Japanese Online Lessons give you the opportunity to learn Japanese with us even if you cannot commute to our center in New York City. Students can attend Japanese classes through the comfort of their own home using a handheld device or a desktop / laptop computer. We have options for students to take Japanese with us either in a private lesson format or a group lesson format.

For private lessons for online students, we arrange a schedule like we would with regular Japanese private lessons, matching the student availability with the teacher's. We usually skype or zoom for online Japanese lessons but there are other programs that we are also open to using.

There is also an option for taking Japanese group classes online. Currently during COVID-19, all of our group classes are being offered online. Once we start offering face to face NYC classes again, there still will be options to take group classes with us online. Please either visit the online page for Japanese classes online to see more details or contact us for any further information.

Hills Learning is next to multiple businesses that are headquartered near Grand Central Station in New York. We've worked with multiple companies to offer language lessons for corporate employees. Since we are a fully accredited institution, it is usually easier for prospective students to get reimbursement for their classes through us.

For classes for business at Hills Learning you can choose to take classes here through our regular group class offerings, or sign up to private Japanese lessons where we can tailor the curriculum to fit yours and your company's needs. We can teach Japanese and formal business Japanese, or just go through regular language acquisition for clients.

There is a possibility for classes for business purposes to come and teach at your office. We also have classrooms available at our Grand Central location (usually business hours 9 to 5 are open, after hours you'd need to contact us).

Please contact us for more information on our business programs. We look forward to hearing from you and discussing your business needs.

Hills Learning offers courses for credit for Japanese. Since we're a fully accredited institution we have the ability to partner with either a college, university or high school to put together a program for transferring credit.

Generally how for credit classes work is we will ask you to contact someone in your school about transferring external credits to their institution and the process. You can then contact us with any questions about this, and usually we end up speaking directly with the school to answer any questions they may have. We have partnered with multiple colleges and high schools in the past, however, we would say it is case by case basis that credits will be accepted or not. 

Taking classes for credit at Hills Learning is a great way to take your language of choice and have it count for credit. Too often we see schools not having Japanese classes, or, not having the specific level of the target student.

Please contact us about the Japanese classes for credit.

Hills Learning offers Japanese classes for kids. Our regular programs on our website are for adult students (except where noted) so if you're interested in classes for your kids to learn Japanese we usually teach kids in a private or a semi-private setting.

All classes for Hills Learning students are generally recommended to take place at our center, however we do also have the opportunity to send teachers to student homes for teaching. We understand especially with younger kids it's sometimes difficult to commute to our center.

Our lessons for Japanese for kids teach with a specific curriculum that is fun and engaging. We usually teach with videos, songs and interactive activities for the students to learn Japanese.

Please contact us for further information on our Japanese classes for kids.

Class Levels - Beginner 1, 2, 3 AND Adv Beginner 1, 2, 3

Level Descriptions (Beginner 1, 2, 3) –
The Beginner Japanese class is for students eager to learn the basics of Japanese, where they will learn basic greetings and conversational skills to shop, order food, and discuss their schedules. They will also learn Hiragana, Katakana, and start learning Kanji. Our courses are designed for determined beginners who want to develop their language skills by reading and writing while working on their conversational skills and being able to start forming basic sentences in Japanese.

Level Descriptions (Adv Beginner 1, 2, 3) - 

In Advanced Beginner Japanese, students will go more in depth in their everyday life skills in Japanese. The advanced beginner starts out with discussing one's home, and giving commands. The student then in the next level discusses traveling, and how to give directions. Finally the advanced beginner series ends with the theme of hobbies and experiences, where we equip students to perform all basic Japanese tasks. 

ACTFL Standards - 

All our courses relate to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines - We are aiming for students in our beginner levels to have novice mid language proficiency, working towards novice high proficiency.

JLPT Equivalent - 

Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N5

Supplementary Textbooks - 

Although Hills Learning has its own curriculum, we also recommend using the Genki 1 textbook in our Beginner levels

Class Levels - Pre-Intermediate 1-6 and beyond

Level Descriptions (1-3) –

In Pre-Intermediate Japanese, our class levels start out with enabling students to discuss their travels in depth. Included in this is discussing experiences abroad, but also descriptors on recommendations and making appointments in hotels. Pre-Intermediate 2 enables students in depth to go shopping and go to restaurants, moving beyond basic vocabulary that was covered in Beginner 2. Pre-Intermediate 3 teaches students how to address needs in the doctor's office, and describing in general your body and feelings.

