TrainingIntensive Language Courses (ILC)

ILC 2026

In FY 2026, courses in Brahui and Nahuatl will be held in Tokyo.

This training is part of ILCAA’s research training programs, intended to help participants learn local languages for their fieldwork or professional work in Asia and Africa.

For more information, please refer to the following “Application Guidelines (in Japanese)” After filling in the entry form, you can apply for each course by submitting the required documents (Application form, a copy of Certificate of Enrollment or Graduation Certificate for the latest educational background).

Guidelines for application

1. Course languages (Languages taught)	Brahui, Nahuatl (Both courses are to be held in ILCAA)
2. Dates	August 24–September 16, 2026 *The date and time may change due to various circumstances.
3. Number of participants	10 persons per Course
4. Application period	Thursday, May 14 – Thursday, June 18, 2026 *Entry must be completed by June 11, 2026, and all required documents must be uploaded by June 18, 2026.
5. Eligibility	For each course, all undergraduate students, graduates, and individuals with necessary academic ability and motivation aligned with the above purpose are eligible.
6. How to Apply	Please click the entry button below to fill in the required information in the entry form. Please submit the following required documents to the URL provided in the auto-reply mail by the due date. Please Apply Here Required Documents: Application form（Word） Certificate of Enrollment or Graduation Certificate for the latest educational background (Copy)
7. Screening	Participants will be selected through a paper screening conducted by ILCAA.
8. Screening Result	Screening results will be notified to each applicant via email in late July.
9. Enrollment	Those who are admitted to the courses are required to pay the tuition fee in a single payment by the specified due date. For the amount of the tuition fee for each course, please see the Application Guidelines (in Japanese).
10. Certificate of Completion	A certificate of completion will be awarded to the participant who attend at least two-thirds of the designed class hours for each course and achieve sufficient results.
11. Others	During the course, a cultural lecture will be given by a guest speaker other than the course instructors. The lecture may be open to the public.
12. Class Format	In principle, the courses are offered in person. However, they may change to online courses due to the change of social circumstances. No supplementary classes will be provided in the event of class cancellations due to natural disasters.
13. Language of Instruction	ILC（Brahui） will be conducted mainly in English, with some Japanese included. A native lecturer teaches in Brahui and English, and a Japanese  lecturer in Japanese. ILC（Nahuatl） will be conducted mainly in Japanese. Comments and questions in Spanish are welcome.
14. Contact	Joint Research Center Section, Research Promotion Division Room 206, 2F, the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa 3-11-1 Asahi-chop, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo, 183-8534, Japan TEL 042-330-5603, FAX 042-330-5610 Email: ilcaa-ilc[at]tufs.ac.jp (replace[at] with @)

*Students of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, as well as those from partner universities participating in our credit exchange program, are required to attend the class registration guidance session in advance. Please check the details on the official website of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
**In particular, students from partner universities participating in our credit exchange program must both not only for the credit exchange program at their home university but also attend the guidance session.
***[For students with above-mentioned qualification] Please make sure of the application deadline for the credit exchange program. For detailed information about the application procedures, please contact the educational affairs division of your home university.

Brahui

Nahuatl

About Intensive Language Courses

ILCAA offers intensive language courses every summer, inviting specialists and native speakers as instructors. As a short-term intensive program, the courses are intended for beginners pursuing research and studies on Asia and Africa since 1967.

This program mainly focuses on languages spoken in Asia and Africa, including minority languages as well as national and official languages.

We annually offer two language courses in Tokyo, and an additional course is held in Osaka in cooperation with the Division of Language and Culture, Graduate School of Humanities, the University of Osaka.

• List of all ILC and Online ILC Text

Participation in the courses enables participants not only to acquire language proficiency and knowledge that are indispensable for fieldwork and documentary research but also to learn research methods. Participants are recruited from all over Japan. We have offered courses in 153 languages, and a total of 1375 participants have completed the Program. Many of the participants have gone on to pursue careers as specialists in Asia and Africa at universities and other research institutions.

The program is organized by a project team consisting of ILCAA staff, instructors, and the members of the Committee for Language Training, including external experts with extensive knowledge of language education. They discuss how the courses should be conducted and evaluated with the aim of providing more effective training. One of the significant characteristics of the intensive language courses is that all instructors develop their own original teaching materials for all courses.

Participants are publicly recruited from all over Japan through research institutions such as universities. Those who completed the training receive a certificate of completion after the review. In addition, since AY2006, the intensive language courses have been included in the official curricula of both the undergraduate and graduate programs at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

Some of the teaching materials used in past courses are available online. You can browse the list here. Printed versions of the materials are not distributed.

Intensive Language Courses Online

ILCAA provides online contents based on the materials used in Intensive Language Courses.