context: ive lived abroad since i was 1 and learnt english b4 japanese, my japanese is a conversational lvl but not too confident on any complicated stuff in terms of reading and writing
do you think ill still need to attend a gasshuku that offers english support or if i can pull through in japanese (just gotta practice writing) cuz kanji aint my strong suit. also idk if the written test is like all true false qtns or if theres like SAQ (short answers)
i think my parents want me to learn manual but gasshukus dont hv many that offer MT over AT courses
any advice? or reccs to places u guys hv been to or heard good stuff abt would be great? (im not rlly fussed on where the gasshuku is)
thank you ^^
by Advanced-Music8926
5 comments
My japanese is only a little better than conversational, and when I went through driving school, I received my first school exam and the final written exam in English. It’s all multiple choice.
I did gasshuku driving school + my test entirely in Japanese with what I would describe as lower intermediate Japanese and managed fine.
The test is all true/false so you don’t actually have to write anything and the textbooks and written test all have furigana above the kanji.
There was quite a lot of new driving/traffic specific vocab that I hadn’t encountered before. I just made a bunch of flashcards and drilled myself on them a couple times a day. That + hearing/seeing them again and again in context over such a short period of time meant they got cemented in my brain pretty quickly.
Tbh, the hardest part for me was just understanding some of the instructors accents because I went somewhere really rural.
I think if you can speak/understand fairly fluently and it’s just kanji you struggle with, you’ll probably be fine. But if you do struggle, there are English editions of the textbooks, and you can take the test in English. Although, when I took a practice test in English, I actually found it way harder because the translations and grammar was kind of weird.
I did the driving school and tests in Japanese.
The actual writing test in Japanese comes with furigana above the Kanji, so being bad at Kanji doesn’t make it impossible, although it helps for speed.
it’s all true false question
just get your AT license first, you can always just spend a couple of days in the future to lift your MT restriction once you already have your driving license
If your Japanese is conversational but you struggle with kanji, you can definitely get through 合宿免許 in Japanese, but it depends on how much reading you’re comfortable doing. The written test isn’t short‑answer, there are no essays or written responses, it’s basically multiple‑choice / true‑false style, but the wording can be a bit formal and sometimes trickier than everyday Japanese. Most 帰国子女 I know managed it by doing some practice tests ahead of time and getting used to the phrasing. The biggest challenge tends to be kanji and weirdly formal traffic vocabulary, not grammar.
English‑support 合宿校 do exist, but they’re mostly for beginners with very low Japanese or people who want the whole process explained in English. With your level, you probably don’t need a fully English‑supported program, especially if you’re willing to study the practice questions beforehand, but picking a school that’s used to handling foreign‑background students can make things smoother. And yes, manual (MT) options are much rarer now; most schools prioritize AT because almost everyone wants it, so if your parents insist on MT you may have fewer choices.
If I were in your shoes:
1) Study the Japanese practice test apps for a week or two, they’re super close to the real test.
2) Choose a 合宿校 that’s known for being friendly to non‑native speakers even if it’s not a full English program.
3) Only go for full English‑support if reading Japanese instructions under time pressure makes you panic.
This year my daughter too has to go through this so I have studied for her.
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