This is my second time taking Japanese lessons after I took it for two years at UNT in 2000. My review is for non-native Japanese lessons normally taught on Saturdays.
I decided to start off with Level 1, the most basic course they offer.
Coming back to Japanese in a non-graded and non-tested format is unusual because the class doesn't have all the testing normally associated with foreign language classes in high school and college in Texas. Japanese at a college level required that I learn hiragana and katakana over the span of six weeks, whereas this course gives you about 10 weeks for only hiragana, with katakana and kanji taught in later courses. The material has a strong focus on numbers early on in the course and the material has a business-minded bent for people who might go over to Japan for work-related reasons.
Classes are easy-paced and instructors are patient with new students over pronunciation, character recognition and vocabulary drills.
It is normal for classes to start off very crowded and to shrink over time. Some students just do not grasp the concepts taught in Japanese (different sentence structure, learning foreign character-based alphabets) and this was similar to what I experienced in college. Students who struggle are encouraged to attempt to take a class over again to reinforce the concepts and language.
The classroom is a mix of different aged students from seniors in high school to actual seniors from a range of backgrounds, so classes are very diverse.
Our instructor is a very nice and patient sensei who engages with the class frequently throughout each lesson. Portions of the class involve reviewing homework, doing vocabulary drills, playing "bingo" with hiragana characters, and question and answer worksheets where you talk to fellow classmates.
Let me also state that the key to success in this class is through networking with the other students. Having someone else that understands the material from a different perspective can be invaluable when tackling a largely unrecognizable language like Japanese to a native English speaker. People who work alone seem to struggle more and drop out quickly, but if you're willing to work with your group or make a few friends, the class is immensely easier.
I'm reviewing only the Level 1 class portion in my review. I will amend it later if/when I attend Level 2 courses. read more