Welcome to the Global Japan Program (GJP) offered by the International Institute for Japanese Language Education (IJLE). The GJP consists of the Japanese Language Course (JLC) and the Global Japan Studies Course (GJSC).
Participating students are required to enroll in at least 7 classroom hours per week (1 classroom hour = 90 minutes = 2 credits) from JLC, GJSC, or a combination from both courses to obtain student visa status. (We do not, however, recommend that you enroll in more than 11 classroom hours per week.)

JAPANESE LANGUAGE COURSE (JLC)

IJLE offers two types of Japanese language courses, namely the JL core courses and the JL elective courses.

JL Core Courses:

JL core courses are intensive courses with the main objective of enabling students to acquire communication skills in speaking and writing. The students will be acquiring four major skills of the language (speaking, listening, writing and reading with Kanji). If you are planning on taking any Japanese language courses, you must enroll in one of the core courses. Upon your arrival, you will take an online placement test to determine to which level/core course you belong. The details of the JL core courses are summarized below as an example. These core courses are all offered in the morning from Monday to Thursday.

Tentative Curriculum

[Notes on JL core courses]
- Availability of the JL core courses is subject to change without notice.
- All the courses must have enrollment of four or more students at the time of registration; otherwise, they will be cancelled.
- All the students who intend to take JLC must take the placement test, except for true beginners who only know Hiragana and Katakana or those who are planning on taking GJSC only.
- All the students who are true beginners and intend to take JLC must master Hiragana and Katakana on their own before the course starts. On the first day of the course, they are given the Hiragana and Katakana tests and must show mastery of these characters.
- Once your level/core class is determined, you can select JLC elective courses and/or GJSC classes to make your timetable (*7-11 classroom hours per week). Note: J100, J200, J300, and J400 already have 8 classrooms hours, so you do not need to take JLC elective and GJSC classes if you do not wish.

Placement Test:

The Japanese Placement Test determines the appropriate level/core course for each student. The online test is typically held around early June for students enrolling in the fall semester and early December for those enrolling in the spring semester. Therefore, keep in mind that you will be asked to take this online test a few months before your arrival at NUFS. Applicants will be contacted about a month before the placement test, so it is important to check your email regularly after submitting your application.
- Your level/core courses are solely determined by the placement test result, not by your Japanese learning experiences. Even if you studied and finished the same textbook in your home country, when your placement test result does not meet the required criteria, you must repeat the same content at IJLE. Thus, we highly recommend that you bring the same textbooks (of the same edition) if you have them in your home country.
- Based on the placement test result, some students may have choices of the core classes if the classes have the same starting point- J100 (intensive) or J111 (semi-intensive) and J200 (intensive) or J211 (semi-intensive)

JL Elective Courses:

JL elective courses are offered in the afternoon for those who are enrolled in JL core courses. Each JL elective course meets one classroom hour per week and carries 2 credits. Admittance to these courses is based on the level of the JL core course. Once your Japanese language level and the JL core course have been determined by the placement test, you can select JL elective courses and/or GJS courses to make your timetable. (Keeping it to 7 to 11 classroom hours per week is recommended).

List of JL Elective Courses
JLPT N3 Preparation
JLPT N2 Preparation

*For details of JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), please refer to its official website.
**All the courses must have enrollment of 4 or more students; otherwise, they will be canceled.

GLOBAL JAPAN STUDIES COURSE (GJSC)

• In GJSC classes taught in English, both international and domestic students enroll in classes to deepen their understanding of the global society from two angles- Japan from the world perspective and the world from Japan’s perspective. Students can enroll in any GJSC classes regardless of their JLC level. Each class meets once a week for 90 minutes and is worth 2 credits.

• The GJSC classes explore a wide range of topics related to contemporary and traditional Japan and are categorized into three blocks:
  - Classes focusing on business and society (JSC 101-122);
  - Classes focusing on language and culture (JSC 201-223);
  - Special classes with hands-on experiences (JSC 901-904): ① at a Japanese newspaper publishing company; ② with leading performers of Japanese traditional arts (dance and music); ③ oriental traditional writing culture- calligraphy.

A list of GJSC classes for the academic year 2024 is below:　　　　

・Availability of the GJSC classes is subject to change without notice.
・Please note that GJSC classes have capacity limit for each class and if the limit is reached, a lottery is held to fairly select the students who can enroll in such classes. As a result, it is not guaranteed that the student will be able to enroll in all desired classes.

〇=Class Offered ✗=Class Canceled

Last updated: June, 2024

• Click to see past syllabi of the GJSC classes.

• Click to see the timetable (capacity limit) of GJSC 2023 spring & fall semester.

Japanese Culture Practicum

• The Global Japan Program offers day trips and excursions for its international students several times a semester. The international students who belong to the GJP can participate in these excursions to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture, especially the culture of the Tokai region. Most of these excursions are selected and arranged in such a way that the students can have hands-on experiences which they can rarely experience in commercial tours.

• Each excursion has limited spaces, and small fees are required to participate (these excursions are subsidized by Nagoya University of Foreign Studies).

• Below are some of the excursions in the past:
  - Workshops: Ikebana (flower arrangement), tea ceremony, pottery making, and soba (buckwheat) noodle making
  - Excursions: Ninja Village, Ise Grand Shrine, sumo games, visits to museums and galleries
  - Overnight study tours: Kyoto, Nara, Shirakawa Village, Kotohira Shrine and Kompira Mountain in Kagawa