Kudos to you if you had ‘learn a language’ on your list of New Year’s resolutions for 2012. We did, and because everyone in our immediate social circle has been hitting the Arabic books (as you naturally do in the Middle East) we wanted to try something different. Well that, and also we had a bit of Japanese under our belt and wanted to pick up where life had made us leave off. So when the Japanese Embassy started running Japanese Language Courses earlier this year, we wasted no time in signing up.
At the beginning of every term the UAE Japan Society holds a week of free lessons. This is good for those who have studied the language before and want to know which class will suit them best. Unfortunately, we’d missed the enrolment week for the winter term, but the staff at the Japan Society were so helpful they encouraged us to go down and speak to one of their teachers. We did so and got a quick lesson in Japanese verb forms and the two types of adjectives. This turned into a session where the Sensei on duty drilled us until all the grammar that had been lying dormant in some dusty crevice of our brain started surging forth. And the proof got written up on the white board in neat hiragana script. The verdict; ‘Your Japanese is very good. You should join the level seven class,’ said Sensei. ‘Yoshi! Ikuzo!’ We puffed up with pride, and returned a week after with much enthusiasm only to lose confidence instantly. Why?
Well it transpired that we had a firm grip on the grammar, sure enough. But most of our classmates were very fluent in their speech, while it took us a great deal of ‘anooo’–ing before we could verbally construct a simple sentence about the number of our siblings. No matter. We weren’t the only verbally-constipated students in the class and our teachers were incredibly supportive.
Now we say teachers because there was more than one in our class, but this isn’t necessarily the rule. A lot of the teachers here are attending voluntarily (which is really nice of them) and so the organisation of a class can vary, with support teachers attending when they are able. This did give our class a casual feel that really put us at ease, but in no way did it undermine the professionalism with which lessons were conducted. Our teacher, Suzue Sensei, was the primary teacher, who stood in front of the white board and instructed with an iron fist. The support teachers got involved when we were set exercises. This was an excellent set up, since it afforded the opportunity to get a lot of speaking practice. Particularly since many of the support teachers don’t speak English (or are very good at pretending not to, for our benefit) so that you’re forced to speak or start miming like an idiot. We did a bit of both, and actually had a great time while learning.
The UAE Japan Society’s spring term of Japanese Language Courses has now begun. They’re offering levels one through to nine, but excluding levels four, six and seven. Classes last an hour and a half and are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4.30pm and 6pm. A bundle of classes costs Dhs300 and includes eight or nine weekly sessions. For such interactive lessons this, in our opinion, is a real bargain. So whether you want to brush up on your Japanese or are a complete beginner with a desire to pick up a new lingo, we really couldn’t recommend the classes enough. With that said, good luck and ganbare.
To enrol on the course, fill out an application form at www.uae.emb-japan.go.jp/cultureandeducation .htm or email Ammar Al Yasin at the Japanese Embassy ayasin@japanembassyauh.ae. Courses are held at Abu Dhabi Oil Co. Ltd.(Japan), ADOC (1st floor), Khalidiah, opposite the Prestige Car showroom.
