Abstract
Tsukuba International School (TIS) offers an international education in English to children from age 3 to 16. It is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School authorized to offer the Primary Years Program (PYP) and is a candidate school for the Middle Years Program (MYP). As approximately 40% of the students are Japanese, 30% are foreign, and 30% are bicultural Japanese, there is a great variety in the students' Japanese ability, opportunities for use, and need for fluency. The current paper discusses the first year of a new Japanese program at the school and offers points for future consideration.
