語学体験レッスン

 

General Japanese Courses

Course Introduction

The General Japanese Courses, conducted by highly-experienced and dedicated instructors, are perfect for those who want to improve their Japanese language proficiency across the four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). Although the focus is on improving your ability to communicate effectively in all kinds of situations, the communicative work will also be strengthened by a systematic approach to grammar and vocabulary building. The curriculum and materials are tailor-made for each individual. These courses are also designed to give you the necessary tools to address the specific cultural issues arising from working or studying in Japan.

Our one-to-one lesson system offers you total flexibility and guarantees you make maximum progress in the time you have. Semi-Private lessons and Group lessons are also available for students who wish to study with family members, work colleagues or friends. You can start a course at any time, and schedule your lessons how and when you like. Lessons can be held anytime, from 8:00am to 11:00pm, 7 days a week, all year long. Instruction can take place at our schools, at your home or on your organization’s premises.

 

Since its inception in 1986, ICC has also been offering excellent language programs and services to Japanese and foreign corporations, governmental institutions as well as various other organizations. Our impressive client list includes the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Armed Forces in Japan, the U.S. Embassy, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the Japanese National Police Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Boeing, Siemens, Panasonic and Shiseido, to name just a few. Upon request, a free trial lesson can be arranged at your convenience.

⇒Corporate Programs

 

Learning Objectives for Basic to Intermediate Level Courses

Higher level courses will be adapted to the exact level and specific needs of every student.
The main goal of our Business Japanese Courses is to help you use, improve and expand all your Japanese language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar). In addition to improving your conversational skills, equal focus is given to listening and reading comprehension as well as grammar.

These courses will help you develop the necessary language skills to:
• Communicate effectively and confidently in Japanese.
• Chair and participate in meetings, and conduct negotiations and discussions effectively.
• Prepare and deliver speeches and presentations on a wide range of topics.
•  Understand and use a wide range of language structures and functions.
•  Express opinions and communicate hopes and desires properly. 
•  Describe your work, family, and living conditions.
•  Deal with all kinds of situations that might arise while living, working or travelling in Japan.
•  Write letters, e-mails, notes and messages related to matters of immediate need.
•  Read and understand newspapers, magazines and texts related to everyday events.
•  Listen to and understand the news and other programs on TV or the radio.
•  Understand the political system, foreign policies and economic structure of Japan.

•  Develop cultural awareness, and deal with culture shock
•  Understand how your country is portrayed by the Japanese media, and how it is perceived by the Japanese people.



Sample Course Outline and Content

The course outline and content below are designed to provide you with a general idea of what you might cover in a typical basic to intermediate level course. Upon enrollment, the course curriculum will be adapted to your exact level, specific needs and interests.

Course Outline
Speaking, listening and reading will be emphasized. Improving proficiency in speaking and reading
will also re-enforce listening skills. Knowledge of vocabulary will be gradually increased. Structured
activities will be utilized to integrate speaking, listening, reading, and any new vocabulary. Writing will

also be taught but with less weight than the other skills.

Speaking
Listening to a wide variety of materials in Japanese and discussing the content and context to check for meaning. Through presentations on current news as well as active discussions, you will develop both formal and informal oral communication skills.

Listening
You will listen to dialogues, speeches, and news clips, selected for use of vocabulary, idioms, accents and representation of Japanese life and culture, and will engage in discussions relating to both content and context. This will also improve your understanding of different voices and accents.

Reading
The textbooks and other reading materials will be used primarily to demonstrate grammar points and show how they reflect meaning. Our instructors will lead focused reviews of vocabulary, grammatical structures and discourse features.

Writing
Writing exercises will be mainly a part of homework assignments. You will compose sentences or short essays using new vocabulary and grammatical structures introduced during the lessons.

Assignments
Depending on your home study time, you will be assigned about one hour of homework after every class to review the previous lessons and preview material that will be covered in the next class.

Assessment
In addition to regular short tests, the instructors will give you a final test at the end of the course, assess your progress, and make recommendations for continued study.

Books and Materials
In addition to the main textbooks, other authentic materials will be used for reading and listening practice. For example, you will read and listen to news and discuss its content and context. Most news materials will be current and come from online news reports, commentaries and interviews. All classrooms are equipped with computers which allow both instructor and student to access authentic materials via the Internet.

Course Content
Depending on your exact level and specific needs, the course content might include the following:

1.Communicative content
• Introducing yourself properly in Japanese
• Describing your company and your role in it
• Talking about daily routines and common activities
• Making and receiving calls
• Chairing a meeting
• Writing business letters and e-mails
• Dealing with inquiries
• Issuing and responding to invitations
• Presenting information properly
• Giving presentations
• Talking about economic structures and trends
• Talking about globalization
• Talking about yourself and your family
• Talking about people and relationships
• Discussing current affairs
• Discussing ethics and values
• Making appointments
• Conducting negotiations
• Other subjects related to your specific needs

2. Pronunciation and intonation
• Key sounds and phonemes
• Word and sentence stress
• Intonation
• Linked sounds

• Dealing with other common pronunciation and intonation problems

3. Grammar content
• Present, past, future and other tenses
• Modal verb structures
• Imperatives
• The affirmative, negative and interrogative forms
• Word order and word classes
• Adjectives, adverbs and prepositions
• Linking words
• Word families
• Common idioms and common collocations
• Compounds and narratives
• Other important grammar points

4. Cultural content
• Greetings and introductions
• Traditions and customs
• Business culture
• Social and family life
• Common directional signs
• Multiculturalism and intercultural communication
• Religion and beliefs
• Education
• Regional differences
• Gestures

• Other important cultural subjects


Types of Lessons

One-to-one Lessons
Our One-to-one Lesson system, designed to fit your level, schedule and needs, offers total flexibility and guarantees that you make maximum progress in the time you have. Following a thorough needs analysis and level testing, instruction plans and teaching materials are tailor-made to suit your professional or private needs.

