Hello, I am looking to study in Japan for (ideally) a two-year program. I have done roughly 4 years of Japanese study beforehand, but the pacing and frequency of classes makes me think I’m probably around N4 at best. I am hoping to reach N2 at least, if not N1 by the end of the program.
Some additional background information is that I have studied in Japan for 6 months in 2019, and will be heading back to Japan for another 6-month program this Fall (these are exchange programs through my university rather than language schools, I am not exclusively studying Japanese). I will graduate following this last semester, and will then be looking at attending language school to achieve fluency/near-fluency.
Currently I am considering these language schools (as they can sponsor student visas):KICL in KyotoARC Academy in KyotoISI in KyotoFFLC in FukuokaKAI in Tokyo-and maybe GENKI in Nagoya, I was mainly interested in their Fukuoka program which is apparently full.
I have done a lot of research and looked around reddit & other forums for reviews, but would appreciate any last insight before I make this decision. My thoughts on each are as follows:
KICL seems like a fantastic school, but I’ve heard time and time again that it’s so intense I might not have time for anything else. I am heavily leaning towards KICL, but it would be great to get a part-time job and have time to like… meet friends and be social, use my Japanese. I don’t want to be stuck in my room for 2 years studying. Is it really this intense, or will I have the afternoons free to do things?
ARC Academy seems like a more relaxed university, but perhaps too relaxed, and I can’t find many reviews on this school at all. Aside from someone saying that they teach directly from the book. I’d love to hear from anyone that’s attended ARC in Kyoto.
ISI Kyoto seems to be a mixed bag? Some people say it’s great, other people say you’re just paying for the student visa, I’m not sure what I think about it. Does anyone recommend it? I’m personally considering it more or less the same as ARC Academy.
FFLC is one that I’m pretty interested in because of the location (Fukuoka seems like a great place) and due to its slightly more intense courses. There seems to be one (?) person that absolutely detests this school, but I’d be interested in hearing about any more recent experiences with it.
KAI in Tokyo seems great, but I’m not sure if I’d like Tokyo enough to be there for two and a half years (my upcoming 6 months will be in Tokyo). Also the whole ipad systems seems a little strange.
Nobody has anything to say about Genki in Nagoya, but from what I’ve learned Nagoya is a… pretty boring city, and I wouldn’t have easy access to any other cities. The Genki schools all seem great, but I don’t really like the idea of being in Nagoya. One option is that I could start 4 months at Nagoya and transfer for the remaining 13 months to Fukuoka, but that would be 6 months less than the other schools and I worry about my goal of reaching N1/N2.
I am very open to other school recommendations! I’d particularly love to study in Fukuoka, but all the other recommended schools are either closed (Genki isn’t accepting April applications) or don’t offer 2-year courses (WAHAHA & Meiji Academy). Maybe NILS in Fukuoka?
I’d really appreciate any advice or recommendations or experiences with the above schools. Thank you!