The Yamasa Institute (Japanese: YAMASA言語文化研究所 or YAMASA言語文化学院) is a private Japanese Language school located in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture.
The Institute began language instruction in 1989, and was founded through the Hattori Foundation, a philanthropic educational organisation established in 1919. The Yamasa Institute has since become one of the largest Japanese language schools in the region, and has built up a reputation for providing high-quality tuition in an international environment, with strict controls on the native language background of its intake.
The Yamasa Institute operates mainly through its “Aichi Center for Japanese Studies” campus near JR Okazaki Station. The school originally occupied one floor of the “Yamasa II” office block, but has grown to incorporate the whole of the building as well as several large purpose-built teaching blocks.
The Institute is accredited by the APJLE (Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education), the governing body established by the Japanese Government (Ministry of Education Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice) and education providers. This enables the school to receive students into its programs with student visas (Shugakusei visa). Yamasa's accreditation number is B302.
The school conducts instruction in a wide range of courses relating to Japanese language and culture, with its main programmes being the SILAC (short acquisition) options and the AIJP (Advanced-intensive) courses. Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Modern Japanese Studies are awarded to long-term students satisfying the requirements upon graduation.
The school accommodates approximately 300 students during peak time in the Northern Hemisphere summer holidays. Since its inception, Yamasa has provided Japanese language tuition to students from over 80 countries. Unusual among Japanese language institutes, the school places limits on its intake dependent on native-language background. This is to facilitate the usage of Japanese as the school’s lingua franca.
The school also provides housing to almost all students, and runs an extensive Homestay programme with families in the Okazaki and Mikawa regions.
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