About Marugoto Japanese Online Course
What is the Marugoto Japanese Online Course?
The Marugoto Japanese Online Course is a course for learning Japanese language skills comprehensively, and offered in the Japanese learning platform, JF Japanese e-Learning Minato, operated by the Japan Foundation.
What is Marugoto?
Marugoto refers to the coursebook, Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture, developed by the Japan Foundation and based on the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education.
This coursebook is designed with an emphasis on using Japanese to communicate, and on understanding and respecting other cultures. The Marugoto Japanese Online Course is the online course version of Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture.
Please visit here to know more about the coursebook.
What is the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education?
The JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education is a tool for considering how to teach and study the Japanese language, and how to assess learning achievements. It was created based on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment), which is the basis for language education in Europe.
Using the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education, you will be able to know your proficiency level in Japanese by what and how much you can do.
Please visit here to know more about the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education.
Who is this course for?
This course is mainly for adult learners of Japanese overseas. Being an online course, it is best suited for people who are interested in the Japanese language but could not easily find the time to study because they are busy with work, school, household duties, childcare and others, or who does not have a place to study Japanese near them.
The Marugoto Japanese Online Course is available not only for PCs but also for tablets and smartphones.
You can use your spare time to study Japanese anytime and anywhere by using a tablet or smartphone.
What levels does the course have?
The Japanese language levels of the Marugoto Japanese Online Course conform to the levels in the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education.
The courses for A1 and A2 levels are currently open.
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 he/she has.
- Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
A2 level
- Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
- Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.
- Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.
B1 level
- Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.
- Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.
- Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
B2 level
- Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation.
- Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
- Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
C1 level
- Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning.
- Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
- Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
- Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
C2 level
- Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.
- Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.
- Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
What languages are available for the course explanations?
The Marugoto Japanese Online Course currently has the following languages for explanations.
| Level | Language of Explanation |
Online Course | Coursebook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | English Indonesian Thai Spanish Vietnamese Chinese French Portuguese |
Marugoto A1-1 (Katsudoo & Rikai) |
Starter (A1) |
L1-L10 |
| Marugoto A1-2 (Katsudoo & Rikai) |
L11-L18 | |||
| A2 | English Indonesian Spanish |
Marugoto A2-1 (Katsudoo & Rikai) |
Elementary 1 (A2) |
L1-L10 |
| Marugoto A2-2 (Katsudoo & Rikai) |
L11-L18 | |||
| English Spanish |
Marugoto A2-3 (Katsudoo & Rikai) |
Elementary 2 (A2) |
L1-L10 | |
| Marugoto A2-4 (Katsudoo & Rikai) |
L11-L18 | |||
| A2B1 | English | Marugoto A2B1-1 | Pre-Intermediate (A2/B1) |
T1-T5 |
| Marugoto A2B1-2 | T6-T9 | |||
We plan to expand the course into multiple languages in the future to make it possible to read the explanations in more languages (launching date undetermined).
If you don't know what level of courses to take,
try taking the Japanese Test for Course Recommendation!
