GUIDED PATH · PHASE 5
Guided Japanese Course
A mastery path for complete beginners and technology professionals.
HOW THIS COURSE WORKS
Follow the path. Advance by mastery.
The primary path tells you what to do next. You can still open any available lesson, but completion is based on checkpoints rather than calendar days.
FULL TARGET CURRICULUM
Tracks 0–10
TRACK 1 · 1-14
Here / There / Over There
Use ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ to identify and ask about places.
- Understand the こ・そ・あ・ど distance system from 1-13.
Location words let you navigate an office, find a meeting room, identify an environment or workstation area, and ask where something is before Track 2 introduces fuller location grammar.
1. The same distance system now points to places
ここ = here (speaker area), そこ = there (listener/nearby mentioned area), あそこ = over there (away from both), どこ = where.
2. Identify places with X は Y です
At this stage, keep the structure familiar: ここは会議室です. Track 2 will later teach richer existence/location patterns.
Natural: This is the meeting room / Here is the meeting room.
Structure: As for here — meeting room — is.
Identify the place where you are.
Natural: That area is the test environment.
Structure: As for there — test environment — is.
Point to the listener/context area.
Natural: Where is the server room?
Structure: As for server room — where — is?
A practical navigation question.
3. Draw an office map
Sketch a simple office or lab with your desk, meeting room, server room, printer, and one other location. Place a speaker and listener. Write ここ/そこ/あそこ labels from that viewpoint, then write three どこ questions.
INTERACTIVE WORKSHEET
3. Draw an office map
Draw a simple workplace map. Label ここ, そこ, あそこ relative to speaker/listener positions and write 3 questions using どこ.
Tip: on a foldable or tablet, use your pen directly on the page. Your strokes are saved in this browser as you work.
3. Draw an office map
Draw a simple workplace map. Label ここ, そこ, あそこ relative to speaker/listener positions and write 3 questions using どこ.
4. Read location words in context
Use Tsundoku to observe these words in a scene rather than keeping them as a diagram.
Tsundoku Reading Nook
Why here: Contextual reading makes ここ/そこ/あそこ depend on a speaker viewpoint, which is how they work naturally.
How to use it for this lesson: Choose a beginner dialogue/story. Keep the Japanese visible and identify who 'here' and 'there' refer to before checking the translation.
Find place words in context →Mastery checkpoint
Answer from memory. Use the explanations after checking to debug any miss before moving on.
