DENTON (UNT), Texas -- The Intensive English Language Institute (IELI) at the University of North Texas has been teaching academic English to non-native speakers for 37 years. Occasionally, short programs have been taken outside the U.S., but April 2014 will see the largest such program to date. In April 2014, IELI will begin a two-year program of teaching English at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan.

UNT's Intensive English Language Institute was selected by Kansai Gaidai based on careful analysis of the programs and services offered by IELI and due to the long relationship between the two universities. A bilateral exchange relationship (for all majors) began in 1992, and more than 200 Kansai Gaidai students have studied English and taken academic courses at UNT since 2002. "We are honored to have been selected by Kansai Gaidai to offer this unique academic English preparation program. Our collaboration with KGU has reached the maximum level of trust between two educational institutions with common goals," said Dr. Fernando Fleurquin, IELI Director.

IELI's curriculum was adapted to be integrated into Kansai Gaidai's undergraduate program. Five UNT IELI staff will travel to Japan and teach Intensive English to Japanese students planning to study abroad. The program will help students improve their English proficiency and academic skills to prepare them for study abroad. Kansai Gaidai sends approximately 1,600 students on study abroad each year, and the IELI program will better prepare these students for success. Kansai Gaidai students who graduate from this program will qualify to meet the English proficiency requirement to be admitted by UNT if they decide to continue their studies at UNT.

Reiko Hiromoto, director of International Programs at Kansai Gaidai University, said, "The KGU x UNT Program will be launched in April 2014 as a flagship language program at Kansai Gaidai. This is the very first educational program Kansai Gaidai has jointly developed with an American university, namely with the Intensive English Language Institute at the University of North Texas. "

The IELI staff members going to Japan include Josh Bollman, Sally Kloppe, Jeff Rasch, Melanie Sosinski, and Sabine Thepaut. Two of them have lived and taught in Japan previously, and the others have experience teaching elsewhere in the world.

About IELI

IELI opened at UNT in 1977 and is accredited by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA). It is one of the largest and best-known university-based intensive English Language programs in the U.S.

For more information, contact Mary Beth Butler, 940-369-5264 marybeth.butler@unt.edu