1. Learning Japanese in japan
Andrea Rivas, Farrah Hasnain, Tanha Nunna

2. About Us! Andrea Rivas Hamamatsu Commercial High School
Spanish (Nat), English (Nat), Japanese (Beg)
Studied abroad in Kyoto, 2 years in highschool
Studying for N5-N4

3. About Us! Tanha Nunna BOE!
Bangla (Native), English (Native), Korean (Int/Beg), French (Adv), Japanese (n00b)
3.5 years in Fukuoka as a child
Studying for N2-N1 Nx

4. About Us! Farrah Hasnain Hamamatsu Higashi High School
English (Nat), Urdu (Int), French (Beg), Japanese (Int)
Before JET: Studied Japanese for 2 years in university
Studying for JLPT N3

5. The JLPT Registration dates: September, May
Test Dates: First Sunday of December or July
Fee: 5,500 yen
Five Levels: N5 (lowest) -> N1 (highest)
N5-N4 (Beginner), N3 (Intermediate), N2-N1 (Advanced)

7. The JLPT: Pros Set list of vocabulary/grammar Measureable progress
Looks good on resumes (N2-N1 for translators)

8. The JLPT: Cons There is no speaking portion
You don’t have to write kanji
Twice a year. TOEIC is offered every month.

9. How to Improve
Get motivated, immerse yourself, and use your resources.

10. Potential motivators Communicating with Japanese people
Reading books in Japanese
Watching anime/dramas in Japanese
Karaoke

11. How to Improve: Motivation
What is your motivation?
Set up a short-term goal (~2 months)
EG: “I want to introduce myself.”
Set up a long-term goal (6 months - 1 year)
EG: “I want to watch Dragonball Z without subtitles.”

12. Immersion: At home/at work
Try to use Japanese as much as possible!
Take notes.

13. Starting as a Beginner The most important element is vocabulary.
Reading hiragana/katakana
Greetings

14. Starting as Intermediate/Advanced
Active listening

15. What worked for us This is what we’ve done to improve our Japanese.
JET/CLAIR Course
HICE Center
Kumon
Language Exchange

16. Apps: Anki and Memrise
Anki and Memrise are flashcard apps for Mac, PC, iPhone, Android, etc.

17. Books: Genki, Kanzen Master, Matome
Available in bookstores, Amazon, etc.

18. Courses: JICE, CLAIR
Website (Recommended for N3-N2 Study):

19. Wait, you’re in Japan!: Talking to Japanese people.
Co-workers
Friends
Partners

20. Let’s learn Enshu-ben!

21. Let’s learn Kansai-ben!
めっちゃ・ちょ
えーー
おおきに
ちゃお
わからへん

22. Let’s learn Hakata-ben!けん
やろう
～っとうと わん

23. Pop Culture
Anime, videogames, Japanese dramas, Japanese music