Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin Japanese Language School

Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin Japanese Language School is a Japanese language school in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture. It is located at 3-2-28 Yahata, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka-shi, about a ten-minute walk from JR Shizuoka Station.

Studying Japanese in Shizuoka

The curriculum centers on a two-year and a one-year Japanese course for students preparing to enter higher education in Japan. The two-year course runs 1,536 hours and the one-year course 768 hours, with morning and afternoon classes held Monday through Friday. Subjects include comprehensive Japanese, career formation, kanji and vocabulary, grammar, dialogue, reading, listening, essay writing, project work and tutorials. Instruction uses the Shin Jitsuyō Nihongo series along with Japanese-Language Proficiency Test and Examination for Japanese University Admission preparation materials.

The school was founded to respond to local expectations that international exchange is essential to Shizuoka's future revitalization, and it builds interaction with local residents into its curriculum and extracurricular activities. It aims to develop independent users of Japanese who can proceed to higher education or careers connected with Japan.

The programme includes project work, tutorials, discussion and short essays. At early levels learners practise describing their home town and managing an exchange while shopping. Later objectives include finding information in Japanese, using public facilities and presenting a reasoned opinion. These examples show how the curriculum connects an ordinary interaction with more demanding public or academic communication.