Hi,

I have a short question about language schools in Japan in general as I intend to attend one once I've saved enough money. I already live and work in Japan.
I don't want to join a holiday course, but rather attend school for a year or so.
I was wondering if you get any kind of certificates or stuff like that once you've "graduated", like ... for example studied there for a certain time (1 year, 2 years).
If so are there any "famous" schools? I mean if I had a certificate of XY school that would be better than ZZ school etc. pp.
I was just wondering about that because Japanese people seem to be so focused on FAMOUS schools, ALWAYS asking WHERE you have studied rather than what or questions about your grades, so I figured there must be some "famous language schools" around?
Anybody knows more about this?

Apart from that what should I consider when looking for language schools I want to attend for a LONG time? Anybody experience with that?
I know some good language school dabatases, e.g. this one.
I still have time since I won't have enough money before April 2010 or so anyway, but I already wanna start looking for schoosl right now and I'm always happy for tips of any kind.
Any scholarships available for this?

The main reason why I want to attend such a school is that I hope they can help me going from (hopefully) level 2 (by then) to level 1 of the JLPT.

I used the search function and found 2 similar threads (here and here), but they don't really answer my questions, that's why I thought starting a new topic might be better, sorry if it's not!


That's all.
Thanks a lot for your comments in advance

I only studied in Japan for 6 months, but here`s my experience anyway:

I went to the Yamasa Institute in Okazaki, and at the end of my time there, got a certificate saying I`lld studied for XXhours. It doesent seem much to me, but if you`re going for JLPT, then it might not matter. I think most language schools give more or less the same thing.

Not really sure what schools are really `famous` though I would defiantly recommend Yamasa. Looking at the link you posted, there seems to be so many, no wonder you can`t choose!

I think, if you can, try to find some people who have been to whatever school your interested in, and see how fast they progressed, some schools are more intensive than others and you don`t want to stay there for too long/short a time.

Anyway, good luck!

i don't think that there are any really famous ones. i think they're more impressed by what level of the JLPT you pass.

there are a ton of schools out there, so start to narrow down the list by price and location. also... most of the schools want you there for 1.5 or 2 years, so if you're taking a 6-12 month course, they usually don't need to you sign up well in advance. so it's possible to move to a city, check out a few schools, and then attend the one that fits you best.

I studied in Tokyo at ISI Language School for a year. The diploma I got after a year is more or less useless, no company will care. However, the school taught japanese for JLPT, we did JLPT tests in school, we had special books made for JLPT... and in just one year, I got good enough to pass JLPT2 and THAT makes a HUGE difference.

So my advice is, pick a school which aims for its students to pass JLPT.

EDIT: If you have passed JLPT2, you really don't need a language school to pass JLPT1. The difference between JLPT2 and 1 is very small... it's just more kanji and more compounds, grammar and reading comprehension is almost identical.

Actually, when Japanese people ask WHERE you have studied, they ask 'which university', not which language school. Therefore, in your case, it will be harder to find out which language school is more famous than the other for there is less attention for those language schools in this respect. After all, Japanese people themselves don't go there.

I second the Yamasa recommendation though.

If you are planning ahead that far, you may want to apply for a MEXT scholarship. The Japanese government places a number of foreign students in language schools and university programs each year and covers all the costs. You can find a lot about it on Google. You would have to apply a year ahead of time and still be under 35 at the time you start.

Thanks so much for all your comments so far!

Of course my main goal is to pass 1kyu some day, I just thought that a certificate of a "good language school" in ADDITION to that might look good, that's why I was asking

@Tobberoth: Are you serious? I think the difference between 2kyu and 1kyu is still HUGE and that it's NOT easy to pass 1kyu at all. Even if you meet all the requirements you might still fail.
Either way working full-time just won't give me enough time to study and working part-time in Japan won't give me a work visa, so .... I think saving money and then go to a language school to fully concentrate on my studies might be the best and fastest way to reach fluency SOON.

@KristinHolly: Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that then

I went to yamasa for 9 months and passed jlpt2 (though just barely) that same year. i wholeheartedly recommend the school (though try to spend as much time as possble with non-english speakers, difficult as the school is full of them)

as for the 1kyuu thing, i think what he was trying to say is that if you're good enough to pass jlpt2, you're good enough to study on your own to get up to level 1.

wasurenaide, thanks so much for sharing your experience
I'm currently reading through their whole website as so many people recommend this school. Seems really like a good deal.

So in 9 months your reached ~2kyu level? May I asked what level you had before you went to the school, so I can get an idea of what is possible in that time?

just remember... the school is good, but you should also look into the location.

i was there for 2 weeks and found myself getting sick of the spot. the closest city is nagoya, and nagoya isn't exactly a great city.

they have a branch school in sapporo. that city is supposed to be fantastic.

I spent 2 weeks at Yamasa as well (last fall), but I didn't think Okazaki was *that* bad, and I had fun in Nagoya when I could go.

The only thing I didn't like about Yamasa were the "beds" in the student village. Those things should be put on a UN human rights watch list or something. -_-

The "bed" is basically a platform with a board on it, then you rent a futon and throw it on top and try to sleep on it. My back was screaming after a few days of that. I don't know how they do beds in the apartments... but then again, if you want maximum immersion, you should probably do a homestay anyway if you can afford it.

I had good teachers, and lots of opportunities to use my Japanese. I rented some wretched little mamachari for a couple of weeks for 2000 yen and wandered around town a lot. Considering that I hadn't spoken any Japanese in 2-3 years before I came there, I felt that I successfully managed to master things like buying underwear.

I really want to go back sometime and study seriously, but I have a lot of career stuff to take care of first.

