Okinawa International University boasts a diverse language education curriculum that offers nine foreign languages, including Jananese as a foreign language. Language classes are tought by both Japanese and native speaking faculty.

Foreign Language Center

　Coordinating the talents of all OKIU foreign language faculty, the OKIU Foreign Language Center (FLS) offers a variety of faculty development programs. Language proficiency testing, and preparatory classes for certification tests are provided for students. Thefacilities of the FLC include the FLC office, four state-of-the-art CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) labs, an Instructional Materials Development Laboratory, and a Self-Access Language Media Library and viewing room, In addition, the FLC also hosts a variety of events designed to promote foreign language acquisition, such as a summer intensive English program, a number of foreign language speech contests (for OKIU students), and an English webpage contest for high school students. The FLC currently offers support for six foreign languages (English, Chinese, Korean, French, German, Spanish) in addition to Japanese for International students.

CALL Classrooms: Playing a Significant Role in Foreign Language Acquisition

　Okinawa International University has established a CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) system to facilitate foreign language study. Comprised of 4 classrooms equipped with 212 personal computers (including several computers for the visually impaired) OKIU's CALL system was established to support the study of English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese as a foreign language. In addition to the language laboratory functions at the teacher's disposal, students can access self-study software to work on grammar, speed-reading, or STEP test preparation.

　The CALL classroom offer a rich media experience for students, both in their classes, and for self-study. Some faculty members also develop original language study materials in the Instractional Materials Development Laboratory, and make them available to students on the CALL network.

　By facilitating individualized instruction and extending language study beyond the classroom, the CALL system is a vital component in OKIU's comprehenshive approach to foreign language study. Using the CALL system, students can study at their own pace and level. Many audio materials in the labs are also copyable, allowing students to download audio for mobile study.

Japanese Language Education for International Students

　The Japanese language program for international students at Okinawa International University is designed to both improve the Japanese ability of international students and support their academic studies at the university. In order to achieve these goals, the programoffers a variety of courses and provides support for different types of international students at OKIU. Japanese courses tailored to individual studentneeds are offered at basic, intermadiate and advanced levels. A Japanese language tutoring program taught by Japanese students enrolled in the OKIU Japanese as a Second Language Teacher Certification program provides individualized instruction for international students. Comprehensive Japanese classes are follwed up with classes focusing on listening comprehension, conversation, composition grammar,and Japanese culture and society.

　The Japanese language program at OKIU supports three types of international students: 1) students on three-week and one-year exchange programs from OKIU sister universities, 2) regular, full-time international students, and 3) special auditing students.

Language Library for Independent Language Study

　The Language Media Library is a language laboratory (LL) designed to facilitate independent language learning. The room is equipped with 22 booths, including 16 booths with LL tape recorders and videotape recorders, 9 booths with video captioning for VHS, 2 booths with non-NTSC videotape recorders, and 2 booths with laser disc players. In addition, there are 6 computers with a variety of language learning software applications.

. At the audiovisual booths, students can review and prepare for classes, and at the speech-training booths, they can work on their pronunciation with computer assistance. The PCs in the Media Library are loaded with a number of specialized language learning programs which are not available in the CALL classrooms.Video-captioning decoders allow students to turn movie captioningon or off. The mini theater has a wide screen monitor and four seats equipped with headphones where students can watch video in small groups. A collection of several thousand VHS tapes, DVDs, audio cassettes, CDs, computer programs, and other audiovisual materials are available for use in the Language Media Library.