Two Sessions a Week, Connected to the Rest of the School Day
The programme runs twice a week, with one dedicated language session and one lunchtime session.
Each session connects directly to the PYP Unit of Inquiry your child is working through in their English-medium classes. Students explore the same concepts in Japanese through discussion, pair work, group activities, and writing. Because the lessons draw on the same inquiry as the rest of the school day, students strengthen understanding in Japanese while deepening the same conceptual learning they are building in English.
XWA's approach integrates PYP Unit of Inquiry content directly into Japanese lessons, an approach rarely found in Japanese mother-tongue programmes at other schools.
Seesaw, a leading learning experience platform, is used for learning activities, reflection, and documentation throughout the programme.
Kanji Learning Matched to Each Student’s Proficiency
Kanji instruction is individualised according to each student's proficiency rather than their year group. Students work at an appropriate level, with teaching matched to their current Japanese literacy. This individualised approach is a distinctive strength of the programme and a feature rarely seen in other schools' mother-tongue programmes.
For students seeking an external benchmark, XWA offers the Kanji Proficiency Test (Kanken) on campus. Each year, more students choose to take on this challenge.
Keeping Japanese Part of How Your Child Thinks and Expresses Themselves
For students who spend most of the school day learning in English, dedicated time to read, write, discuss, and reflect in Japanese helps keep their home language active, expressive, and connected to their wider learning. The programme gives children space to use Japanese across meaningful topics, supporting continued language development as well as emotional stability and overall wellbeing.
By the end of Grade 5, students have spent years building literacy and deepening their understanding in Japanese alongside their English-medium learning. Their kanji development reflects individual progress over time rather than a fixed grade-level target, which is one of the programme's defining strengths.
What Your Child Gains Over Time
Research shows that students in bilingual programmes often make strong gains in both language development and overall learning. In this programme, students not only learn two languages, but also learn through both languages—using them to think, communicate, and solve problems across subjects. This strong bilingual foundation prepares students well for the IB Middle Years Programme.
By this stage, your child will have spent years reading, writing, discussing, and interpreting increasingly complex ideas across subjects in two languages, developing both academic proficiency and confidence.
Want To Learn More About Home Languages?
Speak to the admissions team about how the Japanese Home Language Programme supports your child's Japanese development alongside their wider learning at XWA.
FAQs
Get answers to the most common questions from prospective parents about our school.
The programme runs from KG2 to Grade 5.
No. Kanji learning is individualised according to each student's current proficiency, so children can join with different levels of Japanese literacy and continue progressing from where they are.
Lessons are built around the same PYP Unit of Inquiry your child is covering in their English-medium classes. Students explore the same concepts and content in Japanese, which helps them strengthen understanding across both languages rather than experience Japanese as something separate from the rest of school.
Twice a week: one dedicated language session and one lunchtime session.
The Kanji Proficiency Test, known as Kanken, is an external Japanese language qualification. XWA offers it at school for students who want to take it, but it is not a requirement of the programme.
Dedicated time in the home language helps students continue developing literacy, express themselves more fully, and stay connected to an important part of their identity while learning in an English-medium environment. The programme also contributes to emotional stability and overall wellbeing, alongside continued language development.
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