Program

The Chit Chat Club is a program for beginner-level students to have fun conversations with international students and people with experience studying abroad, and to improve their practical English skills. Not only can you improve your English skills, but you can also learn about the culture and customs of the international students' countries!
At the Chit Chat Club, one staff member will teach 4-6 students a 40-minute English conversation session (1 session is 40 minutes in the first half of the class period and 40 minutes in the second half of the class period). The club is open every day from 10:50am to 6:05pm, Monday to Friday. Anyone who wants to practice their English, build their confidence, or improve their conversation skills is welcome.

The English Forum is a program where you can casually discuss a wide range of topics, from familiar topics to social and international issues, with international students from all over the world. Examples of topics include culture, education, and environmental issues. Participants are mainly intermediate and advanced level students. As you make an effort to express your opinions in a relaxed atmosphere, your communication skills will naturally improve. For students at the intermediate level of English (CASEC 450 or higher / TOEIC-IP 400 or higher / TOEFL ITP 430 or higher) and above, we provide a place to actually use English to talk about your opinions and thoughts.
There are three levels, so choose the one that suits you best and give it a try!

level:
1=CASEC (450-599) / TOEIC-IP (400-489) / TOEFL ITP (430-466)
2=CASEC (600-759) / TOEIC-IP (490-649) / TOEFL ITP (467-522)
3=CASEC (760+) / TOEIC-IP (650+) / TOEFL ITP (523+)

After entering Soka University, I was surprised by the number of international students. At the beginning of my second year, I heard about WLC's Chit Chat Club and English Forum from a senior student, and as I had always dreamed of speaking English fluently, I continued to attend every day in my free time. Until then, I hated English, but I realized that I could really use it and that speaking English was fun. Now, although my English is still poor, I have improved to the point where I can speak it in everyday conversation. I was also able to make many international student friends, which increased my motivation. WLC is a wonderful service that broadens your horizons by actually speaking English.

The Writing Development Desk is a program where you can receive advice on academic writing in English.
We can work on grammar, sentence structure, formatting and planning. The one-on-one sessions allow for individual consultation and focused questions.
Our staff will provide individual instruction from 10:45 to 18:05 Monday through Friday. If you would like to take part, please make a reservation at the following address.

I started using the Writing Development Desk once a week from the spring semester of my second year to improve my writing skills. At first, even though I could write, the content was thin and I made many grammatical mistakes. However, by attending the Writing Development Desk every time, the content and grammatical mistakes decreased, and I reached a level where I could write with confidence. Also, by attending the same staff every time, I not only became friendly with the staff, but we were able to build a relationship where they were happy with my writing improvement. Finally, I wholeheartedly recommend making use of the Writing Development Desk, not only because it helps you improve your writing skills, but also because it is an environment where you can become friendly with the staff!

At the English Learning Consultation Corner, you can meet one-on-one with an advisor to discuss your language learning needs. Common topics include goal setting, planning, motivation, choosing resources, and how to study and prepare for tests such as TOEIC. You can also practice the speaking parts of TOEFL iBT and IELTS and receive feedback and tips on how to improve your overall proficiency for these speaking tests. All advisors speak English, and some can speak Japanese.

When I first enrolled, I had a strong desire to improve my English skills, but I didn't know how to study, so I used the English Study Consultation Corner. The advantage of the English Study Consultation Corner is that the staff will listen carefully to your concerns, give you advice based on your purpose, and help you set goals together. By setting goals for the semester and long vacations, I was able to maintain my motivation to work hard in class and study the language. If you feel that you are not good at English, don't know how to study, or have any other concerns about English, I recommend you join a session.

During the summer of my second year, I was not confident in my ability to construct logical sentences in English and in my listening skills, so I attended the Speaking Center four days a week in the fall semester. It was hard to balance my classes with my part-time job, but thanks to the enthusiastic guidance of the staff, who taught me 25 minutes per session, my TOEFL-IBT Speaking score went up!
I also had the opportunity to meet staff at the university, which gave me more opportunities to speak English on a daily basis and enabled me to expand my network.
From now on, I would like to actively express my opinions in class and demonstrate the English skills I have developed at the Speaking Center!

Global Village is a program where you can enjoy learning languages other than English. Let's improve your communication skills together through conversation practice with native speakers from all over the world. No basic skills are necessary!

Languages offered: Chinese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian, German *Changes every semester

Language sessions available vary depending on the day of the week.
Please check the session schedule for each language on the portal site or WLC official SNS.

