Kobe Bilingual School (Tarumi, Kobe)

Website: www.kobils.com

4-2-8 Momoyamadai Tarumi, Kobe, Japan 655-0854 Kobe 655-0852

Phone:    078-766-5795    Email: info@kobils.com  

Kobe Bilingual School (KOBILS) insists it is NOT an international school but bills itself as “an immersion based bilingual English/Japanese school with high academic standards coupled with a great sense of fun. We have English classes for children from Kindergarten right through to the end of high school. Whether it’s in our full-time kindergarten or our integrated after-school grade classes, we offer a caring and supportive learning environment which encourages spoken fluency, literacy, cultural understanding and celebration of both English and Japanese. With many projects, cross-curricular activities, events and parties, we aim to lead your child on a learning adventure nurturing creative and physical potential alongside intellectual capabilities to provide a wealth of positive memories of growing up as a bilingual inhabitant of Kobe and the greater world.

“Most international schools nurture only English skills and certainly, as English is a minority language in Japan, our program is weighted towards the development of English skills. However we also believe that whether children are of Japanese, foreign or mixed nationalities, an understanding and celebration of the country we live in is important, and speaking and learning English should complement development of Japanese language skills and an understanding and appreciation of Japan’s culture. Thus our Kindergarten program includes at least one Japanese immersion day, and from April 2009 we will open a Japanese juku style after-school program for older children based on our philosophy of learning and fun.

English immersion classes at grade level”. The school uses a 4 skills approach incorporating reading, writing, speaking and listening is necessary for children to develop strong English language skills.

Background: Kobe Bilingual School grew out of a smaller school called EnglishDream. Janina Ueda Tubby, owner/director of Kobils, established EnglishDream in 2005 with the aim of providing English education for beginner children in a more traditional Eikaiwa program and bilingual children in a longer literacy based program. Throughout our three year life, EnglishDream grew only by word of mouth and the bilingual program naturally became the focus of the school. With a change of name to reflect that focus and a new larger location, KOBILS aims to offer a bilingual education to help more children develop strong English language skills.

Announcing the April 21 (2008) opening of a flexi-schedule kindergarten program with the choice of 2 days a week or full-time 5 days a week until the end of July.

Kindergarten programs (aged 3- ).

During this flexi time, the program (maximum ten children) will be conducted entirely in English by two lead teachers. Special programs, Japanese and physical education, will begin in September.

The full-time 5 day a week program opens in September. Similar to the introductory program; however one day a week, children will visit the Japanese classroom led by our Japanese teachers, with a once week visit from the specialist sport’s teacher.

Grade level:Early grade classes continue with the phonics based approach to literacy that children have been introduced to in Kindergarten. By the end of first grade, most children will be reading independently (although some will achieve this much earlier and some possibly later) from our wide library. By the end of second grade children are expected to be reading chapter books and by third grade they will be enjoying a wide variety of novels.

Three types of afterschool immersion classes at grade level: the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course for elementary age beginners and children who have been studying English previously but have not yet reached fluency, the international course for native and other fluent speakers of English, and after-school kinder classes.

All bands offer an English immersion experience that focuses on developing the four skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. All bands aim to empower children to become independent learners who love finding out new things and learn for the fun of it. A wide range of materials to support this and a large library. Children at grade level typically borrow between two and five or six books a week to read at home. Main texts used for children: Reading Street, Macmillan English, Blending a Hand.

International course classes classes focus on developing English literacy skills; our aim is to have your child enjoy reading and writing in English at or above a US grade level as much as possible. The core of this course is a Reading textbook developed for American schools, which also incorporates spelling, writing, handwriting and vocabulary components.

Grade level also offers enrichment classes with cross-curricular topic study. There are two levels of classes at this band: a literacy course using native textbooks, typically taught on a Saturday, and an EFL support class for Japan born children and/or returnees that are using English as a foreign language (EFL). All children in this band may take part in the Saturday social program once a month after Saturday school. As children advance through the grades, translation courses and juku classes in Japanese are also offered.