LLearn Japanese

Asking for Japanese language schools recommendations in Tokyo/Fukuoka

  • December 27, 2024

TLDR:

Do you guys have recommendations for Japanese language schools in Tokyo/Fukuoka ? Planning to study for 6months-1year. Looked up some schools, but i want to hear your recommendation especially from alumni

My consideration for choosing the language school:

  1. Focus on conversational skills (in general & business setting)
  2. Tuition fee & scholarship availability
  3. I'm from non-english-sepeaking Asian country and not a very social person (more of an introvert i guess), so i'm not sure if schools with more students from Asian country will be better or not (technically might be easier to makes friends, and have speaking practice partner)

Long ver:

Been self-studying since Nov'2022, so it's been 2 years+ now. Passed N4 (Dec'23 — 151/180) & N3 (Jul'24 — 156/180). Took the N2 test (Dec'24), still waiting for result (stumbled hard on reading part, so not sure i will pass or not). Currently studying N1 kanji (i think this is as far as i can go by self-studying)

HOWEVER, i can barely speak Japanese. Some of the reasons i can think of:

  1. Started out by finishing Busuu's lesson in about 5-6months and since then mainly use textbooks like Minna no Nihongo, Sou-matome (for N3-N2 Kanji), Shinkanzen (for N3 Vocab), TRY! (for N3-N2 Grammar) (also some other books & Anki as supplement), so i mostly only deal with text
  2. Didn't do much immersion (do watch anime and J-drama from time to time. Also regularly listen to J-pop, if that counts)
  3. Never practiced my conversation skills. Technically i can try speak to myself, but i refrain to do so because i'm afraid i might be practicing the wrong "発音". Shadowing is an option too that i haven't really try to explore

Basically only input, no output (except doing textbook exercises, JLPT mock tests, and writing Kanji whenever i have the time to help memorize it better, if that counts)

Why self-study:

  1. I'm working full time & want flexible study hours (my job is not that busy, so i do review my studies whenever i have free time, esp kanji & vocab)
  2. Didn't want to spend money just to learn basic stuff (N5-N3 level)
  3. Academically was doing well in school and university, so there's also a bit of ego in me that wants to see how far i can go on my own (my benchmark so far is the JLPT test, even though i know speaking is not part of the exam)

My each aspect evaluation:

  1. Kanji : have most confidence in. Learnt Mandarin for 7-8 years, which helped a lot when i started learning Kanji (although barely speak Mandarin now)
  2. Vocab : learnt kanji as a vocab, so they go in pair. Pretty good imo
  3. Grammar : not that good tbh. Also my least favorite part to study. I feel like grammar should be studied by practicing conversation or writing essay/passages
  4. Reading : okay-ish side i suppose. Still feel daunting every time i need to read stuff in Japanese
  5. Listening : not that great
  6. Writing : i don't think i've ever write/compose a single passage in Japanese

I feel like everything i've learn this far is just memory game. If i stop reviewing my notes, i will quickly forget what i've learnt, especially because i'm not really using it in real life.

Reason to Study Japanese:

  1. Wanted to attend graduate school (not very sure now)
  2. Want to work in japan or do japan-related business in my country
  3. Want to travel and navigate japan without the language barrier
  4. Do plan to stay on japan long term, depending on how things go

Why Tokyo/Fukuoka:

  1. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, so naturally, there are more career/business opportunities as well as entertainment
  2. Fukuoka is on the warmer side of Japan, and i prefer warm climates. I also like beaches. It is also still one of the big cities, just more on the chill side, which i quite like too. Living cost also not as high as Tokyo, which can cost around 50% more according from my rough estimate & calculation

Why language school now:

  1. By self-studying while working full time until now, i can saved up some money in preparation (i do plan to look for scholarship later on. Saved up money just in case)
  2. I think now is the moment where i can start getting bang for my buck, since i can focus more on the practical and conversational part
  3. I can spend time outside of school working part-time, practicing my conversation skill instead of sitting down memorizing kanji/vocab. Some people can manage to go to school, practice and working part-time at the same time, which i found very very amazing, but i think its too much for me if i'm just starting out learning japanese from 0.

If you happen to read until all the way down here, Thank You!

by Zleepy99

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