The program is virtually the only ultra-intensive academic program in this country offering multiple levels and all year round flexibility. Classes are taught exclusively by a select team of faculty (all are highly experienced teachers of Japanese as a foreign language, with experiencing teaching at university level. All coordinators have Masters degrees). In the early stages of each module you will usually find yourself reviewing past knowledge, brushing up on forgotten grammar, and having mistakes and bad habits/pronunication corrected. The program is particularly useful for "false beginners" - students who have studied Japanese in the past but have either forgotten part or most of what they learnt, or were taught in an unstructured way.

To give you an idea of the intensity of the program schedule, please note that the APJLE regulations require a minimum of 800 classes/year - and most institutes deliver 810-820 program hours a year with the permitted 20 students per class format in use. By comparison the Acceleration program covers more than 350 classes in 12 weeks, in very small classes sizes. The pace of learning in the Acceleration program is incomparable. Even so, Yamasa has retained the low at-cost tuition rates only possible through a non-profit institute. The intensity of the program is a further reason as to why Yamasa's programs are good value. Not only will your budget for public transport, accommodation costs etc be lower than for alternative education providers, but you will receive far more actual instruction in Japanese than anywhere else in Japan.

NOTE 1: Each program hour is calculated as 50 minutes in accordance with APJLE regulations.

NOTE 2: Program hours does not include time spent in essential tasks such as placement testing. Yamasa is virtually the only education provider in Japan that only calculates the actual teaching time as program time. According to the APJLE regulations, activities such as Welcoming Ceremonies, parties and day-trips can be counted as classes.

This means that the gap between the teaching hours of Yamasa and that of other program providers is usually significantly understated. Yamasa does not consider activities such as ceremonies to be classes, even though some of these activities (such as testing) are of course integral to the program. The result? Greater value for money from your tuition.

Methodology: The Acceleration Program is a full immersion course, with all classes conducted in the target language. There are supporting translation and explanatory notes to help you prepare and review your lessons. To understand the study notes applicants for the program need to be able to either have a Japanese level above JLPT3, or be able to converse in at least one of the following languages: Chinese, English, German, Korean or Spanish. Please note that Romaji - the Roman alphabet - is not used in instruction. Yamasa's teaching teams use an interactive style - rote learning has no place in the curriculum. During language classroom instruction, the maximum number of students per class is 8 students, and the teaching team is usually 4 instructors. Interactive whiteboards and advanced teaching aids are in use.

The schedule below does not include preparation time. You will need to prepare for classes and submit homework tasks. All students will also have access to the interactive learning resources produced for Yamasa's OCJS. To help you retain and expand your knowledge of Japanese, you will continue to have access to the OCJS for a full year.

Sample Schedule:

The weekly schedule will resemble something similar to the following:

Please note that participants rotate between Language Laboratory and Private Tutorial on one of the weekday afternoons. Your tutorial might be from 12:40 followed by 2 lab classes, or you may have 2 lab classes followed by the tutorial at 2:40pm. The schedule above is only a sample and would not apply across all classes. In some weeks there will be field trips scheduled.

There are also plenty of things to see and do in Okazaki City and the regional area, and the International Office can assist you with hotel bookings, advice etc for any independent travel.

On the right hand side of this page there are links to each feature of this program. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact us