Hiyaku ─ An Intermediate Japanese Course

Hiyaku: An Intermediate Japanese Course provides a progressive intermediate course in Japanese, incorporating modern teaching methods and practicing all four language skills. Hiyaku provides content-based instruction, with authentic and semi-authentic dialogues and readings, all carefully selected to instruct and inspire students as they learn Japanese.
Key features of the textbook include:



highly structured chapters, beginning with warm-up exercises followed by focused practice of each of the four skills


gradual introduction to increasingly authentic materials


content taken from original Japanese sources such as books, TV programs, magazines, newspapers and websites


extensive audio material provided as FREE MP3 files on a companion website


instructor’s materials, including PowerPoint files provided through the companion website.

Hiyaku does not simply teach language and basic cultural points: it also helps students gain a holistic understanding of Japanese society and history, and provides the necessary foundation for the advanced study of Japan and its language.

Shigeru Eguchi is a lecturer in Japanese and the Administrative Director of the Summer MA Program in Japanese Pedagogy at Columbia University.

Fumiko Nazikian is the Director of the Japanese Language Program at Columbia University.

Miharu Nittono is a senior lecturer of Japanese at Columbia University.

Keiko Okamoto is a lecturer in Japanese at Columbia University.

Jisuk Park is a lecturer in Japanese at Columbia University.

1: Japanese Festivals and Events 2: Japanese Geography and Climates 3: Languages and Cultures 4: Traditional Stories and the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter 5: Polite Speech 6: Poets and Poetry 7: Japanese History