If someone was to do an exchange in Japan for school, how much should they know? They would learn stuff while they are there, but is there like a minimum they should know when they first arrive?
IMO this strongly depends on the kind of classes you want to take while you’re there. If you plan to mainly take Japanese learning courses then you might be fine with just knowing the basics.
If you want to take classes on other subjects, the language of instruction will be important to check since regular classes in Japanese (not designed for foreigners) might require you to be JLPT N2 or even N1 certified. On the other hand, if you plan on taking international classes given in English, the necessary amount of Japanese depends on how much you want to interact with locals outside of class
Are you talking about a high school exchange or for college? Ironically, you’d need less Japanese for a college exchange.
Japanese universities often have beginner classes and english lectures. There are in general many accomodations. High schools have their exchange students attend the same classes as all other students with some additional language and culture classes inbetween.
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IMO this strongly depends on the kind of classes you want to take while you’re there. If you plan to mainly take Japanese learning courses then you might be fine with just knowing the basics.
If you want to take classes on other subjects, the language of instruction will be important to check since regular classes in Japanese (not designed for foreigners) might require you to be JLPT N2 or even N1 certified.
On the other hand, if you plan on taking international classes given in English, the necessary amount of Japanese depends on how much you want to interact with locals outside of class
Are you talking about a high school exchange or for college? Ironically, you’d need less Japanese for a college exchange.
Japanese universities often have beginner classes and english lectures. There are in general many accomodations. High schools have their exchange students attend the same classes as all other students with some additional language and culture classes inbetween.
universities require at least N2