Basically the title. I’ve been in the process of trying to find the right language school for the past week or so as I’m trying to apply for a 2023 April start. The more schools I find and research I realise the list will never end and there will probably be always 1 thing I don’t like about the school I’m researching.
For now I’ve narrowed it down to Shinjuku Japanese Language Institute(SNG?) from GoGo Nihon’s list or Evergreen Language School – can’t seem to find any negative or detailed reviews about them so I felt kinda sus about them (unless ofc they are just that good – though am still unsure about this), which is why I’m asking in the first place as I’m curious to know anyone’s experience studying there. I’ve contacted them already and they’ve emailed back requesting for a zoom call to happen – though I’d really like to know what other people have to say about them in detail.
You’re welcome if you’d like to recommend any schools, though I do have 2 things I’m mainly searching for. The demographics of the school not being too populated with people from Asian countries (which I know is kinda a tall order for a few reasons) and the school providing support and advice (counselling) for my future/career in Japan. Won’t get into detail about these things as this isn’t the main point of the post.
2 comments
>The demographics of the school not being too populated with people from Asian countries (which I know is kinda a tall order for a few reasons)
I mean… You said it yourself. The demographics of almost *every* language school in Japan skew “mostly Asian”, because the demographics of language students in Japan (And foreigners in Japan *in general*) skews mostly Asian.
>And the school providing support and advice (counselling) for my future/career in Japan.
I’m trying not to be mean, but… You should really do some research about what exactly the level of “career support” any language school is going to offer. Spoiler Alert: It’s not going to be much, and it’s certainly not worth it being a major factor in your school choice.
The “career support” that language schools offer is basically interview prep. Some schools have a partner “recruiting agency”, none of which anyone has ever heard of. There’s a very distinct lack of “I got an amazing job from these guys” stories on the internet, for very good reasons.
The school I went to actually sets you up with an agency that meets with you to talk you through your career goals and gives some training. I believe they kept in contact with you during your time at school in case you needed more help. I ended up not using them in the end because I went the English teaching route but at a daycare.
Also be realistic about how much you’ll actually learn at language school at the end of the program if you’re starting to 0. You’ll pass N3 pretty easily if you do the full two years (my class all passed it in less) Maybe you’ll get to N2, but it’s a bit difficult. You’d have to do lots of studying outside of class to get there.