Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to report what high school students learned through a series of classes called Intercultural Understanding (IU). IU classes were taught for the students of an one-year-study abroad program at a private high school in Japan in order to foster their intercultural competence. The writer made a syllabus and instructed the classes. IU classes consisted of lectures and experiential learning. Methods for instructing the classes and the students' reactions are reported. What the students learned is discussed also based on their journals. The most important finding was that they could take themselves as they were because they came to respect diversity, which led them to develop self-esteem and positive self-image.
