Growth takes time. Maplopers embrace the effort. Here’s what they sign up for:

Course duration: 8 weeks (truncated from one college semester)

Your weekly commitment: 4-5 hours (6-10 if you’re a go-getter)

Your weekly tasks in a nutshell:

1. Review video modules (3-4 per week), study lesson worksheets, and complete the online quizzes. (Most video modules are less than five minutes in length.)
2. Complete workbook assignments and submit for review.
3. Draft and submit your weekly writing assignment.
4. Review feedback on your writing assignment and lesson worksheets.
5. Shadow with the audio immersion pack and practice with the Anki decks at your own leisure. Public transport is your best friend when it comes to this!
6. Participate to some degree on our private Discord server.

Main Schedule

Monday—Sunday:

• Work at your own pace to complete the lesson modules, worksheets, and writing assignment for that week

Sunday:

• Writing assignment due at 11:59 PM EST

Additional information:

It’s important to know Maplopo programs are designed for professionals like you who are working full time. This means everyone has a busy schedule. Still, we make the time. An hour a day goes a LONG way.

• Maplopo offers as intense a program as you would expect. And, commitments beget results that change lives. Make the commitment, show up, and win on all fronts.
• Everyone in the session will submit their workbook assignments once a week.
• In the closing weeks of your program, you will have five live sessions with an instructor that are held entirely in Japanese. These sessions are used to go over participant writing assignments in a “writer’s room” type of environment where one or two writers are in the proverbial “hot seat” reading their work aloud and opening themselves up to questions from the group. It’s a relaxed and friendly environment for all, and it will enhance your ability to think and engage in Japanese on the fly while further deepening the camaraderie of the group.
• The day and time of these sessions will be determined based on what works best for the group. All events will be held in convenient EST times. Your Japan-based instructor team will work in your time zone regardless of the times chosen in America!

Over the course of your eight weeks with us you will experience gains in confidence and knowledge that will aid you both personally and in the classroom, and set you forward for a lifetime.

Designed to capitalize on the best in education, Maplopo’s story-based curriculum is synchronous, asynchronous, immersive, guided, and tactical. It’s designed for the motivated self-learner who also recognizes being part of a team turns growth spurts into growth leaps. All of what you’ll learn and experience within the virtual walls of Maplopo is purpose-built to enrich your life and provide you with additional, actionable Japanese language skills you can kick into motion on day one.

In addition to the curriculum, our Discord community experience will have you forming bonds with people traveling a path similar to yours—friends and colleagues who just may take you to places you cannot yet foresee. And, the best part? Your access to these communities never disappears. As long as you wish to remain part of our universe you’re welcome to participate.

Your story is written anew each and every day.
We look forward to being a part of it in 2025.

For more detailed lesson information, feel free to request a Maplopo course syllabus.

For this special 2025 Michigan Japanese Teachers Winter session, the cost is $1200.

All self-funded learners who complete the course with an overall achievement score of 80% or higher receive a cash back rebate of $100 when reaching this milestone.

Learners who are sponsored/reimbursed by their institution will still receive this cash back rebate assuming the sponsoring entity allows for such a reimbursement. This would mean, of course, that if the cost of your enrollment covered by your employer, you stand the chance to actually earn money by enrolling. 

What does tuition include? For one, lifetime access to all program material within our online platform including all future updates to the course. Additionally, while enrolled in the course, tuition covers: email access to your instructor (who will personally review and provide feedback for all work submitted), as well as access to the five live group sessions (all in Japanese) at the tail end of the program.

We also include multiple perks for those who join us, including “forever access” to the Guests of Maplopo program, access to frequent 日本語の会話, special mentor guest visits, etc.

1. You will need some Japanese. As educators, you likely have this part covered. But, if you’re curious as to the typical learner level, we tend to serve a mix of students here at Maplopo; the bulk of our learners fall somewhere within the fairly wide “intermediate” zone, but our self-paced program can accommodate even relative beginners. Learners considered “intermediate” would likely be between B1 and B2 using The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), or somewhere between Intermediate-High and Advance-Low levels using the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) measuring system. (ACTFL is the system used by Middlebury).
2. Language of instruction: Because our primary language for instruction is English, learners need the ability to understand and communicate in English in order to participate. That said, English does not have to be your first language; some of our most determined and successful learners are, in fact, not native English speakers.
3. Tech: You will need either a laptop, desktop or iPad to participate in the course. A television could work as well, essentially, you’ll need a device with a large screen. Reason being, PDF and video modules are a core component of the course and mobile phones just don’t cut it for visibility. Trying to view a conjugation module, for example, on a small screen is hardly an enjoyable experience. You will also need access to a printer so you can submit your weekly workbook assignments (all submissions need to be done by hand not by typing!)

A Maplopo session is a story in and of itself.

New to teaching, or a true vet?Worked in industry and transferred to the classroom? A transplant to Michigan from a different part of the country (or the world?) Married? Single? Kids?

Maplopers come from all walks of life, and it is this diversity that makes for a great cohort. To join this exclusive bunch, our best bit of advice is to write from the heart, and apply early. Our rolling admissions schedule helps early birds get the worm, and helps us plan our support headcount so you’re never in a learning group with more people than makes sense for superior learning. For this beta cohort, we are restricting enrollment to only seven learners.

When one of our founders was in college, an art professor shared an important lesson: “If you see a piece of art you like, buy it. Because, it’s unlikely you’ll ever get a second chance to do so.” Maplopers act on their goals. We suppose that’s why you’re here as well.

That said, aside from simply taking the time to fill out the application, here are a few things you might consider when typing yours out:

1. Tell us who you are, not just what you do. Sure, work “forms” us. But, we also want to know what life is like for you outside of work. What’s driving you to make this change in your life at this very moment… have you reached a certain inflection point? Are you simply working on strengthening your Japanese to enjoy more of what life has to offer you when you get to where you want to be? Are you building something special? Let us know what’s motivating you to be here today—especially if you’ve been here before, and are now ready to move past your hesitation and apply.
2. Be creative. Want to weave your application into a story? Go for it. Want to link to a video, or something else that shows a side of you not so easily captured on paper? Feel free. The point with the application is to show your spirit, your gumption. Tell us why you’re willing to start, and more importantly why you’re willing to finish.
3. Learning with Maplopo is an investment in your future. It will require sacrifice. It will require an eight week time commitment and a certain financial expenditure. Your returns, however, will be immediate as well as slow… and always compounding. You will absolutely get out of it what you put into it. And, you will not be the only person who benefits. Achievement spreads; your classmates will benefit, your teachers will benefit, your loved ones will benefit… your classroom kids will too. Everyone wins when we all show up. So in your essays here, tell us about that. Tell us why and how you’re going to move around your already busy schedule to make this program work for you. What will you juggle? What will you put on pause? What will you have to do to zero in on this goal? If you need to get buy-in from someone else before applying, maybe, tell us how that went, or how it will go after clicking “submit.” Successful Maplopers clue others in on their journey… who will you tell first? Onward. And, good luck! 

If you have a specific question we haven’t covered within the F.A.Q., or elsewhere on the site, please do reach out at: maplopo@maplopo.com You can also schedule a call with a member of our team.