past and to communicate reasons for their emotions.
Instructor: Noriko Harasawa Objective: Learners in this class will be introduced to a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases related to personal details and concrete situations. Practice will focus on asking and answering questions within the topics of greetings/introductions, friends and family, and personal details (where one lives, etc.) and becoming familiar with Japanese sentence structure, word order and particles in basic statement/question sentences by listening to and engaging in simple dialogues. The instructor will share personal examples of Japanese culture and customs and guide learners in cultural exploration.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing, Nashville, TN Instructor: Naoko Takeda Objective: Learners in this class will be introduced to a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases related to personal details and concrete situations. Practice will focus on asking and answering questions within the topics of greetings/introductions, friends and family, and personal details (where one lives, etc.) and becoming familiar with Japanese sentence structure, word order and particles in basic statement/question sentences by listening to and engaging in simple dialogues. The instructor will share personal examples of Japanese culture and customs and guide learners in cultural exploration.
Instructor: Noriko Harasawa Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1. Practice will focus on interacting with others using words and phrases on the topics of personal interests/hobbies, leisure activities, making plans, and favorite foods. Learners will practice having conversations about future events, visiting people, and inviting someone to their home. The instructor will guide learners in cultural exploration of daily life in Japan, Japanese homes, manners when visiting someone at their home, Japanese holidays, and the varieties of local foods and cultures in different regions of Japan.
** This class will be held in-person at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing Dr, Nashville, TN Instructor: Naoko Takeda Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1. Practice will focus on interacting with others using words and phrases on the topics of personal interests/hobbies, leisure activities, making plans, and favorite foods. Learners will practice having conversations about future events, visiting people, and inviting someone to their home. The instructor will guide learners in cultural exploration of daily life in Japan, Japanese homes, manners when visiting someone at their home, Japanese holidays, and the varieties of local foods and cultures in different regions of Japan.
** This class will be held at Montgomery Co Extension Office, 1030 Cumberland Heights Road, Ste. A Clarksville, TN Instructor: Mit Inaba Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1 and 2. Practice will focus on interacting with others using a mixture of words, phrases, simple sentences, and questions on the topics of weather/seasons, family, occupations, and towns/cities. Learners will become more confident in exchanging specific information such as dates, time and the location of an event. Learners first get used to the basic sentence structures then gradually add the variations of what they can describe within the topics. They will be able to convey their thoughts and describe non-objects such as future events. The instructor will guide learners in cultural exploration of seasonal events and cultural customs observed in Japan throughout the year.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing, Nashville, TN Instructor: Noriko Harasawa Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1, 2 and 3. Practice will focus on interacting with others using a mixture of words, phrases and simple sentences and questions related to areas of immediate relevance such as basic personal information, shopping, geography, and employment. Learners will gain confidence while talking about more complex subjects such as learning about foreign cultures and visiting new places for the first time. The instructor will continue to guide the learners in cultural exploration.
Instructor: Naoko Takeda Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1, 2, 3 and 4. Practice will focus on basic expression, description, and interacting with others by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions for personal topic (e.g., self-introduction and family) as well as societal topics (e.g., greetings, seasons, and weather, town, and directions). The instructor will continue to guide the learners in cultural exploration.
Instructor: Minae Hayashi Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Practice will focus on basic expression, description, and interacting with others by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions for personal topic (e.g., experience learning a world language and another culture) as well as societal topics (e.g., making plan to go out with friends, invite someone, telling suggestion or reason, etc.). The instructor will continue to guide the learners in cultural exploration within those topics.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing, Nashville, TN Instructor: Tomi Kawamura Objective: Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during Beginner 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Practice will focus on basic expression, description, and interacting with others by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions for personal topic (e.g., experience learning a world language and another culture) as well as societal topics (e.g., making plan to go out with friends, invite someone, telling suggestion or reason, etc.). The instructor will continue to guide the learners in cultural exploration within those topics.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing Drive, Nashville, TN Instructor: Tomi Kamakura Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during the Beginner 1-6 and Explorer 1 levels. Learners on this course will further develop the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills they have developed in the previous courses. During this course, learners will focus on different aspects of life in Japan such as one’s health and the habits for physical well-being, read and answer the questionnaire and present the results, etc.as well as societal topics (e.g., wedding, celebration, and gift giving customs). The instructor will continue to guide the learners in cultural exploration within those topics.
