Mirai, Stage 5 Course Book, 2nd Edition

The Mirai, Stage 5 Course Book is a new edition of Mirai 5, the well-regarded text for students of Japanese. Suitable for students who have already studied Japanese for three or four years, it is part of a complete six-stage Japanese series for secondary schools.

To accommodate students of various backgrounds, the Mirai, Stage 5 Course Book reviews much of the material covered in Mirai, Stage 3&4. The sentence patterns, grammar, and kanji introduced in Mirai, Stage 3&4 are repeated in Stage 5 to account for the varying teaching time devoted to learning Japanese in the lower grades.

Written for a mixed-ability classroom, Mirai features clear explanations of language structures, idiomatic expressions and appropriate language use. Stage 5 focuses on communication in the everyday events of an exchange student, such as writing letters and emails, celebrating holidays with a host family, enjoying Japanese entertainment, and learning about social issues. Each of the four parts, each with three units, begin with a “Learning Outcomes” section that helps to focus the lessons. Units include group and individual activities, study hints, information on Japan, kanji practice, vocabulary lists, and much more. Comics and games accompany learning along the way. Authentic and up-to-date photos and maps are also presented in context so that students gain an appreciation of Japanese culture as well as language. In Stage 5, writing and character practice is emphasized.

This new second edition offers special speaking exercises, takes into account worldwide technological changes, includes a greater range of text types, and contains more involved questions for reading passages and listening extracts.