Classes and tuition

English group class

Children around ages 3–6 work through TLC’s stages 1–4: phonemic awareness, phonics and sight words. The goal is to read easy English books (readers) smoothly, with clear pronunciation.

Mother Goose rhymes, nursery songs and seasonal songs build the natural rhythm of English and introduce the culture of the English-speaking world.

Children age 6 and up, or children who already read on their own, move to stage 5: fluency and comprehension. We assess each child’s reading level and match them with books for wide reading.

What children gain

• Accurate decoding through phonics and sight words
• Clear pronunciation and the rhythm of English
• Reading fluency through wide reading
• A path to Eiken Pre-1 / CEFR B2 and above

Ideal for

• Beginners starting English from zero
• Children who want strong reading and writing skills
• Eiken or private school admissions preparation
• Children aiming for the top of their class at school

Japanese group class

For families living outside Japan who are concerned about their child’s Japanese.

Children growing up abroad have limited time with Japanese. Many speak it at home but can’t read hiragana or kanji, and rarely pick up a Japanese book. It is natural for their Japanese to develop more slowly.

Like our English classes, our Japanese class is built on Science of Reading principles, with reading at the center: children first build phonemic awareness in Japanese with TLC’s original Japanese alphabet songs. Hiragana starts with あいうえお; children then join the kana they know into two-character words such as あお, いえ and あい, then three-character words. It is the same idea as phonics in English. In this order, children become able to read Japanese books with ease.

Finger-play songs and seasonal songs bring Japanese culture to life, and riddles, quizzes and word games build thinking in Japanese. Once children can read, they keep absorbing Japanese from books on their own.

Listen to our Japanese alphabet songs on YouTube

By stage

• About ages 3–6 Japanese alphabet songs for sound awareness; hiragana from あいうえお; reading two- and three-character words and short sentences with known kana
• Age 6+ Wide reading of Japanese books at the right level; kanji reading and writing

What children gain

• Hiragana, katakana and kanji
• Fluent reading in Japanese
• Thinking skills through word play
• Japanese culture and identity through seasonal traditions

Ideal for families who

• Live abroad and worry about their child’s Japanese
• Have a child who speaks Japanese but can’t yet read or write it
• Are starting Japanese from almost zero
• Want their child ready for school in Japan after moving back
• Are preparing for returnee or competitive school exams in Japan