At Renison University College, you can take the leap and build connections to a worldwide community of Japanese language and culture enthusiasts!
Whether you are building on a newly sparked interest or want to develop a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and tradition, Renison's credit-free Japanese language and culture courses are the perfect place to start.
Winter 2027 Registration Opens the week of October 12, 2026
Spring 2027 Registration Opens the week of February 16, 2027
Fall 2027 Registration Opens the week of July 6, 2027
PLEASE NOTE:
These courses are not available for UW degree credit. Our courses are designed for adults. Students must be a minimum age of 15 to register and participate in a Renison Continuing Education course. If a student is between the ages of 15 and 17, a parent or guardian is required to complete and submit a consent form.
Winter 2027 Course offerings (JL)
| Course code and title | Dates | Day and time |
|---|---|---|
|
JL 110 Conversational Japanese 1 - In-person Course code: JL 110 This is an introductory course for students who have little to no knowledge of Japanese. In this course, students learn not only how to greet or introduce themselves in Japanese, but also how to shop (e.g. asking for prices, choosing your item) and simple ways to ask for directions. |
January 20, 2027 to March 24, 2027 |
Wednesdays, 6:30pm to 8:30pm ET |
|
Conversational Japanese 2 - In-person Course code: JL 120 This course is designed for those who have some knowledge of the Japanese language, but less confidence in speaking. The course focuses on pronunciation and developing useful expressions for real-life situations. |
January 20, 2027 to March 24, 2027 |
Wednesdays, 6:30pm to 8:30pm ET |
|
Conversational Japanese 3 - In-person Course code: JL 210 The focus of this course is to produce statements and questions using basic grammar structures to carry out everyday communication in Japanese. The kanji writing system is also introduced. |
January 21, 2027 to March 25, 2027 | Thursdays, 6:30pm to 8:30pm ET |
|
Conversational Japanese 7 - In-person Course code: JL 250 In this course, students will learn how to indicate their views toward an event, including which time phase an event undergoes, how certain you feel about the information, and how things turned out unexpectedly. Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to communicate in more complex situations. |
January 21, 2027 to March 25, 2027 |
Thursdays, 6:30pm to 8:30pm ET |
|
Expressing Characters and Words through Japanese Calligraphy (5 classes) - Virtual Online LIVE Classes Course code: JL 119 This course explores the calligraphy art form while teaching fundamental brush techniques. Students learn to appreciate the history and insight of characters and words through lectures by a renowned Japanese calligraphy artist. This course is open to students from novice through advanced levels of calligraphy and native or non-native Japanese-language speakers. |
5 sessions: January 20, 2027 January 27, 2027 (no class February 3) February 10, 2027 February 17, 2027 February 24, 2027 |
Wednesdays 7:30pm to 9:00pm ET |
For more information, please contact: renison.ce@uwaterloo.ca.
PLEASE NOTE: language classes, JL 110, JL 120, JL 210, and JL 250 will be held in-person at Renison University College at the time listed above. JL 119 will be held online synchronously (LIVE) at the times stated above.
COURSE MATERIALS
JL 110 -
Option #1: Japanese for Busy People Book 1: Romanized: Revised 4th Edition Kodansha USA; 4th edition (September 20, 2022) [ISBN-13 : 978-1568366197] - This version of the textbook is recommended for those who haven't learned any Japanese characters before. (Lessons 1-12)
Option #2: Japanese for Busy People Book 1: Kana: Revised 4th Edition Kodansha USA; Bilingual edition (May 31, 2022) [ISBN-13 : 978-1568366203] - This version of the textbook is recommended for those who are comfortable reading hiragana characters or if one prefers to learn Japanese by reading hiragana characters from the very beginning. (Lessons 1-12)
The 4th edition is the latest version of "Japanese for Busy People." You can obtain your textbook through Amazon.ca. There is also a Kindle edition available. Please purchase your books before you come to class.
JL 120 -
Option #1: Japanese for Busy People Book 1: Romanized: Revised 4th Edition Kodansha USA; 4th edition (September 20, 2022) [ISBN-13 : 978-1568366197] (Lessons 13-24)
Option #2: Japanese for Busy People Book 1: Kana: Revised 4th Edition Kodansha USA; Bilingual edition (May 31, 2022) [ISBN-13 : 978-1568366203] (Lessons 13-24)
The 4th edition is the latest version of "Japanese for Busy People." You can obtain your textbook through Amazon.ca. There is also a Kindle edition available.
JL 210, JL 215, JL 220, JL 230 -
Japanese for Busy People Book 2: Revised 4th Edition Kodansha USA; 4th edition (March 28, 2023) [ISBN-13 : 978-1568366272]
There is also a Kindle edition available.
JL 210 - Lessons 1-8
JL 240, JL 250, JL 260 -
Japanese for Busy People Book 3: Revised 4th Edition Kodansha USA; 4th edition (2024) [ISBN: 978-1568366302]
JL 240 - Lessons 1-8
JL 250 - Lessons 9-16
JL 260 - Lessons 17-24
JL 119 -
Students are required to prepare their own calligraphy tools. If you are a first timer of calligraphy, please find any blushes and ink at home first to see how Japanese calligraphy is. Later, if you wish to buy calligraphy tools, you can find them online store such as Amazon.jp, or consult with your instructor.