To sort of tie in with another thread, I think going someplace like that can't help but improve your spoken Japanese as well.

But yeah, check out the location first. On the upside, you aren't too far away from Kyoto/Osaka/Nara. It's ~45 minutes by Shinkansen from Nagoya to Kyoto, and ~30 minutes from Okazaki to Nagoya. And it's about 2 hours to Tokyo from Okazaki... maybe a little more. Depends on how you go there.

TGWeaver Wrote:just remember... the school is good, but you should also look into the location.

i was there for 2 weeks and found myself getting sick of the spot. the closest city is nagoya, and nagoya isn't exactly a great city.

they have a branch school in sapporo. that city is supposed to be fantastic.

Personally I must say I wouldn't recommend Sapporo. Not that it isn't a good city, but personally I prefer Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, at least if you're decently young, like 20-30 years old.

Then again, if you really want a school of the same branch, there's not much to be done about it, but I wouldn't recommend living in Hokkaido for you studies. It's a great place to visit though!

rich_f Wrote:The only thing I didn't like about Yamasa were the "beds" in the student village. Those things should be put on a UN human rights watch list or something. -_-

Aww, I thought the beds were comfy!
But yes, if you do end up going, I wouldn`t recommend staying in the student village. The rooms are tiny (especially if your not sharing) and the kitchen always gets so busy that you have to wait till` the late hours before you can cook...I spent the last few months living on stuff from the konbini next door!

Also, you can do a home stay for a month or so (maybe longer) while your there which Yamasa can arrange for you.

I'm surprised to see so many people have attended Yamasa!

I studied there for three months, and I can say with confidence that they are definitely the most organized language school out there.

As for certificates, it won't really matter if you want to do some jobhunting in Japan. Honestly, the JLPT certificate isn't as important as you'd think. I know a guy who just passed 1kyuu, but his speaking ability is horrible. After a futile couple months jobhunting in Tokyo (for a job besides teaching English), he gave up and went back home.

Maybe it's a bit off topic, but if your goal is to improve your Japanese so you can land a job here, just keep in mind that language/cultural competence (which companies want) and JLPT certification don't have a lot in common.

Having JLPT1/2級 does help a lot with job hunting in Japan - but it will only get you the interview. If your speaking ability is awful (JLPT doesn't test this, or writing ability) it's not going to get you hired. Certifications and degrees just help you get your foot in the door. You need actual ability (and preferably some skills other than "knows Japanese") to get hired & succeed.

Hm, well my goal isn't really to get a job here in Japan. I don't know yet, though.
I was thinking about maybe becoming a translator - if that's possible at all (German - Japanese - in my case).
Well having the 1kyu certificate is for sure better than not having it, right?
Of course speaking skills are important, too, but I think if you spend quite a long time at an intensive language school (and Yamasa seems to be one), then that shouldn't be a problem.

The only real issue is probably money.
It's taking another 1,5 years until I'll have enough money for the school.
As Yamasa is a really intense school, I'm not sure if I'd have time for a part-time job, but I'm pretty sure that I'd have to work part-time.
Furthermore you only can work 3h/day with a student visa, right?

Maybe I should look for scholarship options - as I still have plenty of time anyway.

Quote:Well having the 1kyu certificate is for sure better than not having it, right?

Definitely! Just keep in mind it's not the golden ticket to money, power, and world domination. It's just a piece of paper =)

Quote:Of course speaking skills are important, too, but I think if you spend quite a long time at an intensive language school (and Yamasa seems to be one), then that shouldn't be a problem.

You would be surprised. I met guys there that went to class as much as I did, but any time outside of class was spent with other foreigners; so they were speaking Japanese for maybe 4 hours a day, and then English for the remainder. A good lot of them had been in Japan for over a year, but could barely sputter out a coherent sentence.

You're in Japan now, right? You have TONS of opportunites to speak Japanese! Find a local volunteer center, go to a library and chat up the librarian, look online for conversation parnters in your area, hit up Starbucks and chat up the cute girl sitting by herself sipping her macca frapachino. Speaking possiblities here are limiteless, and better yet, FREE.

I'm pretty much in your postition - I work 40 hours a week in Japan, but I've made learning Japanese real my full time job. I have a tutor I see twice a week for two hours, and she's helping me through a couple textbooks. Every Wednesday there is a group of Japanese volunteers that get together and teach Japanese and do other cultural activites with foreigners. I've made good Japanese friends (who I speak to in Japanese) through that club. Even at work I study when I can get away with it, and talk to the students in Japanese as long as I'm not teaching.

In those 1.5 years, you have the possiblity to gain more fluency than you ever would at a language school. Take advantage of what you have available now, and don't equate money to fluency.

samesong Wrote:You would be surprised. I met guys there that went to class as much as I did, but any time outside of class was spent with other foreigners; so they were speaking Japanese for maybe 4 hours a day, and then English for the remainder. A good lot of them had been in Japan for over a year, but could barely sputter out a coherent sentence.

This is so true. I had a friend who studied in Japan longer than me, he was in a class above me AND had PERFECT attendance in school. He studied at home constantly for tests. Difference between us were that I had a korean girlfriend who speaks fluent japanese, he hanged around with foreigners. What happened: After being there for 1 year I speak basic japanese fluently and I passed JLPT2. He can barely speak any japanese at all and he failed the same JLPT2 test.

While having faith in your language school is important, one has to realize what enormous benefits one has from being in Japan. You don't HAVE to get a girlfriend or Japanese friends, but force yourself to talk japanese a lot.

I'm so envious of you guys. And I'm so angry with your friends.
They have not enjoyed their stay in japan! 許さない！