Eikaiwa kyōshitsu (英会話教室) or Eikaiwa gakkō (英会話学校)[1] are English conversation schools, usually privately operated, in Japan. It is a combination of the word eikaiwa (英会話, English language conversation) and gakkō (学校, school) or kyōshitsu (教室, classroom).
Although the Japanese public education system mandates that English be taught as part of the curriculum from the fifth grade, the focus is generally on English grammar.[2] Some students attend eikaiwa schools to supplement their school studies, to study a second language, to improve their business skills, as a hobby, to help socialize, or to prepare for travel or marriage.[3] Many parents send their children to these schools in the hope of improving their child's prospects for higher education, or to provide exposure to the ways and manners of people from other cultures. Contracted foreign teachers are often the principal selling point of an eikaiwa business.