Marugoto: Japanese language and culture. Pre-Intermediate A2/B1

Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture, published by Sanshusha Publishing in Tokyo, is a textbook based on the JF Standard for Japanese Language Education that imparts both language skills and cultural knowledge. The distribution in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland is handled by Helmut Buske Verlag.

Learning Objectives: Communicative competence in everyday situations and active language use on personal topics, such as favorite foods, apartment and job searches, workplace issues, or views on marriage. Learners should be able to read and translate texts, for example in emails and blogs, at levels A2 to B1 of the European Framework of Reference.

Concept: The coursebook for communicative language activities, Pre-Intermediate A2/B1, quickly enables learners with prior knowledge to engage in long and detailed conversations with Japanese people about everyday topics. Nine lessons featuring relatable themes, audio recordings, color photos, and illustrations that depict Japanese lifestyle and culture facilitate rapid acquisition of knowledge about Japan and the Japanese language. The textbook is designed primarily in Japanese script, with a few exceptions in English, allowing learners to actively practice reading and writing Kanji.

Supplementary exercise materials are available for all coursebooks, including downloadable audio files, Japanese-German vocabulary lists, and worksheets. The book can be used as a standalone main teaching resource in courses. We recommend completing the textbooks "Starter A1 Katsudoo," "Starter A1 Rikai," "Elementary 1 A2 Katsudoo," "Elementary 1 A2 Rikai," "Elementary 2 A2 Katsudoo," and "Elementary 2 A2 Rikai" beforehand.