Level Descriptions (4-6 and beyond) -

Our second level of our Pre-Intermediate series gives students the ability to discuss a cultural medium for the first time in depth (movies we choose for the level 4). Level 5 is technology and change, giving the students the ability to discuss events in their lives and how they have affected them but also equipping them to discuss their personal devices and what happens when a device breaks. Level 6 we discuss cultural festivals, and the importance of them to Japanese culture.

Beyond level 6 of Pre-Intermediate, there is the opportunity for going higher in levels and continuing our pre-intermediate series. 

ACTFL Standards - 

All our courses relate to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines - We are aiming for students in our pre-intermediate levels to have novice high language proficiency, working towards intermediate low proficiency.

JLPT Equivalent - 

Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N4

Supplementary Textbooks - 

Although Hills Learning has its own curriculum, we also recommend using the Genki 2 textbook in our Pre-Intermediate courses

Class Levels - Intermediate 1 to 16 and beyond

Level Descriptions for first series (1-8) –
The intermediate level is designed to encourage students to expand their speaking, reading, listening and writing skills. Intermediate level students can communicate about themselves fluently, and have mastered all basic grammar and vocabulary from the beginner and pre-intermediate levels. The intermediate students are navigating situational Japanese, where they need to communicate needs outside of themselves and get around difficult situations in the language. 

Level Descriptions for second series (9-16 and beyond) –
The second level of the intermediate series is pushing students to communicate and think beyond just navigating basic needs and difficult situations. Students will sometimes seem advanced when discussing familiar topics, however in depth topics will challenge them and make it difficult to sustain discourse. Students at this level are working towards navigating difficult situations in Japanese. 

Beyond level 16 of Intermediate, there is the opportunity for going higher in levels and continuing our intermediate series. 

ACTFL Standards - 

All our courses relate to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines - We are aiming for students in our first series of intermediate levels to have intermediate low proficiency, working towards intermediate mid. In the second series, we are looking for students to have intermediate mid proficiency, working towards intermediate high.

JLPT Equivalent - 

Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N3

Supplementary Textbooks - 

Although Hills Learning has its own curriculum, we also recommend using Marugoto and the Tobira series in our Intermediate courses

Class Levels - Upper Intermediate 1 to 12 and beyond

Level Descriptions (1-12 and beyond) –
The upper intermediate courses are trying to prepare students to work and function like an advanced student. Students start to move beyond just speaking in concrete terms and instead get used to speaking in abstract terms about language. Topics such as community, current events, history, and other subjects are brought up and discussed. Students also start focusing much more on real world resources and materials, dramas, tv shows, music, and other materials created for Japanese native speakers. 

Beyond level 12 of Upper Intermediate, there is the opportunity for going higher in levels and continuing our upper intermediate series. 

ACTFL Standards - 

All our courses relate to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines - We are aiming for students in our upper intermediate levels to have intermediate high proficiency, working towards advanced low.

JLPT Equivalent - 

Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N2

Supplementary Textbooks - 

Although Hills Learning has its own curriculum, there are also various texts and resources we recommend per class level

Class Levels - Multiple

Level Descriptions –
The advanced courses are first designed to get students feeling accustomed to discussing difficult subjects in language. From current events to economics, students will be discussing abstractly on a variety of levels. It is assumed that all students can both discuss themselves thoroughly and also navigate all intermediate needs in language. Advanced students start out by really trying to get used to speaking abstractly, and then they move forward into discussing specialty areas using language. Most students at times will sound like native speakers and should be able to be understood by speakers of the language not accustomed to speaking to non-native speakers.

ACTFL Standards - 

All our courses relate to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines - We are aiming for students to be at a minimum advanced low in the beginning advanced levels, and then we work them towards mid and high.

JLPT Equivalent - 

Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N1

Supplementary Textbooks - 

Although Hills Learning has its own curriculum, there are also various texts and resources we recommend per class level