Communication in Business

Most students at NACOS are not full-time students. They are working people who realize that knowledge of Japanese will help them in their business. These language-learners need practical, personal language instruction to maximalize learning in their limited schedules. For this purpose, NACOS has develvoped the Communication in Business courses. These courses help students gain a strong base in Japanese while focusing on those aspects of language and ettiquette that are most needed in business and customer service.

To provide a foundation upon which to build, NACOS business students first write an essay which briefly describes themselves and their interests. NACOS translates this essay and with this translation, provides the student with a perfect model of Japanese. This "Personal Sketch" is used to start them off in their communication. After all, successful communication in business is not just dry negotiation skills and empty, memorized phrases. To create the basis necessary for good business, one must not forget the personal, human side of communication.

For those students with some background in Japanese, the Personal Sketch Worshop can be an excellent refresher and a way to bring Japanese to a more personal level. For students who know no Japanese, structure and vocabulary are introduced and practiced through the Personal Sketch.

Additional Structure and Grammar lessons are provided as needed. Small class size and course flexibility allow NACOS to design a plan of study optimal for students' individual needs. However, even when a student is new to Japanese and needs instruction in Structure and Grammar, the focus of learning never shifts from communication. We at NACOS realize that all the mechanical knowledge of language in the world cannot help a student if they have never learned how to put it into use in communication.

For the development and honing of Japanese language and ettiquette appropriate in business, NACOS has created two specialized courses in this area: Honorifics and Polite Expressions and Customer Service for Corporations. These courses equip our students with an understanding of Japanese polite speech and appropriate customer service skills that allow them to enhance customer satisfaction and good business relations.

In this way, NACOS contibutes to the business sector and tourist industry, even to the economy, as we as bond the United States and Japan through effective communication.

Communication in Daily Life

This course begins much like Communication for Business, but its long-term goals are slightly different. Whereas business relationships are usually limited to a somewhat superficial level, the relationships created in daily life can be taken to a much deeper level. The goal of Communication in Daily Life is to assist the student in creating these deeper human relations. It is through these satisfying relationships that the language will be acquired, not through hours of textbook reading or endless grammar drills.

First, in the Self Portrait Workshop, students begin by writing a "Self Portrait." This detailed description of themselves is then translated by NACOS into perfect Japanese. Like the Personal Sketch, it is a basis for future communication and language learning. By providing a perfect language model which is about the student and their interests, NACOS helps increase understanding and motivation in learning Japanese.

With the foundation of the Self Portrait, NACOS learners receive instruction in Structure and Grammar. As with the Business for Communication course, the purpose of instruction is always communication. There are 3 phases of learning in Structure and Grammar:

1st Phase (8 weeks, flexible) Becoming familiar with beginning Japanese. Here, an effort should be made to memorize numbers, adverbs, nouns, desu, arimasu and imasu. This is your foundation-building period.

2nd Phase (8 weeks, flexible) Taking Japanese language structure a few steps further by using various forms of adjectives.

3rd Phase (continuous) Learning Japanese verbs can be troublesome because they are formed completely differently than English ones are. To make your study easier, we have divided this phase into 7 parts, ranging from 4 - 8 weeks per part. In this phase, students learn verb tenses, particles, presumptive mood, gerunds, giving & receiving, potential mood, passive voice and causitive.

Note: Throughout all of the phases, much learning is accomplished through sessions of "small talk" and conversations with new Japanese friends who NACOS will introduce you to. With these friends and personable NACOS staff, you will have constant opportunities to communicate, not just learn the dry mechanics of the language.

Special Occasions

Travelling to Japan

This is an accelerated course for those who are planning a trip to Japan. Students fill out an informational file describing themselves, their purpose in travelling to Japan, and a few other details. NACOS then creates a practical booklet, personalized for each individual student, which accompanies their condensed Japanese lessons. Students are taught from their own special booklet, which can then be taken along to Japan for further reference and study. Please contact NACOS for more information.

Vacationing In Hawai'i

This course is designed for those who want to learn Japanese during their vacation on the island. Please contact NACOS for more information.

NACOS takes special requests and will make a program to suit your needs. If you are looking for a particular course of study, please contact us.