This is the first course in a two-course sequence of the second year Japanese. Lessons focus on language skills in everyday social interactions such as shopping, ordering food, and asking about the weather to communicate one’s need. Lessons also focus on contemporary Japanese cultures and practices to support culturally relevant communications. The introduction to the semantic writing system, Kanji, widely known as “Chinese Characters,” begins in this course. All course materials use Hiragana and Katakana without the Romaji guides. Therefore students are encouraged to shift away from the Romaji use. All lessons are equipped with audio and video learning objects to demonstrate native Japanese speaker’s pronunciation, which supports interpersonal and interpretive fluency in Japanese. This course targets the Novice Level of MI World Language Standards and Benchmarks.