Stepping Stones is our all-new system to help you learn Japanese online at your pace, on your schedule, while keeping track of your language learning progress.

FlexLessons classes at JOI are modular, meaning each lesson is a standalone module. You can take lessons in any order, at times that suit your schedule, and still not worry about falling behind. Learn more about FlexLessons modular curriculum.

The question, then, is how to keep track of which lessons you have already taken and which lessons you still need to take. Stepping Stones helps answer that question.

With Stepping Stones, your entire lesson history(1) is organized into goals, roughly corresponding to our FlexLessons courses. Each goal, in turn, is made up of goal steps, as listed below. Each goal step is a particular Japanese grammar point, phrase, or other language topic.

Goal	Covered in These Courses	Goal Steps
Introductory	Introductory	28 required steps   5 optional steps
Beginner 1	Beginner 1	123 required steps   5 optional steps
Beginner 2	Beginner 2	97 required steps   5 optional steps
Discussion Dojo	Intermed/Adv (Discussion Dojo)	1 optional step
JLPT Level 3	Beginner 2 (JLPT 3)	127 required steps   5 optional steps
Intermediate	Intermediate	216 required steps   5 optional steps
JLPT Level 2	Intermediate (JLPT 2)	205 required steps   5 optional steps
JLPT Level 1	Advanced   Advanced (JLPT 1)	139 required steps   5 optional steps
Advanced	Advanced   Advanced (JLPT 1)	6 optional steps

Lesson plans include the goal steps that will be covered in that lesson. Some lessons will cover just one goal step; other lessons will cover two or three goal steps. You can choose which lessons to take based on which steps you still need to complete, or which steps you want to repeat. See each JOI teacher's sample lesson plans.

As you take FlexLessons classes, goal steps in your Stepping Stones record are filled in, based on the lesson plan. You can see exactly which steps you have already achieved and which steps you still need to take. Plus, you can have Stepping Stones recommend upcoming lessons that will help you fill in more steps—and help you achieve your Japanese learning goals.

Stepping Stones is an automatic part of all FlexLessons. As you take FlexLessons, your goal record, which organizes all your FlexLessons classes into goals and goal steps, is filled in automatically.

Here's how Stepping Stones works:

Once you have logged in to the JOI reservation system, there are three ways to look at your Stepping Stones goal record:

• Goals tab shows the goals you are working on and how much of each goal you have completed. Click the goal name to show more detail, including your lesson history on each goal step.
• Past Lessons tab shows the lessons you have already taken and the goal steps covered in each lesson.
• Lesson Recommendations tab lets you quickly find upcoming lessons that will help you make progress in your Japanese learning goals.

The Goals tab shows the goals you are working on and your progress on each goal. Here is a sample:

If you click the goal name or the arrow next to the goal name, all the goal steps of that goal will appear. Each goal step is marked with one of these icons:

	=	Goal step not yet started (none of your past lessons cover this goal step)
	=	Partial goal step (you had a lesson that covered this goal step, but did not attend class at least 30 minutes)
	=	Completed goal step (you have completed this goal step)

For example, here's a not-yet-started goal step. The goal step is the grammar point "～うちに", which translates into English as "while ..., before ..., or during ...".

An example of a partial goal step is shown below. The icon means you were absent. If you see instead, it means you attended class, but less than the required 30 minutes.

Once you have completed a goal step, it shows up like this. The icon means you attended class at least 30 minutes, and received full credit.

The goals listed in the Goals tab are the goals for which you have taken at least one FlexLessons class. You can add other goals to your list. This will help the system recommend lessons.

For example, let's say you have been taking Beginner 1 classes. The Beginner 1 goal will show up in your goal list automatically.

Then, let's say you want to start taking Beginner 2 classes. Click , choose the Beginner 2 goal from the list, and click OK. to add the new goal to your list. The Beginner 2 goal will now show up in your goal list, and, more importantly, Stepping Stones will include upcoming Beginner 2 lessons in your lesson recommendations. (For details, please see Lesson Recommendations below.)

You can delete a goal from your goal list—provided you have not taken any lessons that include that goal. Once you take even one lesson, the goal becomes a part of your goal record.

If the goal can be deleted, you'll see a icon for that goal in the Goals tab. Click the icon, and the goal will be deleted.

The Past Lessons tab lists your past reservations and the goal information associated with each lesson. Only past lessons that have goal information are included (no private lessons are listed and most FlexLessons before July 1, 2008, are not included).

Your most recent lessons show up first. If you want to give yourself a star rating or enter a note from a recent lesson, this is the place to look.

You can choose which past lessons are included in the list. Click the Past Lesson Options link, and this window will appear.

Click on or off the options you want, then click OK. There are several ways you might use the options. For example:

1. If you want to review lessons where you rated your own understanding low (say, 2 or fewer stars), click on the "Goal steps with 2 or fewer stars" option. How do I rate my own understanding?
2. If you want to look for a note you entered with a goal step, type the note text in the box, and click on the "Goal steps with this note" option. Any note that contains that text will be included in the list. How do I enter a note?

The Lesson Recommendations tab finds upcoming lessons related to your Japanese learning goals. Based on the goals listed in your Goals tab and your lesson-recommendation settings, Stepping Stones finds upcoming lessons that help you meet your goals.

By default, the recommended lessons include upcoming lessons that cover goal steps you have not completed (or have not yet started). For example, if you are working on the Beginner 2 goal, but have not yet completed the "～ができます" goal step, a upcoming Beginner 2 lesson that covers that goal step will appear as a recommended lesson.

You can change these default settings, which will cause different lessons to be recommended. Click the [Lesson Recommendation Options...] link, and the window shown below will appear.

The "electives" options refer to optional (elective) goal steps. For the widest variety of lesson recommendations, we recommend you leave these options checked on. In particular, if you are working on the Advanced goal or the Discussion Dojo goal (where all goal steps are electives), these options are the best way to find upcoming lessons.

Did you notice the My Comprehension Level area above?

This is where you can rate your own understanding of the goal step, and add a short note.

We recommend you add comprehension ratings to help you keep track of the grammar points (goal steps) you understand well and those where you need more work. Comprehension ratings ratings are particularly useful if you use the Lesson Recommendations feature. On that tab, you can find upcoming classes based on the star ratings you've entered (show upcoming classes with goal steps I rated 2 stars or fewer, for example).

After taking a lesson, you might want to use the note to remind yourself of what you understood well or didn't quite get. For example, you could write: "I don't get the -saserareru stuff at all!", or "Plan to repeat this grammar point", or, what we hope happens most of the time, "Yea! I got it!!"

Please remember the note pertains to a particular goal step, not a teacher or lesson. While you are free to write anything in the note, we encourage you to use the note area to record your understanding of the goal step. Your notes are private to you—they are not shown to teachers or other students.

There is a mistake in my goal record. How do I get it corrected?

What is a goal in Stepping Stones?

Can I erase a comprehension rating (star rating) I entered?

I can't find a lesson I took in the Past Lessons tab. Why?

I can't find any upcoming lessons that help me complete my goal. Why?

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