Instructor: Tomi Kawamura Objective: Learners in this course will further develop the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills they have developed in the previous courses. During this course, learners will focus on different aspects of life in Japan such as, one’s health and the habits for physical well-being, self-introduction, and description of people as well as societal topics (e.g., seasons and weather, business trips, custom of gift-giving, celebrations, eating out with friends). The instructor will continue to guide the learners in cultural exploration within those topics.
Instructor: Tomi Kawamura Objective: Learners on this course will further develop the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills they have developed in the previous courses. During this course, learners will focus on different aspects of life in Japan such as meeting new friends, eating out, and taking a trip. The instructor will continue to guide the learners in cultural exploration within those topics.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing, Nashville, TN Instructor: Naoko Takeda Objective: Learners in this class will build on skills developed during the Beginner 1-6 and Explorer 1-6 levels. Learners will gradually challenge themselves to relay new information they acquire by reading and listening to others. They will start telling their personal story in longer and detailed passages while they explore new places to visit, think of the ecological habits and lifestyles and changes they experienced in their own lives and others.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing Dr, Nashville, TN Instructor: Tomi Kawamura Objective: In this class, we will build on basic handwriting skills acquired in Beginner 1. Practice will focus on accurate writing of hiragana, katakana, and N5 kanji, as well as techniques for Japanese pen and brush writing, kaisho script(楷書), and knowledge of Japanese culture and customs. Learners will improve their knowledge and skills in Japanese writing and gain confidence in handwriting as they learn pen and brush skills. Learners who take this course over several semesters or who already have some previous experience will learn gyosho script(semi-cursive style, 行書) as a developmental study, based on their level of skill.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing Drive, Nashville, TN Instructor: Tomi Kawamura Objective: This course is for learners at a Japanese proficiency level of CEFR B1/ ACTFL intermediate and above. Learners in this class will develop their reading and conversational skills as well as deepen their knowledge of Japanese literature and culture by reading a Japanese language book in and out of class and discussing it. "Tadoku" means "to read a lot" and is a method of acquiring Japanese through reading a lot. This is not intensive reading, but rather extensive reading without translation.
Instructors: Naoko Takeda, Tomi Kawamura Pre-requisite: This class is for anyone ages 16 and above who are interested in learning kanji/Chinese characters in order to blush up their Japanese language skills or just want to learn for fun! No previous knowledge of kanji is necessary - for anyone who has mastered their hiragana and katakana, but not sure where to start, or who is curious and wants to learn more about the Japanese language and culture, this is a perfect place to start. Welcome to the fascinating world of kanji!
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing Drive, Nashville TN Instructors: Naoko Takeda, Tomi Kawamura Pre-requisite: This class is for anyone ages 16 and above who are interested in building on their knowledge of kanji for the purpose of improving their reading, speaking and writing skills in Japanese by learning kanji/Chinese characters. In the class, the instructors are instructing and communicate mainly in Japanese. The learners who are interested in joining this class are asked to take a basic N5-level kanji knowledge test (reading and writing). Let’s go explore the world of kanji together.
** This class will be held at the TLC main office at 220 French Landing Drive, Nashville, TN Instructors: Naoko Takeda, Tomi Kawamura Pre-requisite: This class is for anyone ages 16 and above who are interested in learning kanji/Chinese characters in order to blush up their Japanese language skills or just want to learn for fun! No previous knowledge of kanji is necessary - for anyone who has mastered their hiragana and katakana, but not sure where to start, or who is curious and wants to learn more about the Japanese language and culture, this is a perfect place to start. Welcome to the fascinating world of kanji!
Class dates: 1/20, 2/3, and 2/17 Saturday lunches from 11:00-12:00 PM Central Time. Class 1: More vegetables for a healthy lunch Class 2: Sake + Soy + Rice = Good Match Class 3: Creative bento box for fun Pre-requisite: This online class is for anyone ages 16 and above interested in Japanese language and culture. No previous study of Japanese language is needed. Ingredients are not provided by the TLC. Students will need to purchase the ingredients in advance for each of the classes. Full menus are listed below. If more than one student is attending in the same household, everyone must register for the class. If you have any questions about any ingredients in the menu, contact the instructor, Noriko Harasawa. You will be able to message her once you register through Matrix, our online Learning Management system at the Tennessee Language Center.