I have a student who is at intermediate level on the ACTFL scale. I want to recommend some Japanese programs (at US-based universities) but it seems like many of them only have up to intermediate-level language instruction. Can anyone recommend one that goes to like N2 level?
Please avoid unhelpful comments like “why not just study in Japan?”
5 comments
The Ohio State University has advanced instruction and a strong program
What is the student’s specific interest in how to use the language? For example, California State University Monterey Bay and Kent State are fantastic for a student who wants to become a translator
I was really surprised the University of WA uses Genki to teach.
I studied at the Kobe YMCA language school for 1 year and easily based N2.
I think studying in the states is a waste of time. Save money, get a student visa, live and work in Japan. Sorry I know it’s not what you want to hear.
Good luck.
>Please avoid unhelpful comments like “why not just study in Japan?”
I don’t know what to tell you, mate.
University graduates notoriously underperform compared to people who spend even a single year in a language school in Japan.
And considering we’re talking about US-based universities, that year is going to be far, *far* less expensive compared to a single year of what will probably be a 4-year course.
Besides which, I’ll be honest with you, a Japanese major is just not worth the money. *Maybe* it might help get translation work; but you need a higher level of Japanese than most Japanese major graduates get to, and like I mentioned, language schools are already a better bet in that regard. Hell, *I* did a one-off translation thing, and I know for a fact that language knowledge will help far more than a degree.
So I’ll ask you if you know, and if you don’t, it’s one to ask your student; what do they want to *do* once they graduate? Because just knowing Japanese is not enough, even to move to Japan. You need to make yourself marketable, and that requires an actual skill. There’s very little demand for a degree in Japanese in the states, and even less in Japan.
A Japanese major holds very little actual worth, and so a far, *far* better option is to train in a field with good prospects, and get Japanese on the side. This will open ***exponentially*** more doors in the future.
Ignoring that and going for a Japanese major instead achieves naught bar shutting those doors and saddling your student with a nigh-pointless degree that will do little to help pay off the inevitable student loan debt.
University of Hawaii-Manoa has a good East Easian Language department. However, as a graduate of that program who has been living in Japan for a while but still isn’t “fluent” by any means (or passed N2 yet), I’d recommend double-majoring in a field with better prospects or also learning a valuable trade skill as well.
Main advantage of being in Hawaii is the near-immersion one would get with so many Japanese speakers there.
While I never got to study abroad in Japan as an undergraduate (tanked my GPA early on), I ended up going for grad school and ended up working there. I think being in Japan surrounded by the language helps but it also depends on how motivated someone is to make mistakes and learn as well.