Winter 2027 Registration
Regular Registration OPENS mid-October 2026
Regular Registration Deadline: 9am ET Wednesday, January 6, 2027
LATE Registration continues until 11:59am ET Friday, January 29, 2027
Certificate policy for Japanese courses
Tuition Fees & Cancellation, Withdrawal & Refund policy (JL)
Fees
Tuition: $325.00 CAD (credit-free language and culture courses) + HST; $175.00 CAD(5-week calligraphy course) + HST
NOTE: As of March 2023, Renison continuing education’s administrative fee has been incorporated into the total tuition price as listed above and will be charged to all registrants.
One-on-One Tutoring: $800.00 CAD (10-hours of private tutoring one-on-one) + HST
For more information please contact: renison.ce@uwaterloo.ca.
Cancellation, Withdrawal, and Refund Policy
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The administrative fee of $15.00 CAD is non-refundable unless the course is cancelled.
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If a course is cancelled, the tuition fee (inclusive of the administrative fee) will be refunded to students in full.
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Students cannot defer their payments.
*The administrative fee applies to all students regardless of whether they have previously taken a Renison continuing education and/or Renison non-credit course previously.
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Students may withdraw from a course up until 9am ET the Monday before the week classes begin for a full tuition refund, not inclusive of the $15.00 CAD non-refundable administrative fee.
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Students may be refunded 80% of their tuition, not inclusive of the $15.00 CAD non-refundable administrative fee after the originally posted registration deadline (the Monday before the first week of classes), up until 9am ET the day before the second class. After this date, refunds will not be issued.
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NOTE: registration deadlines may be extended at the discretion of CE staff; the refund and cancellation policy applies to the originally posted registration deadline (9am ET the Monday before the week classes begin).
Requests to withdraw should be sent in writing over e-mail to renison.ce@uwaterloo.ca.
Registration deadline: 9am ET two Mondays before the week classes begin
– WINTER 2027 TERM – before Wednesday, January 6, 2027 9am ET
80% refund deadline: 9am ET the day before the second class
– WINTER 2027 TERM –
Wednesday classes =
Class 1 is Wednesday, January 20, 2027
Class 2 is Wednesday, January 27, 2027
80% refund deadline = before Tuesday, January 26, 2027 9am ET
Thursday classes =
Class 1 is Thursday, January 21, 2027
Class 2 is Thursday, January 28, 2027
80% refund deadline = before Wednesday, January 27, 2027 9am ET
How to register & How to pay (JL)
How to register
Registrations must be submitted through our student portal. Follow these steps to register for a continuing education course:
- Visit the Continuing Education Courses page in portal.
- Select ‘Details’ next to your course of interest.
- Select ‘Details’ next to the course session you want to register for (if there are no course sessions listed, dates have not yet been confirmed for upcoming classes; please check back later).
- Select ‘Add to Cart’; if you are not signed in to or signed up for an account, you will be prompted to do so now.
- Once in your shopping cart, select ‘Checkout’.
You will receive confirmation of your registration through e-mail to the e-mail address attached to your account. For questions about your course, please contact renison.ce@uwaterloo.ca.
If you run into issues with registration, signing in/up, or have questions about portal, please contact renison.sage@uwaterloo.ca
How to pay
Upon checkout in our student portal (see How to register for further instructions), you will be prompted to pay via online credit card payment.
NOTE: alternative payment options may be available, please contact renison.ce@uwaterloo.ca for more information.
Course Descriptions (JL)
This is an introductory course for students who have little to no knowledge of Japanese. In this course, students learn not only how to greet or introduce themselves in Japanese, but also how to shop (e.g. asking for prices, choosing your item) and simple ways to ask for directions.
This course is designed for those who have some knowledge of the Japanese language, but less confidence in speaking. The course focuses on pronunciation and developing useful expressions for real-life situations.
Course code: JL 120
Term Offered (subject to change without notice): Fall, Winter Spring
The focus of this course is to produce simple statements and questions using basic grammar structures and pronunciation guidelines. By the end of this course, students will be able to carry out simple everyday communication in Japanese. The kanji writing system is also introduced.
Course code: JL 210
Term Offered (subject to change without notice): not currently offered
This course will focus on further development of communicative skills by learning grammatical structures and increased vocabulary. An additional 50+ basic kanji characters will be explored.
Course code: JL 220
Term Offered (subject to change without notice): not currently offered
The focus of this course is to further enhance vocabulary and expressions. Closer attention is paid to subtleties that are unique to the Japanese language.
Course code: JL 230
Term Offered (subject to change without notice): not currently offered
Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to engage in real-life conversations and longer texts by expanding vocabulary and expressions. Students also learn ways to describe how an event unfolds from different perspectives.
Course code: JL 240
Term Offered (subject to change without notice): offered Fall 2026
While addressing the socio-linguistic concept of "uchi (inside)" and "soto (outside), the Japanese keigo system such as honorific and humble expressions will be introduced. Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to deal with conversations in formal settings.
Expressing Words and Characters through Japanese Calligraphy
This course explores the calligraphy art form while teaching fundamental brush techniques. Students learn to appreciate the history and insight of characters and words through lectures by a renowned Japanese calligraphy artist.
This course is open to students in the novice through advanced levels of calligraphy and native or non-native Japanese-language speakers.
Course code: JL 119
Term Offered (subject to change without notice): Fall, Winter Spring
Learning Japanese through Manga
Aimed at developing students understanding of colloquial Japanese, this course is designed to expose students to authentic materials, especially Manga. Students learn new expressions while reviewing grammatical points of elementary Japanese to enhance their previous knowledge and integrate it into real-life contexts.
Prerequisite: Conversational Japanese Level 4 (JL 220), or equivalent.
Course code: JL 235
Term Offered (subject to change without notice): not currently offered