School Information

Welcome to the International Kids Academy (IKA) homepage. We are an international school in Nagoya.

With internationalization happening in Japan and English becoming compulsory as early as elmentary school, many parents may want their children to learn English from a young age.

Although we understand the importance of early English education, many people wonder when, where, and how to begin learning English.

At IKA, we have established an international preschool (day school), and an after school for children attending Japanese kindergartens, nursery schools, and elementary schools with the aim of helping children become bilingual. We promote an environment where anyone can enjoy learning English.

We want to show children that English is not studying; it is a means of communication. We want children to think of English as fun before they feel that English is something to study. We hope that as many children as possible will be interested in playing an active role in the world by using English in the future.

IKA has been teaching children for 20 years and has seen more than 300 graduates pass through their halls.

IKA opened in Gokiso, Showa-ku, Nagoya as an interntional preschool for japanese children in 2003.

Education Method

The instructors are an experienced native English speakers. We carefully select instructors from English speaking countries who are suitable for childhood education.

1. Curriculum - Preschool and kindergarten students do their routines in English, so general vocabulary and sentences become natural for the children through speech. Our curriculum includes many subjects such as language arts, math, social skills, physical develpment, and science. We want to focus the children on both working in groups as well as thinking independently while building upon content that they have learned in previous experiences. Students will naturally learn to think and communicate in English by using it each day with teachers and other students. Our curriculum is designed so that children can learn naturally through interacting with teachers and friends, and is based on content that children are interested in, according to the age of each class.

2. Phonics - Phonics is taught with a method based on phonemes that helps children to remember letters and sounds when they are pronounced. For example, by pronouncing the sound of "B" as /buh/ instead of /bee/, the letter "B" is remembered as /buh/. At IKA, we use sound-related actions to make it fun and relatable. This will allow you to read a word you see for the first time using phonics you have practiced.

3. Pair Teaching - It is a system where native English speakers and Japanese staff provide education together in the classroom. Of course, the Japanese staff must also be completely bilingual. The Japanese staff acts as an important conduit for ensuring communication between the parents and IKA.

4. Natural English - In early childhood, children learn natural English through interacting with others, so they are able to learn natural English from their daily lives at our school. It's not the same English that is taught at a conversation school, such as "It's an apple." We focus on sentences that convey feelings or intentions such as "Look at me", or "Please help me". Expressing their thoughts will instill the desire to learn more English.

5. Total Physical Response(TPR) - By matching phrases in English with hand gestures and actions children begin to understand the meaning of words. For example, if it were the first time to hear the phrase "Stand up!", no one could stand up immediately. However, the child will soon learn to stand up when the teacher says it with the combination of gestures. By repeating this several times, children will be able to stand up naturally when they hear the words "Stand up!" even without the teacher's gestures. In short, it's a teaching method similar to how a baby learns words. The aim of this theory is to make children react rather than remember. Moreover, praising is another way to make the experience memorable.

6. Manners - Through English, children will learn the minimum etiquette required in the Western world, such as "please," "Thank you," and "would," so polite expressions will naturally come to mind. Of course, you will also learn the same time, experience different cultures and customs to cultivate an international sense.

*Please inquire about lesson days and time.