THE 24 LESSONS IN THIS TEXT ARE DESIGNED FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS BEGINNING JAPANESE LANGUAGE STUDY. THE SELECTION OF VOCABULARY AND THE PRESENTATION OF GRAMMAR ARE DIRECTED TO THE GOAL OF ACQUIRING FACILITY IN SPEAKING RATHER THAN WRITING. FOR A READING TEXT RECOMMENDED FOR USE WITH THIS SPOKEN LANGUAGE TEXT, SEE HIBBETT AND ITSAKA "MODERN JAPANESE, A BASIC READER" (ED 014 064-5). ALTHOUGH THE TEXT IS DESIGNED TO BE TAUGHT USING ORAL-AURAL METHODS, IT CAN ALSO BE USED FOR TEACHING BY THE TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR APPROACH. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE GRAMMAR, HOWEVER, IS BASED ON DESCRIPTION OF ACTUAL USAGE RATHER THAN ON TRADITIONAL JAPANESE GRAMMAR. EACH OF THE 24 LESSONS IS DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTIONS--VOCABULARY, PATTERN PASSAGE (DIALOG), GRAMMAR NOTES, DRILLS, COMPREHENSION PASSAGE, AND EXERCISES. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE STUDENTS STUDY THE GRAMMAR POINTS AND THE VOCABULARY FOR HOMEWORK AND THAT CLASS TIME BE DEVOTED TO ACQUIRING "A NEW SET OF SPEECH HABITS IN JAPANESE" THROUGH EXTENSIVE ORAL DRILLS (SUBSTITUTION, TRANSFORMATION, TRANSLATION). ALL JAPANESE MATERIAL IS PRESENTED IN A MODIFIED HEPBURN ROMANIZATION. TAPE RECORDINGS HAVE BEEN MADE TO ACCOMPANY THIS TEXT. PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98105, THIS 612-PAGE TEXT IS AVAILABLE FOR $10.00 (TAPES $175.00). (JD)