Hi there y’all! Long time lurker. Throwaway account and re-posted after i looked at my post history and realized I might be identified.
I currently work at a NOVA branch (Not Tokyo or Osaka) and have to likely stay in Japan for another little while due to family-related stuff, not more than 2 years. USA Nationality, not light-skinned though (if that matters, I noticed at NOVA kids and adults prefer the white people).
I’ve been reading this sub about NOVA and mixed with my own experiences (been working about 6 months) I agree with a lot of the stuff posted here. I genuinely don’t like it and would like to promptly leave.
I’m quite Region-Locked due to my family stuff, probably would not want to travel \*too\* far out of my city so I wouldn’t want to apply for JET since through my own research it seems like they can place you anywhere in the country. God forbid I get placed in Hokkaido, far from my family.
So if I really want to leave, what should I do to try and better my Japanese skills to be able to apply to other positions? I chose NOVA because of their bottom-barrel hiring practices. I didn’t even have a bachelor’s yet when I got hired, despite that being a qualification requirement.
So I guess I have 2 questions:
1. I’m very low-level Japanese proficiency. Where should I go, what type of lessons should I try out to try and better my skills? I know that NOVA doesn’t really care all that much about actually improving the English of their students so I’m really hesitant to take lessons from a school in fear they’ll just have me wasting my money (like how my job does
2. Are there any other places that you know of that would only require low-level Japanese? I’m sure it likely would depend on the location so I know this is a really hard question.
Kumon doesn’t seem good as they’re very part-time and mostly for college kids, it seems.
INB4 “learn the language, idiot” –> Yes, I want to. Do you have recs on where to start looking for this? I mean, think about it, are there French schools in Dijon? probably not that many. So looking for Japanese schools in Japan is proving a bit tough.
Any and all help would be appreciated<3.
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EDIT: Thank you all for the jumping-off point! I feel maybe I portrayed myself as lower-ability than I actually am. I learned Hiragana/Katana 2 years ago and am currently enrolled in a university here in Japan (all classes are conducted in English). Due to this university and the intensity of being on a \*student visa\* (i learned that was relevant in the comments here) I’m limited in my hours.
My ability is around N5-N4, I can read about 100-115 kanji but maybe not pronounce them very well. Grammar is the most difficult.
I’ll have a Bachelor’s degree soon, within a few months from now (so it’s not like i have 0 education) and now teaching experience. I’m on the younger side, somewhere around 25.
Based on what I’ve read, ALTs would be a step-up so I’ll be looking for there, as well as trying to find some sort of private tutor.
Thank you for all your help! <3
by NoHokkaidoPLS