What is “Irodori”?

Learn how to communicate in Japanese so you can live in Japan!

• What is “ Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan ” ?
• Features of this textbook
• How this textbook is organized
• How to use this textbook

What is “ Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan ” ?

Nowadays, people travel and even migrate across borders all the time. In Japan, too, foreign workers work in a variety of fields, and the number is increasing every year. With the establishment of the Specified Skilled Worker residence status, it will become common for people from different countries with a variety of cultural backgrounds to live in the same community and work at the same workplace.The Japanese-language coursebook Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan is a textbook for foreign people to learn basic Japanese communication skills that are needed for daily life and working in Japan.The basic meaning of the word Irodori is “to color,” but it can also mean “to change a thing’s shape or appearance and make it more beautiful or more interesting.” We chose this title with the hope that this book would help you “color” your everyday life in Japan and make it more fulfilling by enabling you to build language and communication skills for speaking and interacting with the people around you such as your neighbors and coworkers.Whether you are planning to come to Japan in the future and want to learn what you should be able to do before you arrive, or whether you are already living in Japan and wish to check your Japanese ability and increase the number of things you can do, we sincerely hope that this textbook will help you achieve your goals.

Features of this textbook

Irodori increases what you can do in your daily life in Japan

“Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan” is a Japanese textbook for people who are living in Japan, or who will be living in Japan in the future. It teaches Japanese for different daily situations in Japan, including working, shopping, having fun, eating, and interacting with other people.The objective of this textbook is to increase what you can do using Japanese in real-life situations in Japan. These are called “Can-dos.” The textbook aims to build communication skills for everyday life in Japan through “Can-do” based learning.

Irodori allows you to learn A1/A2 level Japanese

Irodori is made up of three parts: Starter, Elementary 1, and Elementary 2. Starter corresponds to the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (※1) A1 level, and Elementary 1 and Elementary 2 correspond to the A2 level. At A1 level, you can make greetings and communicate in a very simple way by using expressions that you have learned. At A2 level, you can hold short, basic everyday conversations on familiar topics.※1 The JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education represents levels of Japanese in six stages, from A1 to C2. These are the same as the Council of Europe’s CEFR.

Irodori is based on the “JF Can-do for Life in Japan”

The Japan Foundation’s “JF Can-do for Life in Japan” were announced in 2019. These “Can-dos” describe fundamental Japanese communication skills that non-native Japanese speakers who come to Japan as “Specified Skilled Workers” will need in everyday situations in Japan. Irodori has established objectives based on these Can-dos, so by using this textbook, you can learn fundamental communication skills for daily life in Japan. Irodori can also be used for studying before coming to Japan or for preparing for the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese (JFT-Basic), which measures these communication abilities.

Irodori builds practical Japanese skills with plenty of audio and authentic materials

Irodori emphasizes listening input. It is important for you to listen to a lot of Japanese so that you can use it in real-life situations. Therefore, Irodori provides plenty of audio files. In addition, reading and writing activities are based on authentic or quasi-authentic materials that are actually used in daily life in Japan, so you can practice your Japanese in close-to-real-life situations. With these audio files and materials, you can learn practical Japanese that you can use immediately.

Irodori covers a variety of topics closely connected to everyday life

Irodori is organized by topic. Each lesson deals with a different topic connected to everyday life in Japan. You won’t just study the Japanese language—you will also experience Japanese life and culture through many different subjects linked to everyday life in Japan and the Japanese context. There is also a section of useful information for daily life in Japan.

Irodori offers enough support to learn language knowledge, such as grammar and kanji

The objective of this textbook is for you to be able to use Japanese when communicating in real life, so the aim is not to study grammar, words, or kanji. However, you will need these elements for the Can-dos, so Irodori offers enough knowledge about them in the context of communication. Irodori covers a lot of the grammar, words, and kanji handled by general elementary level Japanese learning materials.

You can download Irodori online

Irodori is available online, so you can download it from wherever you are in the world. It is provided as a PDF file, so you can print it out, or view it on a tablet or smartphone. The audio can be downloaded or streamed.

