Hey
as the title says, I have been studying Japanese for nearly two years now, I passed N3 last DEC and I will take N2 this DEC and I am confident of passing it since I improved a lot and I am comfortable with native material, however I wanted to move to Japan for a year after graduating college to study Japanese in a language school (Planning to go in April 2025) and I will brutally honest, I want to go to a language school because I heard it is the easiest way to move to Japan then change your visa to a working visa or something like this and also for the experience, I also read it is difficult to come to Japan directly on a working visa so you better come for language school first, how accurate is that?
I know I can take these 3 months short-term courses if I want the experience of staying in Japan for some time and study in a language school, but I do not think that this is a good idea if I am planning to stay after school and find a job or something, but generally speaking, would you go to a Language School for a year if you are N2-N1 ?
by LaYamii
13 comments
At the very least, you’ll be in Japan and actually immersed in the language, so you’ll need to speak it daily. Do it!
Is your native language English? If so, why not apply for something like the JET Programme?
I passed N1 with flying colors on first attempt because I’ve been in touch with Japanese stuff since middle school.
Went to visit my fiancé there this summer then proceeded to freeze like Medusa in front of Perseus’s shield when I went to buy stuff by myself.
You may understand Japanese well, but you may not be prepared to be *running on Japanese* and instantly applying it to everyday situations like you would with your native language. That requires experience and there isn’t a better place to get that other than Japan itself.
If you’re looking for a language school that will challenge you, IUC might be something worth looking into. It’s a 10-month program though, so don’t know if the time commitment aligns with your goals.
That’s impressive. Good job dude. That’s a huge accomplishment. I seem to be stuck at N4 level. Can you recommend any particularly helpful part of your study routine?
This is really a r/movingtojapan question…
Getting a work visa to move to Japan isn’t necessarily difficult: essentially you just need a college degree and a job offer, which may or may not be hard to get depending on your skills and the industry you’re aiming for.
What country are you coming from? Working holiday may be an option.
It sounds like whether language school is effective or not isn’t really relevant to your plan. A student visa will indeed get you into the country, although it might or might not lead to a long-term job.
You need to be very selective about the program you choose and speak to people that studied there. Maybe not a typical language school. Or maybe a working holiday visa.
You see, most Japanese language schools tap out N2-N1. This is because a large percentage of students are Asians trying to enter Japanese trade schools or university (plus some westerners studying a semester or two albeit not to the same levels generally. By N1, language school visas have expired and students are either studying in “normal” Japanese institutions or have returned home, so there is not a lot of demand.
Many language schools expect the students of a given level class to be balanced in all four skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking). So the entrance exams may default people to the lowest common denominator. I was told this was to make sure nobody is dragging the class down. As an extreme example, a few weeks into the second semester classes, a girl had passed N2 (we were still on the first book of MNN).
There are schools that have advanced programs for workers or housewives. I think Nichibei focused on speaking, for example.
Anyways, you do not want to be stuck in very low level classes for remedial purposes to get your writing and speaking up to speed. Learning to write kanji is very time consuming and would be infuriating if that is not your goal.
I actually did this after passing N1. it’s both a waste and not a waste at the same time. There’s no need to go to language school and if you have the opportunity it’s probably even faster for learning to just go directly to work or any other opportunity you may have. You will learn the same things there, just with more stress. At the same time, if that’s your only obvious path to Japan, being N2-N1 doesn’t mean there will be nothing to study. Passing the test is very easy compared to getting to fluency with output including (almost) always using correct grammar, natural language and having the cultural understanding to handle various interactions in Japanese society. The best thing I gained from language school in Japan is more confidence, cultural knowledge I didn’t need abroad and more intuition for fluent and correct output mainly from talking every day.
I’m N2 studying for N1, living/working in Japan and did language school for about a year and a half. Language school is like a mixed bag imo. I think go in with the expectation that the teachers/classes alone aren’t going to get you to that next level. Like yeah it’ll give you exposure, but like 70% of the improvement comes from work outside of class.
Despite all of that, taking a break from my career to just focus on exclusively studying japanese was very helpful. Being in an environment where everyone is trying to get better only helps drive that motivation.
I’m not sure if my experience applies to you, but I am a software engineer. I move to Japan with already 2 years of experience under my belt. Finding a job that would give me a working visa was tough, but if a job is really interested in you they’ll make it happen. Once you get the working visa though, it becomes very easy to change jobs. IIRC all HR has to do is just transfer sponsorship.
Finding my first job was still challenging, just because the tech market was going through a slump during covid. Took me about 6 months. Right now the tech market is either great or terrible depending on your experience level. If you’re a new grad, it’s really competitive (like the rest of the world). A lot of Chinese/South East Asians/Koreans moving to Japan, studying in Japanese universities. They have an edge in terms of Japanese ability and just in terms of having experience being in Japan under academic pretenses imo. If you are mid-level/senior-level it’s great. You get to avoid that junior market. Took me 2 months? to get my current job.
Most companies in my experience do care about the JLPT level, but only for filtering through resumes. I had N3 for the longest time because I just couldn’t be bothered to take the test, but still actively studied and used the language. When I was hunting for a job a year ago, I went through recruiters and they would do like “mock-interviews” in Japanese and would just tell the companies I was applying to that my Japanese was good enough for the interview. After that, my JLPT certificate was never brought up again.
Most of the better jobs in tech tend to be at either at 外資系 or companies that have a western team running software/IT. That being said, I’ve applied to Japanese companies where I would be the only westerner, and they seemed to run a very tight ship, competitive pay (within japan), up-to-date on trends, and overtime being rare. I think these companies are starting to become more and more common, but you still have to filter through the dog-shit ones.
The JLPT does not test your output abilities. I met people with N2 who could not even introduce themselves properly because they never practiced speaking. A language school is most definitely the best way to get you up to speed in that regard. Just look for a school that specializes in communication rather than a school focused on JLPT test prep.
mhmmm.. it can ‘ease’ you into Japan to go to language school for one year tbh. You’ll be able to see, experience and enjoy life in Japan with half a day off, which gives you much mor opportunities to discover and adventure into Japan. Also, there are some who already have N1. They are just together in the same class – since classes have people around the same level – and the teachers adjust the curriculum. You also practice Mensetsu (Job/Uni interview) and prepare you for the entrance/Job Exams.
and you are correct, they make it way easier to get a foot into Japan and help you find work after.
but, most schools application phase for April 2025 ends in October, so you need to be fast I think if you want to go then.
So: find a school that offers high level teaching and job search support and find out about the application deadlines
I would go because it helps you with the interaction with your peers.
Currently enrolled in a language school to help me with N1.
I mean I’d do it purely because of the immersion you’ll get. I think if you’ve managed/will manage to pass up to N2 through self-study, then the purpose of language school is more to give you opportunities to use the language verbally in a ‘controlled’ environment. I am also sitting N2 in December like yourself and not to big myself up too much, but I am able to converse fully on a lot of subjects (and have done in-person interviews at Japanese companies, worked with Japanese recruiters etc.) versus N2/N1 friends I have, so the JLPT measures very different things to speaking ability and I consider prep for JLPT kind of separate to the normal Japanese learning I do. I think language school can be a good idea if you go primarily with the intention of getting speaking practice + with a potential N1 cert, it will certainly open up doors.
However truth be told job searching in Japan is better with some work experience back home, or so I’ve been told. What kind of career do you think you’d want to enter into after school? Also I’m not entirely sure, but would you be considered as 新卒 intake for jobs?