◇ Edited by 3A Corporation ◇

Minna no Nihongo Shokyu has an established reputation as a textbook that cultivates the practical conversational skills of the learner through the steady learning of basic grammar and vocabulary as well as exposure to everyday conversation in various settings. Now, in response to the needs of the users of 'Minna no Nihongo Shokyu,' we are publishing an intermediate series. 'Minna no Nihongo Chukyu' is aimed at those learners at the upper beginner/lower intermediate level (i.e., a bridge between the beginner and intermediate levels) who wish to cultivate in a practical manner their all round skills in talking, listening, reading and writing.

Structure of the 12 Chapters of Volume I
Structure of each chapter (each chapter has 14 pages): Grammar・Exercises (5 pages), Talking・Listening (4 pages), Reading・Writing (3 pages), and Questions (2 pages)

Grammar・Practice
Sentence patterns are presented in example sentences and the model conversation, and the learner’s ability is built up through the exercises.

Talking・Listening
The conversations are structured to encourage communication in daily life situations, with particular focus on the resolution of day-to-day problems.

Reading・Writing
Each chapter has enjoyable reading matter that allows the learner to accurately grasp the content. Moreover, the text’s aim is to have the learner talk about familiar topics as well as write in a well-organized manner.

Questions
There are questions related to listening comprehension, grammar and vocabulary.

CD
The CD includes a recording of the conversation, the reading matter, and listening comprehension questions found in each chapter.

Structure of the 12 chapters of Volume II

Reading・Writing
The learner studies various types of reading material, including newspaper articles (on society and culture), essays, novels, letters of request, etc., as well as learns to comprehend the writer’s intentions, writing style, and distinctive use of language.

Reading・Writing
In Chukyu I conversations involving negotiations/the resolution of day-to-day problems were studied. In Chukyu II, conversations are taken to the next step with the learner now studying how to praise, console and show empathy in conversational situations. Moreover, conversational skills will be extended at the intermediate level with the learner studying how to express his/her opinion in various day to day situations.

Grammar・Practice
The grammatical items to be studied are presented in a way that their function and usage are easily understood. Most of the example sentences are practical in nature and so the learner studies by doing.

Exercises
All review exercises are to confirm the learner's comprehension related to listening, reading and grammar.

Grammar Plus
The 12 chapters in the book cover all grammar needed to be fluent at the intermediate level. The book also includes grammatical items and example sentences necessary for continuing on to the advanced level.

Translation and Grammatical Notes
As with the ‘Minna no Nihongo Shokyu’ series, we plan to publish the accompanying Translation and Grammatical Notes in a number of languages. As of March 2012, the Translation and Grammatical Notes to Volume I is available in English, Chinese, German, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese.