The name “COMMUNICA INSTITUTE” comes from the Latin word “communicatio,” the origin of the word of “communication.” The meaning of “communicatio” is to “share,” but this does not mean material things. Rather it means to share cultures, i.e., different values, ways of thinking, and behavior patterns.
Our behavior and ways of thinking are greatly influenced by culture. Although there is nothing wrong about that, intercultural communication does not go well if we always see things from a limited perspective. Usually we are not conscious of our “cultures,” our own ways of thinking and values, like the air we breathe, but at Communica we aim at being aware of them and sharing them with each other. It is our mission to make a solid foundation on which you can transcend “cultures,” and create a new or third value while cherishing your own culture.
Here you are not going to learn Japanese just as a language. We are doing Japanese education as “intercultural education.”
We have the following two guidelines: “Know thyself” and “Learn through experience.”
“Know thyself”:
This is a dictum originally inscribed at the temple of Apollo in Greece. At Communica, it literally means to “know yourself.” We often earnestly learn other languages and traditional cultures but we do not turn our sight upon the culture inside ourselves. If you do not know yourself well, you can not understand other people or the outer world. Why don’t you explore together the mystery within?
“Learn through experience”:
This sentence comes form Buddhism. It simply means “Just do it!” Just reading and thinking are not enough. Try doing something employing the whole of your body and your five senses for a start, after which it will be more meaningful to then think it over. Taking an action leads to the next step.