In Level 3 , students learn about Japan through the eyes of Ken, who spends a year studying in Japan and living
with a host family. By the end of Level 3, students will have learned a total of 219 kanji. Adventures in Japanese
Overview
This user-friendly but comprehensive series is fast becoming one of the most widely-adopted in Japanese-language
education because of its effectiveness. Among the many schools using this course are Sacramento, Cincinnati, Chicago,
Boston, Anchorage, Seattle, San Francisco, Long Beach, Virginia Beach, and Honolulu. Adventures in Japanese is
designed to stimulate an interest in Japanese culture as well as in the language. Highlights include:
Various culturally related activities, from making onigiri (riceballs) to learning Japanese songs, appear throughout
the series.
Lessons provide information about Japan's holidays, its educational system, and Japanese family structure.
Speaking, listening, reading and writing are equally stressed.
Volume 1 incorporates the language into a series of everyday situations, such as introductions, taking class
attendance, and inviting a friend over. The vocabulary allows beginners to immediately engage in basic conversation.
Hiragana and katakana are introduced gradually, so students feel comfortable with the characters. Seventeen
basic kanji are also introduced.
A Multimedia Companion reinforces classroom learning with engaging and interactive game while raising Japanese-language
computer literacy.
Volume 2 follows a format similar to Volume 1, with the addition of comic strip-like sections for interpretation
and discussion. Romanization is no longer used, and at the completion of this level, students will have learned
113 kanji, each of which is introduced in the text with its origin or a story with pictures.
In Volume 2, a useful list of previously introduced vocabulary and grammatical structures is included at the
end of each lesson.
Volume 3 builds on the first two volumes by exploring the relationship between language and culture. Cultural
notes in this level are far more extensive than in the previous levels.
By the end of Volume 3, students will have learned 219 kanji.
Volume 4 of Adventures in Japanese emphasizes social studies and cultural understanding in addition to its
language-learning elements. Topics in Volume 4 include: keigo (Japanese honorific language); Japanese immigrants;
Hiroshima; and tea ceremony.
Volume 4 and Volume 5 (planned for 2007) make the series an ideal choice for schools that make a multi-year
commitment to Japanese instruction.
