This website is for beginner and intermediate students.  This site integrates the teaching three language skills: listening, speaking, reading; and promotes Japanese culture.

Each video is no longer than a couple of minutes and concentrates on a Japanese phrases.  As repetition is the best way to quickly learn a phrase or word, each video is set to repeat itself so you can continue working on your projects at home or on the computer.  You can pause the video at anytime by hitting the pause button.

At the bottom of each video are Key Terms.  These are the terms used in the video.  Please take the time to read them and also study the kanji.  I have left out the hiragana section as this will only get you so far when learning a phrase.  The best way to learn kanji is to write them out.  You first need to learn the stroke order and it’s best to learn the radicals first.  I will put up more information about learning kanji later.

Culture

* You’ll notice sometimes that the banner on the main page will change.  Each time the banner changes it promotes an aspect of Japanese culture.  

Preface

* The site has been streamlined by reducing slightly the amount of content with no loss in the number of vocabulary and grammar topics and activities
* The vocabulary and the grammar have been grouped together in sections
* Hiragana, katakana, kanji and romaji are all written for easy understanding
* Many cultural notes have been updated

Objectives:

* To teach the listening skills needed to understand basic everyday conversations
* To teach oral skills needed to express oneself in a variety of everyday situations in Japanese
* To provided grammar explanations that help students acquire functional skills more readily
* To provide sociocultural information useful to beginning and intermediate level Japanese level students
* To not only teach language, but also to teach culture and history

Methodology:

Bite Size Japanese was developed based on the results of recent research into second language acquisition and language pedagogy.  All activities and exercises have been designed so that students develop proficiency in Japanese rather than simply acquiring grammatical knowledge.

* The main purpose is to teach students how to use Japanese in real-life situations
* Research has shown that the role of explicit grammar instruction in language learning is less important that previously believed.  Thus, this site focuses on phrases instead of grammar
* All videos are written in hiragana, katakana, kanji and romaji to help students adjust to the written aspect of the Japanese language
* Each category is a theme based around the language
* To teach relevant Japanese phrases and substitution methods

We hope you find this site helpful and wish you the very best in learning Japanese.