Irodori is loosely connected to Marugoto

The topics and grammar points in each lesson of Irodori are loosely connected to “Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture” a Japanese coursebook for overseas learners created by the Japan Foundation. You can use Irodori and Marugoto together, use part of Marugoto as a supplement when you study Irodori, or use Marugoto-related websites, such as Marugoto+ (Marugoto Plus), to study Irodori.

Irodori aims for mutual understanding between people through communication and an understanding of culture

The overall aim of learning with Irodori is mutual understanding between people, which is the fundamental philosophy of the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education. Irodori contributes to developing communication skills in Japanese and cross-cultural skills. Through these skills, people starting life or already living in Japan can express themselves, get to know each other well, and interact, which will lead to mutual understanding. 

How this textbook is organized

Irodori is made up of three parts: Starter (A1), Elementary 1 (A2), and Elementary 2 (A2). Each of these learning materials have the following:

Main book (PDF)

• Cover
• A message to the reader (Japanese, English)
• How to use this textbook (Japanese, English)
• Table of Contents (Japanese, English)
• Lessons 1 to 18
• Can-do Check
• Publication information

Audio files (MP3)

• Lessons 1 to 18

Other resources

• Answers, word lists, and teaching guides, etc., are to be released

How to use this textbook

1 How each lesson is organized

Starter, Elementary 1 and Elementary 2 each have nine topics, and are organized into 18 lessons. The suggested time for each lesson is around 150 to 180 minutes. However, the number of activities is different in each lesson, so please adjust the lesson time to match these.Each lesson is organized as below:

• Topic name and lesson title
• Introductory questions
  These are questions to help you get a clear image of the themes of the lessons. Look back on your own experiences, and talk about them in class.
• Activities
  These activities help you to achieve the Can-dos, and are the main part of this textbook. Each lesson has 3 to 6 activities. They will help you learn Japanese that you can use in real life.
• Listening script(s)
• Kanji Words
  Study the kanji words that appear in the activities.
• Grammar Notes
  Explanations of the grammar and expressions that you study in each lesson.
• Tips for life in Japan
  Explanations about Japanese culture and context that has appeared in the activities.

2 Activities and steps

(1）Types of activity and aims

There are four types of activity in each lesson: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Each activity can stand alone, but they are all loosely connected within one lesson. The number, type, and arrangement of activities is different in each lesson, but generally there are more speaking activities. The overall aims of the four types of activity are:

Speaking

The aim is to become able to ask and answer questions in familiar situations, as well as to give simple explanations about yourself and things you know

Listening

The aim is to become able to understand the important parts of everyday conversations, and to obtain the necessary information from simple news, public announcements, and similar broadcasts.

Reading          

The aim is to get the necessary information in written texts in everyday life, such as announcements, notices posted in public facilities, and menus at restaurants, as well as to read and understand the content of pamphlets written in simple Japanese for non-Japanese residents.

Writing

The aim is to learn skills such as filling in the forms needed for everyday life, sending messages to friends and other people, and creating simple social media posts about things that are familiar to you.

(2) The common steps to all these activities

Each activity has the following steps:

Can-do objective

Look at the Can-do of that activity to understand its objective.

Activity

Do the speaking, listening, reading, or writing activity.

Can-do check

Use the Can-do check at the end of the book to do a self-evaluation. You should check for yourself how well you have achieved the Can-do. You can write your impressions of the activity, what you want to try next, and so on, in the comment section. You can fill in the Can-do check each time you finish an activity, or you can do it when you have finished the learning for that lesson.

