Features of This Book

Katsudoo and Rikai should both be seen as main study materials. Decide which to choose
based on your learning objectives. In addition, Katsudoo and Rikai use the same topics. If

Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture is a coursebook that is based on the JF
Standard for Japanese Language Education. It has the following features.

● Japanese Levels of JF Standard for Japanese Language Education

you use both, you can make progress in your overall Japanese proﬁciency.

● Intercultural Understanding
Marugoto offers learning in both language and culture. There is help with interculturalunderstanding in various places, such as the situations of the conversations, contents ofMarugoto employs levels that correspond to the six stages of the JF Standard forthe conversations, photographs and illustrations. Learn about Japanese culture, reﬂect on

Japanese Language Education (A1-C2). Marugoto (Starter) is A1 level.

your own culture and deepen your intercultural understanding.
3月3日

A1 level・Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases
aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.
・Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about
personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things

日本文化センターで、すしをつくりました。
とてもたのしかったです。
If I compare Japanese food with Australian food, theyboth rely on fresh ingredients and the natural tastes ofthe fresh ingredients.

he/she has.
・Can interact in a simple way provided the other person
talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Source: JF Standard for Japanese Language
Education 2010
Users

● Managing your own Study
It is very important to evaluate and manage your learning by yourself in order to keep

G u i d e B o o k (2 n dedition)

going in language learning. Make a record of the Japanese language and culture you havestudied using the portfolio. When you look at the portfolio, you can clearly understand yourown learning processes and your accomplishments.

How to Use This Book
● Two Marugoto coursebooks:

Katsudoo and Rikai

1 Course Flow

Marugoto offers two methods of study aimed at enabling you to communicate using

The Marugoto (Starter A1 Rikai ) course is designed with study of communicative language

Japanese: Katsudoo and Rikai .

competences, mainly the language structures that underlie communication, at its heart(Japanese script, vocabulary, grammar and sentence patterns). One lesson will be studied

Katsudoo : a coursebook for communicative language activities

in each class hour. The suggested class length for one lesson is around 120 minutes. In the・ For people who want to start using Japanese immediately

middle and at the end of the course, you will do Test and Reﬂection 1 and 2, so there will

・ The objective is to gain practical ability communicating in everyday situations.

be a total of twenty classes.

・ You will practise listening to and speaking Japanese a lot.

Rikai : a coursebook for communicative language competences

Standard Course Example

・ For people who want to learn about Japanese・ The objective is to study the features of the Japanese language that arenecessary for communication.

120 minutes × 10

120 minutes × 8

lessonlessonlessonlesson1101118

・ You will systematically study how Japanese is used in communication.
Test and Reﬂection 1
12

Test and Reﬂection 2
13

Conversation and Grammar 2-4

2 Topic and Lesson Flow
Each topic has two lessons. Look at the photographs

URL → p17and talk about what you think the topic is. Look at
the basic sentences and check what you are going● Model Conversation

to study in this lesson.

Read silently while listening to therecording, notice what grammar isused, and ﬁgure out what it means.
● Sentence Structure

Before You Study
There are some questions about the topic. Thispreparation is to help you imagine the contents of
the lesson, which will make it easier to understand.

You will be able to understandsentence structure and grammar
rules.
● Practice
Practise using the grammar within
the context/situation. Use the audio

Writingrecording to check your answers.

Yo u w i l l w r i t e a s h o r t t e x t
relateded to the topic. Af terpractising writing characters by
tracing words in the model text,

Japanese Script and Vocabulary

you will write about yourself.

Yo u w i l l p r a c t i c e t h e

O nc e you have w rit ten yourJapanese characters andtext you will put it in yourwords used in this lesson. Youportfolio. URL → p17

will also use the word book asnecessary. Organising wordsKanji

into topics is an eﬀective way toWords related to the topic are displayed in kanji.

learn new vocabulary. URL → p17

You should ﬁrst learn how to read the kanji.

Nihongo Check
Af ter the clas s, check
Reading

The Roman alphabet is used toby yourself whether

Read a short text related to theyou understood how to use thetopic. You should look carefully at

Japanese you encountered in

the context in which the grammar

this situation.

and sentence patterns are used.

p194-p197 URL → p17

Nihongo Checklighten the burden of readingJapanese characters.
Topics 1-5: everything is written

Icons

in Roman alphabet
Topics 6-9: conversations andreading tex ts are writ ten inRoman alphabet.

Look at the word book

Audio soundRate your Japanese study
using the Nihongo Check

Listen and check

Add to your portfolio

14

Abe-sanJapan

Noda-sanJapan

Kimu-san(Kim-san)Korea

Shin-san(Singh-san)India

Kawai-sanJapan

Hose-san(Jose-san)MexicoTanaka-san
Japan

Satoo-sanJapan

Yoshida-san
Japan-san : In Japanese, san is put afteroth e r p e o ple's na m e s to s h ow
respect or politeness.（Abe-san ）Joi-san(Joy-san)Australia

Suzuki-sanJapan

Yan-san(Yang-san)Malaysia

Kaara-san(Carla-san）France 15

3 Activities for Intercultural Understanding

6 Related Information

Marugoto is a course where you study language and culture together. You should use

Marugoto Portal Site

Japanese and experience Japanese culture outside the classroom as well.
・ Look at Japanese websites

・ Watch Japanese dramas and ﬁlms

・ Try going to Japanese restaurants

・ Try going to events related to Japan・ Try talking to Japanese friends and acquaintances

https://www.marugoto.jpf.go.jp/en/

You can download the resources and access the websites listed below free of charge.

● Resources to use with the textbook
・ Audio ﬁlesTalk about the things you have experienced outside the classroom with your classmates.

・ Word book
・ Sakubun worksheets
・ Vocabulary index

4 How to Manage your own Learning

・ Phrase index

１） Nihongo Check・ Kanji word list

Do theNihongo Check(p194-p197) when you finish a lesson. Look back on your・ Nihongo Check

study and write comments. You can write in your preferred language.
● Learning support website
・ MARUGOTO Plus
Examples of comments

・ MARUGOTO Words

・ I thought the grammar was similar to that inmy own language.

● Teachers resources

・ I thought the par ticles not in my own
language were interesting.
・ I can now read some Japanese charactersand it has given me conﬁdence.

〈Word book〉

２）Portfolio
Make a record of both your study and experiences of Japanese language andintercultural understanding. In order to reflect, put the following kinds of things intoyour portfolio.
① Nihongo Check② Tests③ Writing assignments（ Sakubun ）④ Records of experiences with Japanese language and culture

5 Tests
For information about the procedure and contents of the tests, see Test and Reﬂection(p99-p100 and p165-p166).

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