Our native-speaking qualified Japanese teachers can guide you and your group at your work or at home, at a time convenient to you. Classes can take place on any day of the week - even weekends - morning, afternoon or evening. If needs be, if meeting at your office or home is not suitable, you can take your lessons at the trainer's office. Study materials are supplied for you.
Japanese lessons of this type are broader and are aimed towards students with a variety of requirements. While all beginner level students will cover survival Japanese - needed for short visits to countries where English isn't widely spoken, or if you wish to 'go local'; those studying Japanese usually go in different directions at this point, depending on what they need. Those who have benefitted from these Japanese classes have been those investing in or buying property overseas, those married to overseas nationals, people setting off on a round-the-world trip, enthusiasts in Japanese culture, and those enthusiastic to pass a specific exam in Japanese.
These lessons in Japanese are meant for those that feel that learning Japanese would make a change in their work. For starters, it is expedient to learn how to say hello/goodbye, as well as basic business protocol; once the basics have been mastered, reading and writing come to the fore. Students who have greatly benefitted have been involved in import/export, international negotiations and acquisitions, jobseekers in multinational companies where another language is required, and those working in the international academia and government circuits. Even on our most fundamental beginner's lesson, students can anticipate ending the lesson with basic telephone Japanese and e-mail Japanese skills for communicating, as well as survival Japanese if a short visit to the country is needed.
The Japanese lessons are also available for 2 or more people studying together (Two-to-One Japanese Lesson or Small Group In-Company Japanese Lesson). All participants must have the same level, the same business or general language needs and be able to study at the same time in the same location. The booking must be made for all participants at the same time. Listen & Learn do not recommend group classes of more than 6-8 people although In-Company Taster Japanese Lessons can be run with up to 12 people.
Japanese uses three different alphabets simultaneously - 'Hiragana' and 'Katakana' are syllabic writing systems for Japanese and non-Japanese words respectively; then there is 'Kanji' - Chinese characters that simply have to be learnt to be understood
Japan's complex social distinctions are reflected in the language's use of 'honorifics', where special word forms, verb endings, suffixes and vocabulary are used depending on the social status of the people conversing
Particles' are used often in Japanese - small words which denote how words in a sentence relate to one another
Japanese Testimonials
"I really enjoyed the program of my Japanese course. Eiko was really organized with my lessons and really professional. She has been as pleasant and as reliable as she has been since I started. I wish I can continue with the course, but I will be moving to Taiwan very soon. I really appreciate your help! Best Regards, Johnny,"
Seattle
Now don't quote me on this, but with Seattle's international reputation for coffee connoisseurs, an appreciation of a well-roasted bean and an immense figure of coffee consumption - it's a pretty conducive atmosphere for studies of any sort. But in terms of facts firmer than an assumption that students and coffee go hand in hand, just have a look at the quality of language courses in Seattle and the high proportion of mother tongue language teachers found in this coastal port city. Languages of particular interest to study for everyday life in Seattle are Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, German and Norwegian, as these five have some of the highest number of native speakers in and around this vibrant city. The choice of languages to study is abundant though, so get ready to learn the language of your dreams and aspirations in Seattle today!