(3) Specific steps for speaking, listening, reading, and writing activities

Speaking activities
1	Can-do objective
2	Preparation for the words
	Study the words that you will need for the activity by following the steps below. (Some activities have these, and some do not.) Listen to the audio while looking at the illustrations, and check the meaning of the words Listen to the audio and try repeating the words The aim is to check the pronunciation, not to memorize the words. Listen to the audio and choose the illustration that matches the content Check whether you understand the meaning immediately after hearing the word. The aim is to become able to link the meaning with the expression.
3	Listen to the example dialogs
	The aim of this activity is speaking, but first you should listen to the example dialogs and roughly understand their contents. You do not need to understand the grammar and expressions in detail for this step.Depending on the activity, you will either listen to several shorter example dialogs in several different situations, or listen to one longer example dialog in one situation. Generally, if there are several shorter dialogs there will be no script in the main text, but a “listening script” in the back. If there is one longer dialog, there will be a script in the main text.The steps for each of these is as follows: ＜Dialog script not included＞ Before you listen, check what kind of situation it is, and what is being talked about Listen to the dialog and understand the key content while you answer the questions Listen to the dialog again after you have checked the meaning of any new words and expressions, and understand the contents in slightly more detail ＜Dialog script included＞ Before you listen, check what kind of situation it is, and who is talking to who Listen without looking at the script, and roughly understand the content as you answer the questions Follow the script as you listen and understand it in more detail. When you do this, check the meaning of any new words and expressions together
4	Focus on the form
	Study the grammar and expressions that you will need to achieve the Can-do. Focus on the grammar and expressions There are underlined blank spaces in the example dialogs—these are the grammar and expressions you should focus on. Listen to the audio and fill in the blanks, focusing on the linguistic form. Think about the meaning and usage of the grammar and expressions Answer the questions  to help you to think about the meaning of the grammar and expressions and how they would be used. The learner should think about this and discover the rules of Japanese themselves, instead of the teacher explaining the grammar first. →Afterwards, read and check the “Grammar Notes” example sentences and explanations. Listen once again to the example dialogs, focusing on the expressions used Listen to the example dialogs one more time, and check how the grammar and expressions are used in the dialog.
5	Speaking
	This part is the goal of the activity. Practice it step by step. Listen to the model dialog Listen to the audio and follow the dialog in the speech bubbles, which is a model dialog to help you achieve the Can-do. Check the flow of the dialog and the expressions. Shadow the dialog This is practice so that you can speak fluently. First, shadow the dialog in the speech bubbles while looking at the text and do this several times. Finally, shadow it again without looking. Practice it Next, prepare for the next step: 4. Speak freely. Some activities have this, and some do not. Practice by changing the words in the speech bubble dialog, and by using the content of the example dialogs in 3 . Speak freely Speak freely about yourself, or perform a role play. Freely say what you want, instead of just changing the words in the speech bubble dialog. You can use a dictionary or a smartphone when you need words to express yourself.
6	Can-do check
Listening activities
The steps for these activities are similar to those for the speaking activities, but the aim is listening comprehension. You have achieved the objective if you can listen and understand the necessary parts.
1	Can-do objective
2	Preparation for the words
	Study the words that you should know before listening. Some activities have these, and some do not. The steps are the same as for the speaking activities.
3	Listening
	This part is the goal of the activity. Check the situation Before you listen, look at the illustrations and check the situation, purpose and material of the listening task. Understand the content step by step Listen and understand the key content while answering the questions. Activities will have different ways to practice, including selecting the illustrations that match the content, selecting keywords, making notes of key points, and writing True or False. You do not need to understand everything you hear. If you can answer the questions, you have achieved the Can-do. Check the words and listen again This is an extra activity to help you to listen to the content in a little more detail. Listen again after you have checked the meaning of the new words and expressions in the textbook. There are some slightly difficult words at elementary level, so you do not have to memorize everything. →If you want to check the parts that you do not understand, you can look at the listening script at the back.
4	Focus on the form
	Focus on the new grammar and expressions of what you have listened to. The steps are the same as for the speaking activities. The lesson will only have this part if there are new grammar or expressions.
5	Can-do check
Reading activities
1	Can-do objective
2	Reading
