My name is Itaya Sayuri. I live in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Sapporo is a really liveable city because, although we have a lot of snow in the winter, the summers are much cooler than other areas of Japan. Apart from teaching Japanese, I also hope to let everyone know about Sapporo, its beautiful nature and delicious food.

I play volleyball once or twice a week for my health and play golf on occassion. I also love watching movies.

Do you think the Japanese language is difficult? Well, come and enjoy studying with me in our online Japanese classroom?don't worry about making mistakes and just try to speak up as much as possible. I think this is the secret to success in Japanese. Ganbarre!

What kinds of activities do you include in your online Japanese classes?

Introductory

We start with self-Introductions, greetings and easy vocabulary and go on to practice how to read numbers.
As you progress through this level, the final goal is to enable you to ask about things, names and places on your own.

Even if you cannot read Hiragana or Katakana, please do not worry, all the lesson texts have Romaji readings. We will also help you to move on up to the Beginner 1 Level .

Beginner 1

The lessons consist of basic Japanese grammar from everyday situations, and I mix in English translations to make the points easier to understand. But the focus is not so much on learning grammar, but rather familiarizing yourself with Japanese phrases. By practicing and repeating the phrases in different situations while following the illustrations from the lesson text, you'll find yourself learning to speak Japanese.

The lessons are prepared so that, even if you're new to the Japanese language, don't have the textbook or a dictionary handy, or cannot read hiragana or katakana, you can still join in and learn.

Beginner 2

Building on the phrases from Beginner 1, in Beginner 2 I aim to prepare students for smooth and trouble-free daily conversations in Japanese, including more detailed descriptions and expressing emotions more clearly. At this level, in addition to the regular conversation practices, I also introduce Japanese reading lessons and situational role-play exercises.

Low Intermediate Grammar (incl. JLPT N3)

Many students who have completed beginning Japanese feel they can't quite speak effectively or that the jump to intermediate-level Japanese is too high. If that description fits you, this class may be an ideal bridge on your way to intermediate Japanese.

In addition to a review of beginning-level Japanese, we take up vocabulary and usages not studied at the beginner level, as well as natural-sounding conversation (focusing on expressions and grammar forms used in spoken rather than written Japanese). Through other activities such as restating difficult Japanese words using simpler vocabulary, students can start thinking in Japanese rather than their native language, and thereby make significant strides in their Japanese language skills.

Please share your thoughts on teaching and learning Japanese.

 There is a Japanese saying "narau-yori narero", which roughly translates to, "In learning, first comes familiarity." Of course, studying hard is necessary when learning a new language, but first, getting used to hearing and speaking the language is key.

JOI is an ideal place for acclimating to the Japanese language. You don't need your passport; you don't even have to leave your home. Just login and enter our online world of Japanese. Don't think of it as studying?think of it as getting used to the Japanese language. Let's get started!