Frequently Asked Questions

The school year runs from April to March, divided into quarter school terms. Each quarter will span a total of 3 months. We have many classes available for students of all ages from children as young as a year and a half to adult lessons.

Our policy is to teach English in English. Students are able to learn English through book reading, play, song, and gestures and can infer meaning to words or phrases they may not know. Children learn English the same way as one might acquire one’s own mother tongue.

We offer a variety of classes for those wishing to learn English in a fun and engaging environment. We offer regular 50 minute classes for children 2 years and up. We also have mother and baby classes for younger children to enjoy singing, dancing, and participating in many foreign holidays and activities.

The next level up we offer is immersion classes for kindergarten through elementary aged children. These classes are two hours long or all-day Saturday. In Saturday Class, we teach English based on a specific theme. Emergent classes are perfect for returnees.

Our English Salon class is an hour lesson for adults. These classes are taught by a single foreign teacher.

KEC classes run on a two week schedule for regular classes, Tuesday through Saturday. One week will be taught by both a foreign and Japanese teacher, followed by a week taught solely by the Japanese teacher. Immersion classes, however, are taught weekly by both the foreign and Japanese assistant teacher. The day generally begins at 9 or 10am and can continue into the evening depending on your given assignments and class placements.

KEC English School has developed a unique curriculum designed to encourage and motivate the natural curiosity within children. We teach English through many different methods, all of which are fun and engage students with hands-on learning. Each month has a set theme as well, from Halloween in October and Christmas in December. We also hope students can begin to understand international cultures through these lessons and interactions with the foreign teacher.

Our policy is ‘Learning through Fun!.’

With this in mind we encourage our teachers to create interesting, challenging and fun curriculum activities for their class that will encourage positive social and emotional development as well as increase children’s English language use.

There are a pair of teachers in each class, one foreign teacher and one Japanese teacher.  Together they decide how to set up their room (using the materials and furniture already at KIS), design their daily schedule and create their curriculum themes.  The class rooms typically have child size tables for work and eating, child size chairs, cubbies for personal belongings, and various other shelves used for display and storage as well as drying racks for art work.  Each room is individualized by their teachers and children.  There are common areas that teachers create documentation panels for families and future clients to observe.  Each class either has it's own child size toilet room and wash sink, or one right next door.  All of the rooms have plenty of natural light and large windows.

Curriculum is designed by using the age appropriate child assessment tool to look at desired outcomes for that age level.  Also teachers research past lesson plans, the internet, resource books on a large variety of topics, their own experiences and, once you get to know your group, trying to follow the children’s interest as well.  Some themes we have a lot of material for, such as Dinosaurs, Community, and Insects.  Many times teachers create their own teaching materials to use for various themes.  Some materials actually survive the theme and are available to use again by other teachers.

Centers are done in the classrooms, especially the 5 and 6 year class.   They have what is called "Station Time"  and this is when certain topics are focused on, such as language development, phonics, letter recognition, sight words, special math activities following a curriculum called "Math Their Way".  Teachers are encouraged to supplement and add onto these, helping to challenge and support each child's development.  Three year class follows a looser structure, focusing more on social and language development.

The age group you are assigned will determine the expectations of that class. While a teacher may be experienced in working with older children, all of us may be asked to work with a different age group than we may expect.  The teacher who comes in March will have one term with the 2 year class.  After the three-week summer school program, the Director determines what class each teacher will be placed in.  Class placement depends on many things; all the foreign teachers educations and experience levels, past performance, and finally teacher desires.  But that is the last consideration.  It all depends on the needs of the school.

Yes, there is a shared apartment that can be available for employees in Nagakute, close to the office. It is a nice, two bedroom apartment with living room, kitchen and dining area, toilet, shower and bath, and a laundry room. In Japan, it is common for the toilet to be in a separate room from the shower/bathroom. It’s possible for the company to arrange for a furnished, studio-type apartment upon request.

This room has a wood floor. You can easily purchase a soft carpet for the floor for about $50 if you need one.  There is also a nice bamboo looking dresser with 6 drawers for clothes and a large clothes rack to hang your garments.  This bedroom has it's own heater/AC unit and is easier to keep warm or cool than the other bedroom. There is also a nice size window with a deep ledge to set things on. The apartments come with a large variety of quilts and blankets, but not sheets unless a former occupant leaves them.

The kitchen is a very typical Japanese style.  There is a big fridge, a gas stove top (no oven), a microwave, a rice cooker, and some other small appliances collected by foreign teachers over the years.  No dishwasher. There is a wooden dining table that seats 4-6 people and at least 4 wooden chairs.  There is also a phone and Internet access in the apartment.

The living room has a couch, a TV and DVD player on a small table. There is a good size closet where you will be able to store things.  Also extra blankets, community books and seasonal decorations are stored in the upper closet.  This room has the second heater/AC unit. There are sliding doors to shut the room off a little from the rest of the apartment.  The floor in this room is made of traditional tatami mats. Large sliding glass doors open into a narrow balcony where clothes and futons are hung out to dry or aerate.

The second bedroom is slightly larger and has its own closet.  It does not have its own heating/cooling unit, however, and gets quite cold in the winter. It also has a tatami mat floor, so traditional beds and furniture should not be on this floor, as it tends to damage the mat.

Monthly utilities ought to be split evenly amongst the apartment’s occupants and please remember that whenever you vacate the apartment, you need to leave the next month’s utility fees, depending on when you move out. Please uphold good communication between roommates to carry this out smoothly.

