Hello,
Myself along with 2 friends (we are currently not located in the same location due to work etc) are looking into the possibility of taking some sort of classes to learn Japanese. While we may be dedicated enough for some self study we all prefer some sort of instruction. We are all US native English speakers.
My one friend has experience dealing with Berlitz however they are much more business focused, with the price to match, where as we intend to learn for more personal travel and culture consumption reasons.
We are not apposed to paying for classes but as we only have the view of business based language classes I am looking for some advice on potential alternatives. Right now for level 1 (out of 10 I believe Berlitz offers) 20 weeks of one 2 hour session a week with course materials would be about 1800 each.
I have seen the resource guide and a lot of different discussion concerning classes but nothing that quite fit into what the 3 of us are looking for so I figured I would ask. All three of us work normal day jobs with some flexibility but can probably only do 2, 3 at the absolute most if well planned for, lessons a week. As the three of us are not local and we intend to take these lessons together an online lesson would obviously be preferred.
As for budget we would like to keep it modest, Berlitz seems pricey but I don’t have a good frame of reference. If that is what it takes then so be it.
Any advice in this would be appreciated. Thank you!
5 comments
Are you located near a major city? The Japanese cultural center offers classes in Japanese conversation; you might be able to find something similar. They also do the Genki course book classes at my cultural center as well.
What currency is that 1800 in? ¥1,800 is ridiculously cheap and $1,800 USD is shockingly expensive for once a week.
What time zones are you all in? There are some Japan based language schools that offer online classes
There are several schools (us included) that offer online group and private Japanese lessons. Berlitz as a provider does not focus solely on Japanese so our recommendation would be to find a Japanese specific provider for your lessons.
If you really prefer face to face berlitz may be the only option in your area, but yeah – especially with the pandemic there are many more schools providing online instruction live from Japan.
I have really enjoyed Nihongopro and I found it economical, and the teacher I am working with is a Japanese native with teaching certification up to N2. N1 teachers are available too. The administrator is an American based in Florida if I am not mistaken. US $28 to $35 each, depending on how many tickets you buy, so cheaper than Berlitz.
It is entirely online by the by.
Try Fluent City, or if you’re in the Boston area New England Language School