For New Students
First, start with this list of phrases for the classroom (in English and Japanese). Next, here is a list of common teacher instructions that will help you follow the teacher more easily. Please print these out and bring them to each lesson. Being able to understand and use these phrases will help you spend more time in each lesson communicating in English.
For All Students
Here is a list of useful questions for the classroom in English, and this list of grammar terms should help you when you want to ask the teacher about points of English grammar. (Why, you ask, should I learn grammar terms? Click here . . .) After you've looked at this list, try the grammar terms quiz!
Describing and Explaining in English
It's easy to use Japanese when you don't know or can't say a word in English, but you'll get more useful practice in the classroom if you try to express every idea in English instead. (These skills will come in handy when you're speaking to someone who doesn't understand Japanese!) This basic sheet on describing and explaining will help you in describing common things and ideas, and this one based on form and usage will be useful when you want to ask for someone's help finding a more difficult or less frequently used word or phrase.