Global Village is a program that allows you to open up infinite possibilities!
I wanted to be able to speak Korean, so I went there every week for five years.
As a result, I was able to improve my language skills from the level of being able to simply greet people before I left to a level where I could easily participate in class discussions and life at my host university, and it also helped me practice output after returning home.
During the sessions, you can learn about the language and even the culture and customs.
I am very grateful to the international student staff who made every effort to teach me in a way that made it fun and enjoyable to learn every time.
I will continue to use the language skills I have acquired at Global Village to make my dreams come true!

At Global Village, I was able to learn Chinese in a fun way every time through conversations, games, and events prepared by the staff. I was originally planning to go to China as an exchange student, but was unable to travel due to the effects of COVID-19. In that situation, Global Village was a valuable opportunity to practice speaking Chinese at Soka University. I feel that my language skills have improved little by little by being exposed to a lot of Chinese during the sessions and speaking it myself. I will treasure what I have learned at Global Village and continue to work hard at studying Chinese!

Nihongo Dojo is a program where you can improve your Japanese language skills through conversation practice. It is aimed at beginner to intermediate level students, so you can have fun while improving your Japanese language skills and learning about culture.
At the Japanese Language Dojo, one staff member will be in charge of four students and will conduct Japanese conversation for 40 minutes.
Opening hours are from 13:10 to 18:05 every day from Monday to Friday. We welcome anyone who wants to practice their Japanese, gain confidence, or improve their conversation skills.

*This program is limited to international students. Japanese students are not eligible.

Sessions offered vary depending on the day of the week.
Please check the session schedule on the portal site or WLC official SNS.

Hello, my name is Jun from Soka University Bekka 46th. Due to the effects of COVID-19, Bekka 46th could not go to Japan until the end of the Bekka. Furthermore, there were many situations where it was not decided when we would be able to enter the country. There were times when I was tired of only having online classes every day. At that time, a teacher from Bekka recommended that I join the Japanese Dojo. Since I had few opportunities to speak with Japanese people, I decided to join the Japanese Dojo. After taking classes from the professor while talking with Japanese seniors in the Japanese Dojo sessions, I was able to learn many things that I had not been able to learn before. For example, I was able to learn the way Japanese people usually talk with friends and the culture of young people in Japan. Above all, the seniors were very kind and I am always grateful to them.

To support self-directed language learning, we have an Open Lounge, a comfortable place where you can meet with friends for discussions, board games, movies, and more to raise awareness of foreign language learning!

The Open Lounge is a place where you can come and study languages freely.
Once you're here, you can:

• Enjoy board games in English
• Watching Movies/TV Shows in English
• Study a foreign language
• Communicate and interact with others in a foreign language
• Read books and newspapers

And much more!

The activities you can do here are not limited to those I have just mentioned - you can be creative and learn a language in your own way!
The Open Lounge is open every weekday from 10:45 to 18:05. No reservations are required.

For the latest information and updates, please check out our official SNS! (@wlcsoka)

The Reading Area is located in the SPACe Peer Learning Zone and is a facility for providing students with language-related books and audiovisual materials. The materials provided here allow for thorough self-study of languages. The materials in the Reading Area are for study within SPACe. They are not available for loan, but those who wish to borrow them can borrow them from the Central Library, where equivalent materials are available. Hone your real language skills through "self-study."

The reading area mainly contains the following materials:

1. Books, study materials, CDs, English newspapers
We have materials in English, Chinese, Italian, German, Korean, Russian, French, etc., as well as materials for English proficiency tests (TOEIC, TOEFL, EIKEN, etc.).

2. DVD
You can watch TV in the computer room (AW202), WLC lounge, chit chat club, and in several group study rooms in SPACe (not available for rental). You can also watch the American CNN broadcast in the video booth.

3. Graded Readers
We also have a wide selection of "Graded Readers," which are books that you can choose the level of difficulty from.

The CALL classrooms (Global Square AE255, AE260) are classrooms for foreign language lessons and self-study using computers. CALL classrooms are equipped with a computer and a set of headphones with a microphone, and language learning software is installed. You can use them to prepare for and review lessons, prepare for TOEFL or TOEIC, practice English conversation, practice pronunciation, and more.

*As of the spring semester of 2021, the computers in the CALL classrooms are not equipped with headphones with microphones to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If you need headphones for class, please bring your own earphones, microphone, or headset.

When using the installed software, a dedicated converter is attached between the computer and the device, and​ ​earphones with a four-pole headphone and microphone can be used.​ ​Please note that USB and Bluetooth types are not supported.