IGL Medical and Welfare College – Japanese Language Department

IGL Medical and Welfare College teaches Japanese at its Tomohigashi campus in the Asaminami ward of Hiroshima. It belongs to a group that operates medical and welfare facilities. The Japanese Language Department has a wider academic remit than the college’s name might suggest. Its preparation for further study includes Japanese language work and opportunities to study general subjects such as mathematics and Japan and the World.

Reading Japanese for the first time

The department describes beginner classes for students whose first writing systems do not use Chinese characters. That is a useful detail when comparing schools in Hiroshima: the starting point for learning to recognise kanji can be quite different from a student’s ability to speak or understand everyday Japanese. The college also describes school events where language learners can meet students from other programmes.

Routes into further study

Students can consider two years of preparation or an eighteen-month course. The two-year timetable begins in April, while the shorter timetable starts in October. Applicants deciding between them can discuss which beginner group fits their background and which general subjects support their intended higher education route. The site for both language programmes is 1-12-18 Tomohigashi.