（Click here to read this article in Japanese 日本語版はこちら）
Sometimes, Japanese people contact me and ask if they can volunteer at Step Up Japanese.
I’m always very happy that Japanese people in Brighton and Hove have found my school and want to visit and help out.
This year, a number of Japanese volunteers have helped out in class and with events and workshops.
This Volunteers Week, I’d like to say a big thank you to my 2018-19 volunteers!
Aria-san, who came to help out with Summer Programmes in 2018. Thank you for playing games with my students and teaching them how to say ホットドッグ (hotto doggu; hot dog):
Mari-san, for chatting with STEP 1 and STEP 2 students and encouraging them to speak with confidence:
And Saya-san, for teaching us incredible origami!
Katakana can be tricky to learn, especially when so many characters look similar! But once you get the hang of it, you’ll start spotting katakana everywhere in Japanese, from food menus to shop signs.
Learn to Love Katakana is a 6-week online course to help you recognise, read and feel more confident with katakana.
We’ll cover:
Learning and remembering all 46 basic katakana characters
Spotting the differences between similar-looking characters
Reading words borrowed from English and other languages
Understanding long vowels and other katakana combinations
Practising reading real-world Japanese words
Who is it for?
This course is ideal for beginners who want to learn katakana in a friendly, supportive environment. Some knowledge of hiragana is helpful, but not essential.
Practical information
Six weekly online lessons via Zoom
Wednesdays at 12pm UK time
Starting Wednesday 3rd March 2027
Taught in English
If you have any questions about the course, get in touch and I’ll be happy to help.