Summer language courses for juniors in Japan

The Japanese language is one of the most unique and fascinating languages in the world. Here are 21 interesting facts about the Japanese language that you may not have known before:

1. Japanese is spoken by over 127 million people worldwide, primarily in Japan.

2. Japanese is a member of the Japonic language family, which also includes the Ryukyuan.

3. Unlike many other languages, Japanese has no grammatical gender, and there are no definite or indefinite articles.

4. Japanese has three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Hiragana and katakana are syllabic scripts, while kanji uses Chinese characters.

5. The word order in Japanese is subject-object-verb, unlike in English where it is subject-verb-object.

6. Japanese has many loanwords from English, but they are often pronounced differently and can have different meanings.

7. Japanese has a unique system of honorifics, which are used to show respect and politeness. There are different honorific forms for different levels of politeness, and they can vary depending on the context.

8. Japanese has a large number of onomatopoeic words, which are words that mimic sounds. For example, "pika pika" means "sparkling" and "gacha gacha" means "rattling."

9. Japanese has a high-context communication style, which means that much of the meaning is conveyed through non-verbal cues and context.

10. Japanese has a large number of homophones, which are words that sound the same but have different meanings. Context is often used to distinguish between them.

11. Japanese has a complex system of counters, which are used to count different types of objects. For example, there is a different counter for long, thin objects (like pencils) than for flat objects (like paper).

12. Japanese has a unique writing style called "vertical writing," where the text is written from top to bottom, right to left. This is still used in some formal documents and books.

13. Japanese has a large number of dialects, which can vary greatly depending on the region. The standard dialect is based on the Tokyo dialect.

14. Japanese has a unique pronunciation system, with a smaller set of consonant and vowel sounds than many other languages. It also has a pitch accent system, where the pitch of a word can change the meaning.

15. Japanese is a highly expressive language, with many words and phrases for expressing emotions and feelings. There are even words for specific emotions that don't have direct translations in other languages, like "wabi-sabi" (finding beauty in imperfection).

16. The Japanese language has a special sound effect called "gitaigo" that is used to describe different sounds. For example, "zukizuki" describes the sound of a heartbeat, while "pikapika" describes the sound of something sparkling.

17. Japanese has a large number of onomatopoeic words, which are words that imitate the sound of the thing they describe. For example, "wanwan" is the sound of a dog barking, while "shiku shiku" is the sound of someone sniffing.

18. Japanese has a relatively small number of sounds compared to many other languages, with only 5 vowel sounds and 14 consonant sounds.

19. In Japanese, there is a special verb form called the "te-form" that is used in a variety of situations, including to connect verbs in a sentence and to express actions that are ongoing or incomplete.

20. In Japanese, there is a word for the phenomenon of being so immersed in a task or activity that you lose track of time and become completely absorbed. This word is "mushin," and it is often associated with activities like martial arts, meditation, and art.

21. Japan has a rich tradition of poetry and literature, with famous works like the "Tale of Genji" and the haiku poetry of Matsuo Basho.

The top schools for learning Japanese in Japan:

1. Lexis (Kobe)
2. Kyoto JaLS Japanese Language School (Kyoto)
3. Genki Japanese and Culture School (Tokyo)
4. Genki Japanese and Culture School (Fukuoka)
5. KAI Japanese Language School (Tokyo)
6. FFLC Japanese Language School (Tokyo)
7. Hokkaido Japanese Language School (Sapporo)
8. Yamasa Institute (Okazaki)
9. Human Academy Japanese Language School (Osaka)
10. ARC Academy (Tokyo)
11. NILS Japanese Language School (Sapporo)

Teaching Methods in Japan

Teaching methods refer to the strategies and techniques that teachers use to help students learn a language. The most common teaching methods used in Japanese language schools include:

1. Communicative approach: This approach focuses on developing students' speaking and listening skills by encouraging them to use the language in a variety of real-life situations.

2. Direct method: This method emphasizes the use of the target language in the classroom, without relying on translation or the student's native language.

3. Audio-lingual method: This method focuses on developing students' listening and speaking skills through repetition, memorization, and pattern drills.

4. Grammar-translation method: This method emphasizes the study of grammar rules and the translation of written texts.