LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

English

COURSE LOAD

1 course, 3 credits

COURSE OFFERINGS

You will select one of the following:

• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 4444 English Language Teaching: Curriculum and Assessment (3 credits; undergraduate students)
• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 5616 Designing Assessment and Curriculum for Multilingual Students (3 credits; graduate students)

These courses count toward requirements for the following programs and certificates in Temple's College of Education and Human Development:

• Undergraduate Certificate in English Language Teaching (ELT)
• Graduate Certificate in English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Master of Science in Education (MSEd) in Teaching to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

This course will guide you in understanding and applying research-based principles for the design of curricula and formative assessments to maximize learning for multilingual learners in a variety of instructional settings. Course readings and assignments, along with interactions between your classmates instructor will guide you through thinking about how to best teach your multilingual learners by adapting a curriculum that has been handed to you (i.e. a mandated curriculum), by building upon existing curricula in your instructional setting, or by creating a curriculum from scratch. In this course, curriculum is conceived of as an instructional process which includes planning, instructing, assessing, and reflecting. A foundational principle of this course is authentic, classroom-based assessments can and should be integrated into instruction. As such, you will learn how to sequence interrelated lessons in response to students’ performance on a variety of formative assessments. You will also learn approaches to environment and needs analysis and will experience how these analyses can inform teaching and curriculum design.

The TUJ Kyoto campus is housed in a multi-building complex on the campus of Seibo Jogakuin (Seibo) school. Seibo’s campus in Kyoto is less than 1 kilometer from the famous Fushimi Inari shrine and is close to public transportation for easy access to nearby towns and the train to Tokyo.

View the TUJ Kyoto photo galleries.

Explore Kyoto!

Located just 2.5 hours from Tokyo by bullet train, Kyoto offers a unique opportunity to study in the cultural and ancient capital of Japan, while still offering the best of city life. Kyoto is a base for many high-technology industries, commerce, and tourism. Japan’s eighth largest city, Kyoto has been named the “Best Big City in the World” in recent years. It is a livable, affordable city known for its beautiful landscapes, stunning architecture, delicious food, and friendly people.   

View the map of Kyoto.

Course Duration: Early July - mid August (with required 3-week travel to Kyoto)

Tentative Main Campus Meeting Dates

• Tuesday, July 6, 5:30 - 8:00 PM
• Tuesday, July 13, 5:30 - 8:00 PM
• Tuesday, July 20, 5:30 - 8:00 PM

Tentative International Travel Dates

Do not use the above dates to book your flight, as they are tentative and subject to change. Accepted students will receive confirmed program dates and flight booking guidelines from Education Abroad before making travel plans.  

Program participants are required to be present for the entire length of the program, from the official arrival date through the program end date.

All students will stay in program-arranged housing in Kyoto. 

Temple Japan: Kyoto works with four housing facilities that offer single-occupancy apartment-style rooms. All program-arranged housing has private bathrooms, a small kitchen, and Wi-Fi. 

Program-arranged housing is between a 5-40 minute commute to the TUJ Kyoto campus, depending on the facility. They are also accessible to other parts of Kyoto city and the Kansai region by well-connected public transit. Read more about the current dorm housing options (subject to change). 

We will do our best to accommodate requests, but room requests are subject to availability, and if you accept a spot in program-arranged housing, you need to be willing to accept any type of room in any program-arranged housing facility.

Policies

For more detailed policies, please refer to your Temple study abroad portal. 

• Once confirmed in housing, there are likely to be financial consequences to withdrawing from housing, depending on the timeline. See our refund policies for more information. 
• If you are requesting any accommodations for a disability that may affect your housing placement, please contact the program management team (program.manager@temple.edu) to discuss, as there are cultural differences related to accessibility abroad. Be sure to submit your accommodations letter from Temple or your home institution in the Temple study abroad portal early. 
• Students confirmed in program-arranged housing get their address shortly before the program start date. 
• We cannot accommodate requests to change into a different room type or dorm after housing has been assigned. 

Students will participate in cultural activities and excursions throughout the program. The excursions form a crucial part of the program. Details are subject to change, but some of the excursions are likely to include:

During your first week, you will visit Osaka twice for immersive excursions hosted by Osaka-Seikei University students and faculty.

• Join guided museum visits and scenic walking tours.

• Engage in local cultural exchange activities.

• Explore Osaka alongside Osaka-Seikei students and faculty.

You can also join engagement activities through the Office of Student Services and Engagement (OSSE) in Kyoto. In previous semesters, students have participated in ikebana and silk dyeing workshops, visited nearby onsen, and traveled on a multi-day trip to Nagasaki!

Faculty

A Temple faculty member serves as the program director overseeing the academic program and will serve as your point of contact for academic matters.

View program faculty.

On-site Support Staff

When you study at Temple Japan, you'll have the support of the caring staff of the campus, including a dedicated Office of Student Services and Engagement team (OSSE), Counseling Services, Learning Center, Accessibility Services, Career Development, and more.

PROGRAM DEPOSIT

Students will pay a non-refundable program deposit of $400 within 2 weeks of acceptance to the program. This non-refundable deposit is credited to your program fees as a prepayment. 

TUITION AND FEES

Temple and Non-Temple students are charged the Part-time Rate for Non-Matriculated Students per credit hour of enrollment based on their state of permanent residency.

All students pay:

• University Services Fee
• English Language Teaching Program Fee 

For complete details about billable costs and estimates for non-billable expenses, such as airfare, meals, and personal expenses, view the program cost sheet.

View detailed program costs.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND FINANCIAL AID

Education Abroad offers competitive, need-based scholarships for this program. Learn more about scholarships and financial aid.

Staying healthy and safe abroad requires good planning and strong support. Review our health and safety page for important steps to prepare to study abroad, and details about international travel medical insurance and assistance provided by Temple.  

Japan is a relatively safe destination with little crime. Quality medical care is available, but it's important to understand cultural differences, especially related to mental health matters in Japan. TUJ has a Counseling Office, which often operates with a waitlist, and teletherapy is available through our global assistance provider, but additional English-speaking mental health care may be limited. We will provide accepted students with more information and resources, and TUJ's counseling office provides information about bringing medications into Japan. We encourage you to speak with Education Abroad or our global assistance provider if you have any questions.

• Program Director: Jill May Swavely, Professor of Instruction, Teaching and Learning, jswavely@temple.edu 
• Education Abroad: 215-204-0720; [click-for-email]

• You are enrolled as a full-time matriculated student at the time of application as well as during the semester prior to studying abroad.
• You will have completed at least two (2) semesters of college-level study by the program start.

You meet minimum cumulative GPA requirement from all colleges/universities attended. As of May 2025, the GPA requirement for most programs is 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Exceptions include:

• Rome Internships: 3.0
• Exchange Programs: 2.75
• External Programs: various, provider requirements may differ from Temple's

You remain in good academic standing from the time of application until the start of your term abroad; students on academic warning are not eligible to participate.

You will need a passport, valid well beyond the length of your program, by the application deadline.

View deadlines and validity requirements for your host country.

You must be in good disciplinary standing at the time of application and remain so through the start of your term abroad. Students who have been found responsible for a code of conduct violation and will not be in good disciplinary standing (including disciplinary probation) may submit a petition for review.

You are at least 18 years old at the time of application.