Introductory Program in Teaching Japanese


In April, 2020, the Introductory Program in Teaching Japanese was established in the College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University and the Graduate School of Literature and Social Sciences, Nihon University. The purpose of the program is to train students to teach Japanese language and literacy. The College provides Basic Courses and the Graduate School provides both the Basic Courses and Applied Courses. We welcome students who wish to acquire knowledge and skills in Japanese teaching while deepening their own specialist knowledge, as well as students who aim to become fully-fledged Japanese teachers, regardless of whether they belong to the Human, Social, or Natural Sciences. Graduate students in Science and Technology (Geography) and Integrated Basic Sciences are also eligible to take courses in this program.
The College
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Basic Courses
Study basic courses related to teaching Japanese
Students who complete basic subjects related to teaching Japanese, such as Introduction to Japanese Teaching Methods or practical training in teaching Japanese, will receive a certificate of completion of basic courses from the College.
The Graduate School
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Basic Courses / Applied Courses
More advanced and professional knowledge and skills to become a Japanese teacher
Students will study different basic subjects from those in the College. The Graduate School also provides more advanced courses. Students who complete a predetermined number of credits from a designated course group will receive a certificate of completion from the Graduate School. Additionally, a faculty member specializing in Japanese teaching serves as a supervisor to those who wish to write a master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation with the theme of Japanese education.
3 points about the Japanese Teaching Program
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Point1
While deepening your specialty, you can acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to teach Japanese as a foreign language. The course completion certificate will also open up your career possibilities. -
Point2
Credits acquired in the Japanese Teaching Program can be added to credits acquired in either the College or Graduate School, so that students may pursue studies in both an academic subject and teaching Japanese. -
Point3
As more and more people come to Japan from overseas to work, businesses emphasize the importance of knowledge and skills in teaching Japanese as a key to diversity of human resources development. We provide opportunities for Japanese students to interact with overseas students and develop human resources to respond to a diversified society.
International Liberal Arts and Academic Writing
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International Liberal Arts
International Liberal Arts creates the opportunity for interdisciplinary courses which examine questions and issues raised among the various departments at the College of Humanities and Sciences. The number of English-language International Japanese Studies courses focusing on Japanese history, society, literature, culture, and geography has also increased. One of this program’s newly organized courses, Introduction to International Japanese Studies, allows both international and Japanese students to actively participate in and dynamically debate a range of ideas and issues.
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Academic Writing
Academic Writing allows students to learn and acquire basic skills for writing academically, both in Japanese and English, in the context of an International Liberal Arts subject in the College or Graduate School. In addition, for graduate level students aiming at obtaining knowledge and skills to be an academic writing tutor or coach, an Academic Writing Tutors course was established. Also, in addition to regular Japanese courses, Business Japanese classes are offered, providing useful expressions for job hunting and actual ‘real world’ business settings.
International Student Support Room
In 2020, a support room for international students was established. Faculty, staff, and students working as international student supporters are on hand to answer questions or provide consultations for international students, and to assist them with various procedures and formalities. Japanese textbooks and references are also available for browsing.
Contact
Building No.3, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University
Phone: 03-5317-9388
E-mail: r-support-jimu@ml.chs.nihon-u.ac.jp
Program Faculty

Yukari Tanaka (Professor)
- Specialization
- Sociolinguistics, dialectology, phonetics and phonology, pronunciation
- Message
- I would like to share with all students, domestic and overseas, the pleasure of understanding society through language. Through studying languages, we aim to be a research and educational institution that learns together, while providing knowledge and skills necessary for living in a diversified and information-oriented society.
Photo:Kazuya Asano

Megumi Sakamoto (Professor)
- Specialization
- Taiguu-communication research, listening, Japanese language teaching
- Message
- The number of people who come from overseas and receive education or work in Japan is on the rise. In the diversifying world, coexistence through multi-culturalism has become normal. We can see how to co-exist with other cultures by learning Japanese, as well as about Japan and the Japanese, and by teaching Japanese together with people who speak a variety of native languages.

Masaru Inoue (Professor)
- Specialization
- Grammar, semantics, Japanese-Chinese contrastive linguistics, grammar training
- Message
- In contrastive language studies, various differences between languages are compared in order to consider language difference impartially. Contrastive language studies value the utility of studying foreign cultures. Together with students in the Introductory Japanese Language course I hope to deepen our sense of how to live wisely and intelligently in a multicultural society.

Hisashi Noda (Professor)
- Specialization
- Grammar, grammar education
- Message
- The number of people who study Japanese as a foreign language is increasing in various regions in the world. Let’s analyze Japanese objectively as a foreign language and study together.

Eran Kim (Associate professor)
- Specialization
- Lexical theory, semantics, writing, vocabulary
- Message
- I value the experience and awareness that I acquired through studying Japanese as a second language. When you see Japanese, from another angle, there are lots of interesting discoveries. Shall we learn together in these courses?

Ting Li (Assistant professor)
- Specialization
- Taiguu-communication research, discourse theory,Japanese language teaching
- Message
- I would like to support learners by providing educational practice that makes full use of non-native teacher’s own strengths, so that together with learners we can build these strengths for communication in a multicultural society.
Nihon University, College of Humanities and Sciences
- Department of Biosciences
- Department of Chemistry
- Department of Chinese Language and Culture
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Department of Education
- Department of English Language and Literature
- Department of Geography
- Department of German Language and Literature
- Department of History
- Department of Information Science
- Department of Japanese Language and Literature
- Department of Mathematics
- Department of Philosophy
- Department of Physical Education
- Department of Physics
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Social Welfare
- Department of Sociology
Introductory Program in Teaching Japanese