Arab News Japan

The Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan launched a website that provides foreigners living in the country with the opportunity to learn Japanese online.

Utilizing videos as the main learning component, the website acts as an educational platform for foreigners, familiarizing them with basic Japanese phrases and terms to help develop knowledge and skills essential for life in Japan.  

The videos on the website include a total of 28 scenes 84 situations. For each situation, a video is provided that demonstrates a scene from daily life and features phrases and words that are typically used during the situation.

Designed to ensure user-friendly tools and engaging content, the educational videos vary in length, ranging from several seconds to several minutes, depending on the situation being demonstrated.

The website categorizes the different learning options into three different levels to permit users to choose content based on different levels of proficiency in Japanese and interest.

In level one, users can learn everyday phrases and basic expressions in Japanese that will prove to be necessary during commonly experienced situations. Level two teaches Japanese phrases and expressions that make living in Japan more convenient for foreigners, as well as information and systems that are useful during daily life in Japan. In level three, users can learn Japanese phrases and expressions that will provide them with the ability to carry on a conversation as well as phrases that are used during less common situations.

The videos on the website were created using the “Proposal of Standard Curriculum for ‘Foreign Nationals as Residents,’” a document outlining the content of Japanese language education for “foreign nationals as residents” as a reference. 

While the provision of educational videos featuring common terms and phrases will help foreigners enhance their ability to speak Japanese, the website states that solely watching videos will not result in the development of sufficient proficiency in Japanese, but will aid in users’ knowledge of common terms to allow them to better integrate into the country.