Michel Thomas Japanese Supplement
This page does the “extra” things the original method intentionally avoids: memorization reinforcement, kana reading, handwriting practice, phrase recall, and a calendar/syllabus tracker. Use the audio as the main lesson, then use this page after listening so the material survives contact with real reading and writing.
Calendar tracker: Total Japanese in 6 or 12 weeks
Choose 1 CD per week for a relaxed 12-week route, or 2 CDs per week for a faster 6-week route. Each week includes one audio pass, one recall pass, kana reading, and light handwriting.
CD-by-CD syllabus
The Foundation course gives the basic sentence engine; the Advanced course expands into connected actions, permission, experience, advice, conditional forms, and sample-listing with たり. Use the checkboxes as your master completion list.
Reading and phrase reinforcement
These are short practice cards based on the course grammar and vocabulary themes. Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji only if you get stuck. Keep your answer flexible; the goal is active sentence building, not parroting one exact line.
Kana writing lab
Pick 4–8 phrases from your current CD. Copy them in kana three times, then cover the model and write from English. Do not worry about kanji yet; this page intentionally keeps the focus on kana recognition and muscle memory.
Recall cards
Click a card to reveal one possible answer. Say your answer out loud before clicking. Good enough is better than frozen silence.
Suggested weekly routine
Audio day
- Listen with full pause-button participation.
- Do not write during the lesson.
- After the lesson, mark the CD “started” mentally, not complete.
Supplement days
- Do 10 minutes of phrase recall.
- Read 6–10 kana phrase cards.
- Write 4 phrases from memory.
- At the end of the week, mark the CD complete.