Course Introduction | Learning Objectives | Course Outline |
Types of Lessons | Instructors | Approach and Methodology |
Testimonials | Course Procedure | Inquiries |
The aim of the Overseas Relocation Language Courses is to enable you to communicate effectively with customers, colleagues and the local people in the language of your host country. Learning the local language would also have a very positive impact on your personal and domestic life. These courses are suitable for those who are planning to move to another country for personal or corporate reasons, and wish to integrate themselves into the local community. Whatever your objectives might be, ICC will plan and deliver a course designed around your level and specific needs. Although the key focus will be to develop your communicative fluency and accuracy, language work will be strengthened by a systematic approach to grammar and vocabulary building. The courses, conducted by highly-experienced and enthusiastic native instructors, focus on all kinds of situations, including meetings, presentations, negotiating and social contacts. Our courses will not only enable you to communicate effectively in the target language, they will also give you the tools to address the specific cultural issues arising from working or studying in a different country.
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, on your organization’s premises, or at your home.
Languages Taught at ICC
In addition to English, Japanese, and the other most popular languages studied in Japan, such as French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese and Korean, more than 50 other languages and dialects are taught at ICC: If the desired language is not included in the above list, please let us know. We are confident we can help.
Higher level courses will be adapted to the exact level and specific needs of every student.
The main goal of our JLPT Preparation Courses is to help you use, improve and expand all your Japanese language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar), and reach a higher level of proficiency in your JLPT test. In addition to improving your conversational skills, equal focus is given to listening and reading comprehension as well as grammar and exam techniques.
These courses will help you develop the necessary language skills to:
• Communicate effectively and confidently.
• Reserve a room in a hotel or a table in a restaurant.
• Ask for directions, and use public transportation.
• Ask for help in emergencies, and report trouble to the police.
• Understand and use a wide range of language structures and functions.
• Express opinions and communicate hopes and desires properly.
• Produce correct sentences to describe your family, work, school, and living conditions.
• Deal with all kinds of situations and troubles that might arise while travelling abroad.
• Write simple notes and messages related to matters of immediate need.
• Understand the political system, foreign policies and economic structure of your host country.
• Develop cultural awareness, and deal with culture shock.
• Understand how your country is portrayed by foreign media, and how it is perceived by other people.
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
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 proficiency level and specific needs, the course content might include the following:
1.Communicative content may include:
• Introducing yourself properly
• Talking about daily routines and common activities
• Making and receiving calls, and taking messages
• Phrases and vocabulary related to shopping
• Phrases and vocabulary related to eating and drinking
• Making hotel reservations
• Chairing a meeting
• Writing letters and e-mails
• Expressing ideas and opinions
• Issuing and responding to invitations
• Giving presentations
• Talking about economic structures and trends
• Talking about yourself and your family
• Talking about people and relationships
• Talking about health and emergencies
• Expressing feelings, hopes and ambitions
• Asking and giving directions
• 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
• Articles and determiners
• 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
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 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.
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:
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.
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:
“For those who feel reluctant to learn a foreign language, I recommend ICC"
I took English lessons at ICC for 2 months before being dispatched to Russia. Since I had to live in Moscow for my work, for an extended period of time, English and Russian were required for my work there. The teachers in charge of my classes were Mr. Knafo and Mr. Coulter. They taught me in great detail, not only fine grammar points, but also how to communicate more effectively with people overseas and how to liven up a conversation.. They also helped me acquire more knowledge on international rules and manners needed in social occasions. I’m convinced that I have gained overall communication skills in such a short term. If you have any specific needs, ICC’s staff and instructors will guide you and help you to ensure that you achieve your study goals. More importantly, ICC teachers are amazingly friendly, so even those who feel reluctant to learn a foreign language can begin learning it with no worries at all. I learned Russian in another language school before joining ICC, but I regret it. I should have chosen ICC, so If you are wondering which language school to choose, I suggest that you once meet Mr. Knafo and the ICC’s staff.
H.N., Japanese Diplomat
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.