About AOTS’s Japanese language education

AOTS has provided Japanese language training to industrial skills trainees from developing countries since its foundation in 1959. Over the years, we have researched and adopted the most effective teaching methods that produce the best results in a limited amount of time, and have developed our teaching materials and learning environments. We are an organization that provides Japanese language training courses for industrial human resources. Here are some of the features that set AOTS’s education apart.

1. It provides Japanese language education that facilitates smooth communication at work/training sites.

1. We provide Japanese language education that places priority on ensuring that course participants can enjoy smooth oral communication at their work/training sites, rather than focusing on preparing them for exams.
2. The course participants will learn vocabulary they need during their work and training as industrial personnel, enabling them to communicate in Japanese when they enter the working world.
3. Our Japanese instructors conduct their classes only in Japanese. This gives the course participants more opportunities to listen to and speak in Japanese, and helps them develop practical language skills that they can immediately put to use at work and in their training.
4. Our training curriculum is built around hands-on, comprehensive learning which includes role-play, pair work, assignments, activities, and project work. It also provides participants with opportunities to speak in Japanese with people they meet—including local residents and students—through conversation practice at networking events, and through interviews during fieldwork outside the classroom. These programs ensure that the participants will be able to communicate in Japanese once they complete the training.
    

2. We set behavioral goals and assess participants’ performance.

1. In our programs, we set behavioral goals, or “Can Do Statements,” which show participants what they can do and what tasks they can perform using the Japanese language skills they acquire.
2. In order to assess and measure the participants’ level of achievement of the behavioral goals set in the training course, we conduct performance tests in which the participants are given a task they would face in a real-life situation and give speeches or have conversations they act out through role-playing and simulations. These performance tests are used in addition to paper tests.

3. It meets learners’ individual needs.

1. Through learning counseling and private interviews, we assess what kind of challenges the course participants are facing in their lives in Japan and in their learning. We then use that information to provide them with better Japanese language instruction, and give them advice on how to make better use of their self-study time and study the language effectively.
2. To assess the learning aptitude of participants, we conduct a language aptitude test (AP test) for those who are learning Japanese for the first time, and provide the instruction that best suits their needs.
3. We carry out pre-tests and post-tests to measure the learning outcomes of each participant.

4. It helps participants continue with independent learning after completing their training.

1. Our Japanese instructors use illustrations, real objects, pictures, videos, and other tools in their classes to encourage participants to understand the grammatical rules of the language inductively, rather than teaching them the rules from the beginning. This inductive learning method helps the participants continue to learn creatively by guessing the grammar and usage of Japanese phrases and words in real life.
2. Our learning program does not stop at having participants memorize common phrases: it helps them learn Japanese grammar in a systematic manner. Through this learning method, participants acquire the basic abilities they will need to continue with their independent learning once they commence work or training.
3. We help foster participants’ metacognitive skills in areas such as self-assessments, setting learning goals, effective use of learning recourses, and better learning methods including taking notes, memorizing words, and listening to audio materials. This enables them to learn Japanese on their own after completing the course.

5. It helps develop participants’ soft skills and basic skills as a member of the working world.

Our Japanese classes are not simply a place to learn Japanese. Our training curriculum offers activities to develop participants’ soft skills and basic skills as members of the working world, such as greeting people, being punctual, organizing documents, being a team player, respecting and encouraging others, taking the lead in tasks they are placed in charge of, and having a career vision as Japanese-speaking human resources.