Banking is different here.  It’s said that the only bank that you can directly transfer money between the two countries is Citi-bank.  You can open one in the US and another account here.  Many of the teachers here are paying off loans and such.  Many get an International Postal Money Order (IPMO), send it home to parents or straight to their bank, have it deposited in their home account and then pay the bill from that account.

Salaries are directly deposited into your Japanese bank account.  You can choose the bank.  Most foreign teachers use the same bank the school uses.   ATM and bank hours are limited.  Debit cards are non-existent in Japan, however, you can use a credit card.

Teachers for KEC and KIS will have a company shirt/sweatshirt to wear in class. You will be given two of each. Should you require more, you may purchase them at the office. You will probably wear pants most of the time. Since KEC teachers will be going out to various locations, semi-nice pants are preferable, excluding jeans, cargo pants or leggings. For KEC Saturday class and regular KIS classes, however, decent-looking, non-ripped jeans are acceptable, as long as your underwear does not show (as with low cut pants/jeans) and you can freely move around and work with children. On hot, summer days, you may wear shorts that come just below your knee. No skirts which are too short or too long, please. We also have annual contests and special ceremonies, so for these events please uphold a semi-formal dress code, which is a dress coat/shirt and tie for men and business type suit or skirt for women.

It is customary to remove one’s shoes when entering a building, this includes the schools that you will visit for class. Generally, any shoe is fine as long as you do not wear them outside, on the street. The best indoor shoe is a closed-toe shoe that securely fits your feet and will not slip off. Open-toed slippers are not conducive to our active lessons. NEVER wear your street shoes inside the apartments or school.

For Ladies: If you are larger than a size 10, you will have difficulty finding pants that fit. If you are under a size 8, you probably won’t have any problems.

For Guys: For most foreigners buying the right shirt size in Japan can be quite troublesome. Because Japanese M size is a bit smaller than an M in a foreign country. Sleeve and neck sizes also cause this same problem. When buying new clothes in Japan, buy a size large than you would in your country.

For Ladies: Finding an 8.5 shoe in Japan is difficult. If your shoe size is anything larger than a 6.5, please bring several shoes of your own, including some nice dress shoes. The largest size in Japan is an LL (25cm) which a 9 in the United States, however, these larger sizes are still very difficult to find and often are not very stylish.

For Guys: Finding a 10 (27 cm in Japan) shoe is difficult.

You shouldn’t have much problem with bra sizes, however, you may be more comfortable bringing a couple extra pairs from home just in case.

We see may occasionally tattoos here in Japan, mostly on foreigners, some on locals. There is some degree of leniency for foreigners with tattoos as long as it’s not offensive.   Japan is still a very conservative country, and what foreigners may consider as “normally accepted” may not necessarily be accepted by all in Japan. If you have a tattoo you will not be allowed into public baths or hot springs. Tattoos should be covered in the workplace.

Bring what you like. Winters are cold and damp, so layering is nice. Summers get very hot and humid, so shorts, tank tops, and swimsuits (VERY expensive here!) are all essential.

Some medicine you are not supposed to bring from the states, such as Nyquil.  Some teachers brought over their favorite allergy and headache medication, tampons, etc. Generally all personal necessities in this category can be readily found in Japan without much problem. Simply, if you have a preference for goods from your own country, please bring them or have someone ship them to Japan for you.

Hair care products are abundant in Japan.  It may be an issue if you color your hair because hair color products in Japan are made for Asian hair, which is very different from Western hair. If you use hair color products on your hair, it may be too harsh, it can damage your hair, and many lighter shades of dye actually contain bleach.  If you have special deodorants, lotions, makeup, shaving cream for legs, hair products you don't want to live without, bring some now and then have mom or someone send you more after a month or so.  You might find acceptable alternatives here with some experimentation.  The Japanese are obsesses with beauty products, so it can be quite a smorgasbord! Remember to bag any of this stuff in Ziploc bags and put in your checked luggage.  The bags will keep anything from bursting and ruining your clothes.

One suggestion is to bring over a six month supply of what ever prescription you have.  If you can also bring a legible, written prescription from your doctor as well that may help.

KEC teachers will travel all over the city. You will have to travel to a different school almost every day, using public transit: the subway system or city bus. We also walk a lot as well. Depending on your particular schedule, we have detailed directions to get to and from and there will always be someone in the office to help give you more detailed directions.

Most foreign teachers ride a bike or walk to work.  The company apartment is a 20 minute walk or a 3 minute bike ride.  You will probably inherit a used bike or you can buy a new one for around $100.

No car is needed.  The rest of the time we use the local trains, subways, and buses to get to other places. The Bullet train, although expensive, is a great way to travel long distances to, for example, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, or Osaka. Nagoya is in the center of Japan, which means it’s very convenient to travel around.

Our motto is ‘if you need it, bring it.’ Many things are extremely expensive to buy in Japan, so it’s best that you bring whatever will fit into your suitcase. Just pack in moderation. You might be better off packing less of many things rather than a lot of one thing. Don’t pack 6 different purses just because it’s stylish. It will take up much needed space in your suitcase for other essentials. If you can’t live without your iPod, PSP, etc., bring it with you. As for packing clothing, those plastic vacuum bags really do work! All you should have to worry about is weigh restrictions.

All materials and resources are provided by KEC or KIS. For KEC teachers, it would be excellent if you could bring any personal photos or special items from your country to share your culture with students. Great things to have are examples from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and any other special holidays you may celebrate in your country. We want to promote international understanding, so please expect to talk about your own personal experiences in class.