NEWS

On March 28, 2021, APU's TOBIRA Japanese language study app was updated with a new section, "Dialogues for Different Situations," developed under the supervision of faculty from the Center for Language Education. TOBIRA—APU's first official app—was launched in July 2020. This update includes example dialogues recorded in Japanese that provide practical examples, such as arriving at the airport or moving into university housing, which enables learners to practice conversations within the app as well as letting them listen to spoken vocabulary and expressions while studying.

Students who enter APU on an English basis study Japanese using an original textbook series developed by the university,Nihongo Itsutsu no Tobira ("Five Doors to Japanese", published by Bonjinsha) that focuses on Japanese language education in a multicultural environment. TOBIRA was developed as a companion app to TOBIRA Survival Edition (compiled by APU), the text distributed to students scheduled to enroll in the university, and the app has been recommended to students since September 2020 as a tool to start their studies prior to enrollment. International students who have used the app have praised it with comments such as "the accessibility makes it easy to study anytime," and "being able to listen to recordings makes study with the app more efficient than with a textbook alone."

The university plans to continue adding content to the app in the future.