At the Japan Foundation, Toronto, we offer various Japanese language courses based on the Japan Foundation Standard for Japanese Language Education (or “JF Standard” – for more information, please click here). Through studying in our language courses, you will learn to complete various “Can-do” in Japanese!
Student Voices
Here’s what current & former students have to say about studying Japanese at the Japan Foundation, Toronto!
The JFT Japanese class is a lot of fun! The teachers are interesting and so are the other students. Everyone is very nice – I feel very happy to be a part of this community. We do a lot of practice with speaking in Japanese in breakout rooms (smaller groups).
The teacher gives us some homework/practice to work on during the week (outside of class), and although it’s not necessarily mandatory, it is very helpful! They also provide other resources such as websites, articles, JFT apps, etc.
The conversations we learn are pretty standard and can be used in everyday life. Sometimes it can be a lot of information, and I recommend making notes! I do a lot of my own Japanese self-study, but it’s reassuring to have a teacher who can point out my mistakes, and go over things which I had no clue about. 🙂 Additionally I think it’s more encouraging to study with everyone, as we are all trying our best and supporting each other!!
-Sasha (Starter A1 student)
Taking the JFT’s online teacher-support class has been a wonderful experience. Through these online courses I was able to connect with a number of other wonderful beginners, and gain more confidence in my abilities to speak and understand Japanese. Having a support network to interact with, and seeing the same friendly faces every month, has encouraged me to keep coming back and trying to learn more. I strongly recommend this course for anyone looking to learn this fascinating language!
-Karen (Teacher-Support Starter A1 student)
Japan Foundation Marugoto Japanese Language course is the best one among all Japanese courses I had so far. The best thing of this course is the high level of interaction between everyone in the class. It provides enough opportunities to the students to practice what they learn immediately and build up the confidence in Japanese conversation. Besides, the teacher encourages the students to focus on intonation and enhancing speaking skills by shadowing. When students start to pay attention in these details in the beginning, they will have less obstacles in speaking proper Japanese. I also like the online Marugoto material for the course. It is extremely organized and practical. My teacher is also very friendly and helpful. She shows great passion in teaching and always replies to questions clearly. Every class is so fun and enjoyable. If you want to learn Japanese language , please join us to learn and share the fun together.
-Jaime (Starter A1 student)
Japan Foundation (JFT) is a great place to start your Japanese learning journey! I was able to start from having zero knowledge of Japanese to finally being able to read, write and speak basic Japanese. The courses are quite well designed/balanced and moderately paced. In addition, the materials that are provided help us learn the different concepts of the Japanese language in a fun way. We practice different skills whether in class or through homework. Reading and writing exercises are good! I particularly like the grammar lessons which help me learn in a more structured way, and gradually I was able to build up my vocabulary. The role-plays in class give us the opportunity to put into practice our speaking skills. Also, what’s great at JFT is: if you miss a class, you can easily catch up on “Minato”. Now that the classes are on-line, we don’t have to commute – we can learn from the comfort of our home anywhere in Canada! It’s very convenient!
I would like to thank all the JFT team for offering me and giving me the opportunity to learn Japanese. All the teachers are great! Some will even go the extra mile to help you. JFT has been a great experience – I really enjoy my class. Thank you so much!
-Late-Elementary A2-2 student
Over the years I have started and for any number of reasons quit all kinds of language schools. However, here at JFT not only did I complete the entire course but I’m looking forward to returning in the fall. Even though it was a starter course, by the end you felt you could travel to Japan on your own. The textbooks actually match the real world. Even at a very basic level, by the end of the final term we were all able to shop in a department store, ask for directions, read street signs, order food in a restaurant, talk about our hobbies and vacations and much more. All the things you would normally do. Often there is little opportunity to practice outside the classroom but because the lessons are also online and interactive you have the opportunity to review and reinforce both listening and speaking skills. As adults learning a language can be rather stressful. Our instructor was amazing. She has a great sense of humour, patient, encouraging, motivating and all those other attributes that make for a great teacher. The course was fun. I encourage anyone who has an interest in things Japanese and wishes to try their hand at learning the language to enroll in one of the courses offered by the Japan Foundation, Toronto.
-A R (Starter A1 student)
Over the years I have started and for any number of reasons quit all kinds of language schools. However, here at JFT not only did I complete the entire course but I’m looking forward to returning in the fall. Even though it was a starter course, by the end you felt you could travel to Japan on your own. The textbooks actually match the real world. Even at a very basic level, by the end of the final term we were all able to shop in a department store, ask for directions, read street signs, order food in a restaurant, talk about our hobbies and vacations and much more. All the things you would normally do. Often there is little opportunity to practice outside the classroom but because the lessons are also online and interactive you have the opportunity to review and reinforce both listening and speaking skills. As adults learning a language can be rather stressful. Our instructor was amazing. She has a great sense of humour, patient, encouraging, motivating and all those other attributes that make for a great teacher. The course was fun. I encourage anyone who has an interest in things Japanese and wishes to try their hand at learning the language to enroll in one of the courses offered by the Japan Foundation, Toronto.
-Sydney (Pre-Intermediate A2/B1 student)
What I really enjoy about the Marugoto program is its focus on contextual learning. Rather than introducing new grammar points first before applying within practical scenarios, Marugoto starts by introducing a topic and then draws out new grammar organically through application. As we work through each topic (generally about 4 weeks), we successively build on new words and phrases and, through that, gradually develop an understanding of the various grammar points within that context. Also, Marugoto teachers always provide expansions of how to use the new grammar, whether through more challenging conversation exercises or other example scenarios of where that grammar can be used. There are so few situations in the “real world” that will exactly match the textbook practice exercises, so I find that Marugoto’s focus on “Can-do” equips language learners to actually go out and use their Japanese. For me, it’s a very natural and fun way of learning a new language.“Student Voices” Videos
We also have a series of “Student Voices” videos, which you can watch on our YouTube channel!
