KCP is a not-for-profit educational foundation. As of April 2007, KCP International Japanese Language School, one of the largest and most highly recognized language institutes in Japan, has been granted Gakko Hojin status. Gakko Hojin is a rigorous educational evaluation and accreditation process overseen by the Tokyo metropolitan government ministry.
Intensive Japanese: Beginning through Advanced
Japanese Culture and Civilization
Japanese Language Course
KCP realizes that students enter with varying Japanese language backgrounds that may have stressed different aspects of learning. Special emphasis is placed on holistic language education, stressing all four communication skills-listening, speaking, reading, and writing-to help students master general knowledge of the Japanese language, usable fluency, and vital Japanese context. In classes, language instruction takes place entirely in Japanese: the direct method, or full Japanese language immersion.
On arrival at KCP, students take a placement exam to determine their appropriate class level. You learn from 150 to 250 kanji each term, depending on the Japanese proficiency level. Each semester term consists of over 200 classroom hours of instruction. This is a rigorous program: students spend three to five hours studying each day. Each student gets plenty of support, with several instructors for each course as well as an assigned language advisor and a student coordinator. And students get results. Students in our top language level are routinely able to pass the Nihongo Noryoku Shiken (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), roughly correlating their Japanese language skills to those of a native speaker at college level.
KCP International is an inspired choice for you to learn Japanese in Tokyo. It's one of the most effective Japanese language schools in Japan.
Japanese Culture and Civilization Course
In this course, KCP offers you Japanese cultural immersion through lectures and organized excursions to some of the most notable happenings in Tokyo. The course, taught in English, runs on Saturdays. It includes lectures that lay the ground on topics like Japanese classical entertainment, customs, lifestyle, business, economics, politics, history, psychology, and religion.
To build on this conceptual base, you'll visit relevant sites, in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan. Typical excursions have included Kamakura, the Edo-Tokyo Museum, Nikko, Asakusa Temple, the Imperial Palace, NHK Broadcasting Company, a Sumo beya, and Kabuki and Bunraku theaters. You'll have plenty of opportunities to explore traditional Japanese art forms.
In addition to the Japanese Culture and Civilization course, all KCP students can take part in optional activities and outings throughout the term. These may include a tea ceremony, anime and manga drawing, calligraphy, KCP student newspaper, kanji prep, chat classes (multiple levels), learning to play traditional instruments, cooking Japanese food together, and more. In the extra-curricular sessions, you have the chance to connect with other students in informal, non-classroom settings.
Students interested in summer study abroad in Tokyo should see the list of summer program options.