Semi-Private Lessons　（Small classes of  two  to five students）
Semi-Private Lessons are available for corporate clients and for students who wish to study with family members, work colleagues or friends. Each student undergoes a rigorous needs analysis and a level testing process to ensure the language instruction plan will be effective. The emphasis will usually be on developing communicative skills. However, the course curriculum can be adapted to different professional or private needs.

Group Lessons (Classes of more than five students)
As with Semi-Private Lessons, Group Lessons are available for corporate clients and for students who wish to study with family members, work colleagues or friends. Each student undergoes a rigorous needs analysis and a level testing process to ensure the language instruction plan will be effective. The emphasis will usually be on developing communicative skills. However, the course curriculum can be adapted to different professional or private needs.

On-site Lessons
Upon request, ICC can dispatch excellent instructors to your organization’s premises or home. Our tailor-made language programs are flexible and adjustable. We will listen to and analyse your needs, create a suitable program, and modify it where and when necessary. When preparing the course curriculum, your schedule, level, specific needs and budget will all be taken into account.

 

Instructors

Our courses are conducted by professional Japanese instructors. As we are convinced that the success of our schools ultimately depends on the quality and efforts of our personnel, we hire only instructors that are well-experienced, friendly and dedicated to their work. Depending on your objectives, typical classroom activities might include role-plays, discussions, and other enjoyable language practice.

Our instructors are trained and instructed to:

  • • Use Japanese whenever possible when teaching.
  • • Ask their students to create realistic and meaningful language.
  • • Put new language and ideas into practice as soon as possible.
  • • Use techniques to motivate their students into using Japanese as much as possible.
  • • Incorporate lots of listening practice.
  • • Systematically teach the grammatical structures, vocabulary, and functional language, necessary to achieve the students’ learning aims.
  • • Work on pronunciation techniques, intonation, and stress patterns to ensure their students can be understood by others.
  • • Make sure that all learning is relevant to the stated objectives.
  • • Keep motivation, challenge and interest levels high at all times.
  • • Systematically review and repeat new language to make sure it remains active.

 

Approach and Methodology

Our lessons will generally follow an integrated skills approach. Classes will focus on functional and notional areas, and then work on the language skills required to achieve competence in those areas. These will consist of a mix of structural, lexical and cultural items, including work on question forms, polite phrases, and appropriate intonation. The instructors will always follow an active learning approach, engaging their students in Japanese.

Testimonials

Many of our students have decided to study at ICC by being introduced to us by one of their friends, colleagues or family members. Many of them continue to study at our schools for years or come back to learn a different language.

Please listen to the voices of some of our current students and graduates:

“I have found the lessons at ICC to be very conductive to meeting my aim.”
If you want to improve your Japanese beyond a basic level, then I can recommend the one-to-one lessons offered by ICC. When I became a student at ICC, I could already speak some basic everyday Japanese, but needed to improve my ability substantially for business purposes. I have found the friendly, un-pressured atmosphere of the lessons at ICC to be very conductive to meeting this aim.
Richard　Metcalfe

“ICC enabled me to advance my language skills far beyond my expectations!”
ICC was very accommodating and responded to my specific language needs. Unlike other language schools, ICC had a less ridged approach to language instruction and allowed the student to articulate specific language objectives and modify them as appropriate. This, in conjunction with lesson plans that adapted to specific student strengths and weaknesses, enabled me to advance my speaking and listening abilities far beyond expectations. ICC is particularly appropriate for students who are enthusiastic about language learning and are willing to take a proactive role in their language studies.
Geoff Goodman, US Department of Defense

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Course Enrollment Procedure

1.The Initial Conversation

In the first conversation, you will be asked about your aims in order to find out as much as possible about key issues, such as why you want learn, how you want to learn, what you wish to achieve, how much language you already have, how much time you would like to commit, and other important issues.

2. The Proposal

After discussing the details, we will create a proposal which will reflect our understanding of your needs. It will include instruction format, course content, course duration and price. The proposal is a framework which you are able to refine to meet your schedule and specific learning circumstances.

3.The Trial Lesson and Level Test

Once the proposal is agreed upon, you will be contacted to discuss the course location, time, duration and other important details. Suitable instructors will then be selected and fully briefed prior to your first lesson. Upon request, a trial lesson and a level test can be arranged before the start of the course, at your convenience.

4. At the Beginning of the Course

In the trial lesson or in the first lesson, the instructors will get a clearer idea of your linguistic strengths and weaknesses, learning style, and what your priorities are. Together with the instructors, you will draw up a course plan which will focus on what you want to be able to do with the language and what you will need to cover during the course in order to achieve your goal.

5. During the Course

During the course, the instructors will keep assessing your strengths, weaknesses and learning style on a regular basis, and adapt the teaching method and materials accordingly. You will also have the full support of our dedicated staff throughout your course. We will also collect feedback from you regularly, responding where necessary.

6.At the End of the Course

The end of the course will include a full review of what you have learnt, a final assessment test to find out how far you have progressed, and some suggestions on what you can do to maintain and improve all the acquired Japanese language skills.