Hi! I wanted to give some info on language school in Tokyo for those who might be interested. I’m currently attending Yoshida Japanese language institution in the Waseda area.
Classes started last week and they had us take a placement test which included conversation and a written and multiple choice test. Based on the conversation they choose whether to give you a beginner test, upper beginner, or intermediate. I took the intermediate test. They have only 8 Class levels A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H with H being the highest. I got placed in G class based on my score of 76/100, (80 plus is needed for H class). Currently in H class there are only 6 students in the whole school. In G class there are around 15. For reference there are multiple A And B classes and they comprise of most of the student body.
G class uses the Minna no nihongo ä¸ç´š 2 textbook, which in my opinion is far too easy and only a hindrance. Furigana is everywhere and poses no real challenge. G class starts it from around section 19. It’s around n3-n2 level but it’s not JLPT focused. It includes a lot of handwriting. H class doesn’t use a textbook and just uses articles, novels, and essays.
On certain days of the week they have JLPT prep class, and you can choose which one you want to study for. The majority of my class is doing N2 but a few have chosen N1.
Next week those classes start, but from what they’ve said they use JLPT specific material and on those days don’t have writing.
The skill level of the students in my class varies significantly, some people are quite good at reading and output and some struggle to read even the most basic of paragraphs without furigana. Everyone in the class except me and one other student progressed there from previous F class. The diversity is good, in my class there are around 4 students from America, a few from the UK, France, Germany, India, and Mongolia.
The bar for passing classes in this school is only 360/600 points. It’s really hard to get left behind.
The pace of the class is quite slow for my tastes.
For example they spent 2 days reading the same 5 paragraph long passage about ãƒãƒœã‚³ãƒ³ going over every word and defining it. Honestly, it’s really not fun. some students including myself just read books or doodle while we did this because the passage was not difficult plus like I said there is furigana on every other word. I think they purposely teach slowly because once they finish this textbook there is no other material that they used except native content.
Most of the students don’t, or don’t know how to use keigo, and always talk super casually to the teacher, which is whatever. There are 2 or 3 teachers per week. So far one has been really great, while the others embody a more boring style of teaching and personality.
In conclusion, if you’re considering coming to this school, I can’t say I recommend it, but it is quite cheap by language school standards, if you email Yoshida (the headmaster) directly, he will likely give you a discount.
I’m interested in hearing other people’s language school experience! If you have any questions please ask and I’ll try to answer.
9 comments
That is too bad. I can imagine how frustrating some classes must be. On the upside, you are in Japan and have plenty of time outside of school to learn Japanese. You could also try to transfer to another school when the semester ends.
Perhaps the huge beginner classes are more successful. . .
There are many Japanese language schools, and I’m sure you considered several.
Could you share what was it that made you finally decide to choose this particular school, and which other schools were on your short list then?
If you tell them that your class is moving too slowly for you, will they not let you try the more advanced “H class”? Typically, language schools let you take the placement test again. It’s not that they are perfect.
As someone who’s very much a beginner and is mostly relying on Duolingo right now (and having pretty much forgotten everything I learned in the past) even this sounds like it’d be a huge jump in difficulty for me.
But at the same time I know people always say the easiest way to learn a language is to live it. How cheap/expensive is the school & the general cost of living? And what’s your source of income while you’re out there?
I’m also curious about the covid situation as I know Japan just recently opened its doors to tourists as long as they’re in a tour group, but I wasn’t aware of how this might impact students.
Honestly if I ever go back to Japan I’ll go KICL again in Kyoto.
I am in a beginner class and I am having the opposite problem at a different school.
Make the best of the situation while you can.
And remember that you are the customer and the school should want to keep you. I understand the concern over the ‘Japanese’ way, but just keep asking.
I would still try to get what you can out of it. You’re still getting exposure to real Japanese spoken by a real native speaker – try to focus on that and actively examining all the expressions and speech patterns they use to explain things. If the material itself is too easy for you I think the way your teacher talks their way through it could be the value you can get out of the classes. Put it this way, if you had to be the teacher and explain that material in Japanese the way your teacher does, could you do it with the native fluency they do? Probably not right? That suggests there’s stuff you can learn about how to speak Japanese from observing them.
If you’re not poor, go to Coto Academy and take an intensive course.
Stealth brag thread.