	This part is the goal of the activity. Check the situation Before you read, check the situation, purpose and material of the reading task. Understand the content step by step Read and understand the key content while answering the questions. First, you should understand the basic outline, such as what the topic is and where the key information is, and then you can get the slightly more detailed information. You do not need to understand everything; if you can answer the questions, you have achieved the Can-do.Generally, there are no furigana (ruby characters) on the texts you will actually see in your daily life in Japan. There are no furigana on these reading materials, just like real ones. You will probably see a lot of unknown words and kanji in your daily life in Japan. To prepare for that, you should first look for clues from the words that you do understand, photographs, and illustrations, and read by guessing, without checking the meaning of words or using a dictionary. 大切なことば Check the useful words The useful words are words that elementary-level learners should learn or words that would be useful when living in Japan. First, read the text without looking anything up. Then, check the meaning of these useful words, and look up the ones you do not know and how to read the kanji in a dictionary. After this, it’s a good idea to try reading the text again. Deepen your understanding of the content that you have read You can deepen your understanding by answering the questions, looking back at your own experiences, and comparing what you have read to what happens in your country. It’s okay to use a local language for class discussions. Some activities have this step, and some do not.
3	Focus on the form
	Grammar and expressions that you should know for elementary level have been picked out from the text you have read. The steps are the same as for the speaking and listening activities, except there is no audio file for reading activities. Look at the text and fill in the words in the underlined blank spaces. Some activities have this part, and some do not.
4	Can-do check
Writing activities
1	Can-do objective
2	Writing
	Check the setting Before you write, check the situation, purpose and material of the writing task. Read the examples If there are examples, you should read them to get a clear idea of what you should write. In some cases, the reading activity that comes just before is a model (example) for this. Write In real-life situations, you will write by hand when filling in forms, or use a smartphone or keyboard when sending messages. For messages and social media, try to actually type on a smartphone or keyboard, send, and post if you can. Get feedback on what you have written Read each other’s writing with your classmates, make comments, and create replies. By getting feedback from a reader’s point of view, you will learn to write from their perspective. Some activities have this step, and some do not.
3	Can-do check
3 Other sections and their steps
Kanji Words
This is a section for you to practice elementary level kanji with words. The aim is to become able to see and understand the meaning of the kanji that you will need in everyday life, and, as necessary, to be able to type these on a smartphone or a PC.In each lesson, this section covers around 10 kanji words from the activity. (You will learn 429 kanji in total in Starter, Elementary 1, and Elementary 2.) The steps are below:
1	Check how to read the kanji words and their meaning
	Focus on how to read the kanji while checking the meaning of the word. The kanji are written in three different fonts, so that you can get used to different styles.
2	Read the kanji words in a sentence
	Read a sentence that contains the kanji words, checking if you can read and understand them.
3	Type the kanji words
	Type the kanji words on your smartphone, tablet, or keyboard, and check if you can type the kanji correctly. You do not have to be able to write the kanji by hand, but you can do so if you are interested in kanji and want to practice your handwriting.
Grammar Notes
These are explanations of the grammatical points in each lesson. They cover grammar and expressions from the “Focus on the form” part of each activity. Read this section to check the answers to the questions  in the “Focus on the form” part.These explanations cover the form, the meaning, and the usage of the grammar and expressions in the activity. There are also additional information and extra example sentences with grammar usages that are not included in the activities in the textbook. In addition, there are conjugation tables and comparisons to similar expressions, so you can organize your knowledge of grammar.In class, for the “Focus on the form” part, learners should first think about how to use the grammar and expressions themselves. Afterwards, they can read the explanations, or the teacher could explain them. Another option is to touch on this section simply in class, and then the learners can read the explanation for homework.This textbook does not offer focused grammar exercise. If necessary, please use another textbook, such as “Marugoto’s Rikai” (coursebook for communicative language competences). However, teachers should set grammar exercises that are related to the Can-dos.The explanations in this section should be read in English (or a local language※). The Japanese is only reference for the teacher, so there is no need for any learner to read and understand this Japanese.※　Editions in languages other than English will be successively released.
Tips for life in Japan
This column covers useful knowledge for life in Japan. You can learn about life in Japan and Japanese culture with many photographs and illustrations.The topics in each lesson are picked up from the main text, especially if they might be unknown to learners who have never been to Japan. There is also reference information included, which will be useful to know when you are living in Japan. After an activity, you can read this section yourself, or look at it in class. If you want an explanation about something you see in the activities, you should check this section.Like “Grammar Notes,” this section should be read in English (or a local language※). The Japanese is only reference for the teacher, so there is no need for any learner to read and understand this Japanese.※　Editions in languages other than English will be successively released.