Hi! This will be a pretty lengthy post but I would greatly appreciate any advice/support.
I’m planning to go and do a language school next year for the term of October. I’m getting help from a third party which is gogonihon. I’ve gotten some information about the schools I’m interested in but I would really like the opinion of those who have actually attended rather than someone who is advertising for them.
The top three schools I’m interested are
• Yu Language Academy – Tokyo
• Shibuya Gaigo – Tokyo
• ECC Language college – Osaka
I do have ISI on a back burner in case I really can’t decide but I’ve seen a lot of reviews so this will be a LAST resort (for now).
Personally I want to attend a school that doesn’t just focus on textbooks and homework, leaving little to no room for conversations/speaking. Of course one of the biggest things I want to have is JLPT courses, but if I can’t use what I learn in class it’ll be a waste of money. (I’ve heard too many stories of people getting to N3-N1 but struggle with talking and being unable to hold conversations)
I’m currently doing self studies and have the basics of Hiragana and Katakana down, just doing Kanji and sentence structures now. So by the time I do go next year, I have some confidence that I won’t be a complete beginner.
Anyways, I’d like to NOT be in Tokyo if possible due to high living costs and how overstimulating that city is, but I understand that with the schools I’m looking at, it’ll probably be in Tokyo…
What I gathered about the schools so far:
YuLA: this school for their Tokyo location doesn’t have too much reviews or even information. Their website is currently down so I can’t even access that. Their other locations in Sapporo and Osaka seem to be very mixed. I’ve heard that due to their Osaka location being new, they have different requirements and documents needed so I think I’ll skip out on the Osaka one. Class sizes seem to be really big that some students don’t even get a desk. Quizzes and tests are given each day(?) more of like a review of the lesson the day before?
– if anyone has attended either YuLA in Tokyo or Sapporo I’d like to hear your experience!
Shibuya Gaigo: Yes I know this school is mainly speaking and from what I’ve heard is that the quality of teaching is not great. They do teach reading and writing but some students after they finish the course need to catch up on Kanji because they’re so behind. It’s a very relaxed environment which is enticing but I worry that my reading and writing skills will fall behind.
– how is homework here?
– how often do you learn by textbooks?
– do they do any kind of testing?
ECC: This one I recently started to look into. I like how it’s not in Tokyo. I won’t be doing further education after language school, I heard that some people who aren’t planning on going to a Japanese university won’t have a great time with their courses? Does that mean they cater more towards students planning on going to college? If so then I don’t know how that’s going to be for me. Teachers and staff seem to be good here. I hear the homework load can be a lot and the testing can be challenging.
– do they have different courses for students planning to do college vs students wanting to do the JLPT?
– what is the ratio of homework to in class work?
– good or fast pace?
I know this was a lot but I really want to have as much information I can get before deciding. Language school is a lot of money and I’ll be paying for it on my own so it’s important to me to choose a school that will work with my goals but also being in a good learning environment.
I don’t plan to live in Japan long term, but most likely I will try to get some part time employment while I am there, for the experience and language exposure outside of school.
I understand that I can’t get everything I want in a school. Everyone’s experience is different and it’ll really depend on how the individual makes of it.
With that being said. If you have any advice on these schools or even different schools, I’d love to hear it!
Thanks so much for reading!
TLDR: I can’t decide on whether to attend YuLA, ECC, or SGG. Any advice on these schools or other ones are appreciated!
by cuppycakeu