Join this course to enhance your conversational skills in a range of simple everyday situations. To benefit from the course, participants will have done one of the following:
1) studied Japanese for two terms/1 year.
2) completed Parts 1 and 2 of our Japanese Beginners level, or
3) Achieved or are near Level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages.
Course starts: 23 Apr 2026
Enhance your Japanese conversational skills with our elementary-level conversation class, designed for learners with a basic foundation in the language! The course focuses on developing listening and speaking skills, expanding vocabulary, and improving grammar accuracy in basic everyday situations. Through interactive activities and tasks, multimedia resources, and constructive feedback, you'll refine your language and improve your speaking skills.
Our open-access courses cater for mixed-ability groups, fostering a collaborative environment where students work together to achieve their learning goals. The weekly course schedule below provides an overview of the main topics likely to be covered in each session. Please note that these may sometimes change at the tutor’s discretion to reflect the interests of course participants.
Week 1: Kanji; reading and writing ideographic characters; introductions.
Week 2: Describing things and people.
Week 3: Basic greetings when visiting and receiving hospitality.
Week 4: Giving and receiving compliments.
Week 5: Attending a Japanese festival.
Week 6: Expressing thoughts about experiences.
Week 7: Invitations and arranging to meet.
Week 8: Offering help and accepting or declining someone’s offer of help.
Week 9: The KANSAI dialect (around the Osaka area)
Week 10: Class choice: revision, video clip, language game, etc.
Key grammar points
- Simple sentence structure
- Word order
- Structures for expressing likes/dislikes
- Expressions for accepting and declining an offer
Key functions
- Describing locations
- Asking for and giving simple information
- Socialising and complimenting
- Inviting others to an event
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
No Course book required. All course materials will be provided by the course tutor.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be issued with an official digital badge from the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. In order to be issued with your badge, you will need to have attended at least 80% of the course.
After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download your digital badge. You will be able to add this badge to your email signature and share it on social media if you choose to do so.
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £300.00 |
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. See details of our concessionary fees for short courses.
Rie is a qualified and experienced Japanese language tutor based in Oxford. Her teaching experience spans various age groups and diverse backgrounds. With a deep appreciation of both language and culture, Rie brings warmth and clarity to her teaching. Outside the classroom, she enjoys sharing her love of Japanese cuisine.
To assist learners with basic proficiency in Japanese in consolidating their conversational skills across a variety of practical everyday situations, thereby laying the groundwork for further study.
Course objectives:
1. Improve Pronunciation and intonation to ensure clear communication.
2. Enhance learners' ability to understand spoken language through various activities, such as listening activities, simple dialogues, guided role-plays and tasks.
3. Encourage learners to participate in simple conversations on everyday topics and gain confidence in speaking.
4. Expand vocabulary pertinent to practical everyday contexts and consolidate the application of fundamental grammar structures in spoken language.
Our language courses promote collaborative learning, encouraging peer interaction and real-life activities. You will learn through participating in engaging activities and tasks in the target language. These are likely to include listening activities, guided role-plays, pair- and small-group work conducted in a supportive, friendly and informal learning environment. The course has been structured to help you primarily to develop your speaking and listening skills.
By the end of the course, students will be better prepared to:
1. engage in basic conversations and ask and answer simple questions.
2. recognise and use key phrases for daily routines.
3. construct grammatically correct sentences to provide basic information and express needs.
4. demonstrate some basic knowledge of the cultural nuances and etiquette of the language.
Formative assessment will be implemented through a series of class activities ranging from guided role-plays and structured pair-work to less structured dialogues and simple tasks. Learners will be encouraged to participate in class activities to benefit from tutor feedback.
Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education
