Independent Organizations
World Campus - Japan
World Campus - Japan offers two-week summer programs that include homestays, language instruction, and a variety of cultural activities. Program sites include communities in towns and cities around Japan that sponsor the programs, located in Kumamoto, Aichi, Nara, Chiba, Osaka, Tokyo, Nagano, Hiroshima, Ibaraki, and Nagasaki prefectures. More information is available at the program's Website, http://worldcampus.org.
Edo Cultural Center & Multicultural Living Support Center
Summer Intensive Japanese Language and Culture Program
Edo Cultural Center, in collaboration with non-profit organization Multicultural Living Support Center, offers a two-week summer intensive Japanese language and culture program. Anyone who has studied Hiragana and Katakana, or knows easy Japanese conversation, is welcome to apply. The participants receive Japanese language training in the morning and learn the taste of traditional tea ceremony and flower arrangement in the afternoon in Akasaka, which is the most cosmopolitan district in Tokyo. They are also invited to visit the Kabuki theatre, the Tsukiji fish market, an origami center, and other attractions. A one-night trip for historical temples and the Great Buddha in Kamakura is included as well. The program takes place on two different time schedules, in July and August. Tailor-made programs are also available. For information on summer intensive program see http://www.edocul.com.
Genki Japanese and Culture School
This conversational Japanese school in Fukuoka offers intensive summer programs at all skill levels, for lengths from 2 weeks to 3 months, starting every week. Students can stay in a homestay or dormitory, and study 4 hours per day of conversational Japanese and Japanese culture, including arts such as calligraphy, kimono, manga/anime drawing, martial arts, etc. Website: http://www.genkijacs.com.
Japan Summer Study Tour
The Laurasian Institution, a not-for-profit education foundation, administers the New Perspectives: Japan (NP:J) study tour project for middle and high school students and teachers interested in studying about Japan. This project has been partially funded by the Center for Global Partnership and the Freeman Foundation.
NP:J is a three-phase program which is centered around a two-week study tour to Japan. The teacher and students approach the program as a group, sharing insights and reflections to enhance the overall experience. The program begins several weeks before departure working with one of six curricular themes that the school group chooses (This is the orientation study phase). The curricular themes are: Art, Architecture and Cuisine (M. Hammond-Bernson); Episodes in Japanese History: The Shaping of National Identity and Culture (L. Parisi); Japanese Economics and Business (L. Wojtan); Japanese Contemporary Society (S. Thompson); Discovering Your Japanese Heritage (G Mukai & S. Lai), and a new, more generalist curriculum, An Overview: Expanding Your Coursework to Include Japan (A. Cheng, G. Francis, and S. Lai).
The group then travels to Japan, where participants visit a Japanese school, live with a Japanese host family, visit historical sites in Tokyo and Kyoto--all allowing students the opportunity to practice their Japanese on a daily basis (This is the study tour phase). Once returning to the US, each school group works together to help each participant assess and articulate her or his experience (Follow-up study phase).
The tour dates are scheduled each year in June and July. The cost is approximately $3000. In past tours, through the Jackson Bailey Scholarship, funded by the Freeman Foundation and the Center for Global Partnership, the majority of participants who requested scholarships were awarded one based on merit and need.
The NP:J website, at http://www.newperspectivesprogram.org/, has posted newsletters from previous tours. Take a look to see what happens during the study tour phase of the program.
Yamasa Institute / Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
The Yamasa Institute offers a variety of summer programs ranging from an intensive three-month language course to shorter programs, with a range of starting dates. Homestays are available as well as other accommodation options. More information is available at the Institute's Website, http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/summer.html.
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Eight-week Summer Intensive Language Programs at elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels in beautiful Monterey, California. 4-5 hours of classroom instruction per day is supplemented with language assistants and cultural activities for practice outside of the classroom. Programs offered are Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish. Customized programs in many languages, including Japanese, are available any time during the year.
Contact: Intensive & Custom Language Programs, Monterey Institute of International Studies, 460 Pierce Street; Monterey, CA 93940. Tel.: 831-647-4115. Fax: 831-647- 3534. E-mail: slip@miis.edu.
Sendagaya Summer Intensive Language Course
The Sendagaya Japanese Institute offers an intensive summer course in Tokyo for students at four skill levels ranging from Elementary to Advanced. Information and application forms can be obtained from Sendagaya Japanese Institute, 2-16-6 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0075, Japan; fax +81.3.3232.9120.