Donguri Kai – Level 1

Donguri Kai – Level 1

Donguri Kai – Level 1

Donguri Kai - Class level 1

Offering students multiple ways to study Japanese

JASC offers students the opportunity to begin studying Japanese both in-person at a class held at the JASC or virtually in an online class via Zoom.

We offer both in-person and online for Level 1 classes.

Below is the upcoming spring class schedule.

ONLINE

New Students:

Mondays, 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm (Central Time)
This class is for students in K – 3rd grade who will learn Japanese for the first time. Students learn Japanese vocabulary, basic greetings, and conversational phrases. Class is taught in English.

Class size: 6 students

Instructor: Akemi Taguchi

Returning and Upper Grade Students:

This class is already Full. 

Email Jenn at jtrautvetter@jasc-chicago.org to ask to be added to the waitlist or call the JASC office and give your request over the phone.

Tuesdays, 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm (Central Time)
This class is for returning students who completed Level 1 New Students class or students 3rd – 6th grade who will learn Japanese for the first time. Students learn more vocabulary, phrases, and simple sentence structure. They also learn to identify and read the Japanese alphabets; Hiragana and Katakana. Class is taught in English.

Class size: 6 students

Instructor: Airi Okura

IN-PERSON

Saturdays, 9:45 am – 10:30 am (Central Time)
Level 1: Conversation Class

This class is already Full.

Email Jenn at jtrautvetter@jasc-chicago.org to ask to be added to the waitlist or call the JASC office and give your request over the phone.

This class is a conversation class for kindergarteners to ３rd graders who are learning Japanese for the first time. Students learn commonly used greetings and everyday expressions. They practice asking and answering questions about themselves, people and things around them.
Saturdays, 10:35 am – 11:20 am (Central Time)
Level 1: Hiragana / Katakana Class

This class is for kindergarteners to ３rd graders who are learning Hiragana and Katakana letters. Students learn the usage of the chart and the pronunciation of letters. They build their vocabulary and the reading skills in the language.

All Level 1 in-person classes are taught in English.

Class size: 8 students

Instructor: Kaori Tabion

NOTE: Classes will be held at Chase Park Fieldhouse, 4701 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60640
Street parking is available. The classroom is on the first floor just inside the entrance near Ashland Ave.

TUITION

2024 Spring Session (6 weeks)
Week of April 8 – Week of May 13

JASC Member: $144/ session
Non-member :  $180/ session

Donguri Kai offers small class sizes with 6 – 8 students. Registrations are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Register soon!

teacher-akemi
Akemi Taguchi（田口あけみ）

A journalist once said, “As a student, I learned from wonderful teachers, and ever since then I’ve thought everyone is a teacher.” I have been teaching children for the last 30 years both in Japan and the United States. I have taught both in the classroom and as a Japanese teacher, and I am now so fortunate to be part of a great community of learners and teachers here at Donguri Kai. I hope to enjoy our journey to learn about this wonderful Japanese language and culture.

teacher-kaori
Kaori Tabion（タビオン果織）

After 10 years of working in the healthcare industry, Ms. Tabion started with Ms. Yatsuda a study group teaching Japanese to their kids and friends. In 2017, she started Donguri Kai at JASC and has been teaching since. She is a member of an international research community of kanji teaching methods in multilingual children at Learn Japan.

Airi Okura

I am currently living in Osaka, Japan. I worked for a couple years in Chicago, then moved back to Japan in August 2023. I have been teaching children for 6 years. I worked at an international school in Japan teaching Japanese to international students for 4 years.  Hope to make my class fun for children to teach Japanese and culture through Donguri Kai.