All classes are 50 minutes in duration. This is the same for each format offered. Yamasa usually has classes on all public holidays, the exceptions being Golden Week (early May), Obon (mid-August), and New Year. Please contact admissions@yamasa.org to confirm dates if your program overlaps with these study periods. The program always commences on a Thursday, and is completed on a Thursday. No classes are scheduled on weekends, and there are plenty of things to see and do in Okazaki or Aichi, optional weekend tours available, and the International Office can assist you with hotel bookings, advice etc for any independent travel.

Please note that you need to allocate approximately 2 hours of preparation and review for each day of classes. The intensity of the program is a key reason as to why Yamasa is good value. Not only will your budget for public transport, cost of living, accommodation, internet access etc be much lower than for alternative education providers, but you will receive far more actual instruction in Japanese than elsewhere.

Class Hours:

Study Component:

Mondays to Fridays:
Start at 9.00am and finish at 1.30pm. (Small Group or Private formats)
Start at 9.00am and finish at 2.30pm. (Culture Seminars)
Start at 9.00am and finish at 4.30pm. (Field Trips)

Travel Component:

Varies daily according to schedule.

Notes:
1. Program hours calculated as 50 minutes in accordance with APJLE regulations.
2. Program hours does not include time spent in essential tasks such as placement testing. Yamasa is virtually the only education provider 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. Yamasa does not consider these activities to be classes, even though activities such as testing are of course integral to the program. This means that the gap between the actual teaching hours of Yamasa and that of other program providers is also usually understated.

Also please note that Yamasa's teaching teams use an interactive style - rote learning has no place in the curriculum. You will be required to speak Japanese and participate in class discussions and graded accordingly.

In addition, all students enrolling in the Discovery programs should be able to learn to use Japanese language software and send/receive simple emails in Japanese. As mentioned earlier, all students will also have access to the interactive learning resources produced for Yamasa's OCJS as each resource becomes available.