The effectiveness of a 5-unit language course taught over 5 days compared with one taught over 3 days was examined in college-level Japanese language classes at San Jose State University, California Participants were 45 students (12 students and 6 students-Fall 1997, 8 students--Spring 1998, 9 students-- Fall 1998, and 10 students--Fall 1999) in 5 first-semester elementary Japanese language courses. Complete data (quiz, midterm, and final exam scores) were available for 22 students in the comparison group (5 day) and 23 students in the experimental group (3 day). An eclectic teaching method was used by the instructor with a conventional textbook and a KANA workbook based on an audio-lingual approach. Conclusions were made that there are no differences in effectiveness between the 5-day language course teaching and the 3-day language course teaching, except for the midterm exam.