TLDR; This blog post will share my process in selecting the suitable school for myself, the factors I took into consideration and an overview of my research conducted. I detailed my process on why I decided on Tokyo in an earlier post.
Since the beginning, my goal was honing the language.
I was prioritising learning and being comfortable in Japanese for one year, while aiming to find a job thereafter. Given my personal starting base of around a N5 proficiency level, I already knew that I would focus on finding a great language school.
(And yet, language school was not where I ended up in… #unexpected)
The factors considered
During the initial googling stages, I had three main factors in mind. The fourth factor only came into mind after conversations with others.
📍Factor 01: Location.
Thankfully, with Tokyo as the central hub, there were many great options for language schools. Most like Shibuya Gaigo Gakuin and SNG Shinjuku Japanese Language Institute were located in Central Tokyo. There were other further out options as well. I knew that I would also like to meet up with friends and ex-colleagues as a way to practise my language better, so I wanted to find a school that is more centrally located.
⏱️ Factor 02: Duration and cost.
When I compared most of the courses, they were roughly the same cost. A 6-month programme would be ¥400,000 (around USD$4,000) and a one-year programme would be ¥800,000 (around USD$8,000). The difference is minimal so it was easier to plan my finances and savings! I went for the one-year course as I wanted to take the time to learn and adjust into a new environment. I had concerns that the 6-month programme would be too short for me, given that I would probably take three-months to adjust to a different lifestyle.
📝 Factor 03: Curriculum.
I happened to work in an environment where I worked with other non-Japanese who came to Tokyo either during or after college, and sought their advice on the various language school curriculum. Language schools are very well-structured and can guarantee about a N2/N3 level by the time the programme ends.
There were other considerations like financial aid (which are given to some nationalities), student life and support services which were secondary to me.
Research: Painful start, Painless process
Like many others, the first step of research was endless tabs of reddit threads from /r/LearnJapanese and /r/movingtojapan. My multiple tabs of Google Reviews of the different language schools did not help as well. There are many differing opinions, and luck on your sensei also played a huge part in the experiences shared.
Thankfully, I came across the heaven-like solution: Study Gaijinpot (not sponsored). A third-party support that provides English assistance on behalf of the language schools listed. Laura from Gaijinpot was very patient with me throughout our back-and-forth. It was a very painless process as I shared with her what it is I want to achieve, and Laura provides her recommendations based on her knowledge after interacting with graduates and personnel from the various language schools. After 50+ emails of Laura answering my every question across three months, I have decided to apply to SNG Shinjuku Japanese Language Institute.
Uh-oh. An unexpected development occurred.
During my application process (which I will share in the next post), I realised that there was a fourth factor I failed to consider.
👨💻 Factor 04: Post-Program Career Prospects
At the point of searching, I felt that the main blocker would have been the language. The Japanese Language Schools curriculum had a business language component that would easily overcome that. However, it did not occur to me to utilise the branding of universities like Keio University and Waseda University that offer a similar programme as a language bridging course for undergraduates and postgraduates. Resources of universities are more extensive along with their alumni network that can help in this aspect.
✨ And so, I have applied!
With this additional factor and considerations, my choice has changed.
I personally had a long thought between the university course and language school program which I will detail in the next post. However, looking at the timeline, the University deadline was stricter and so the mindset was that if I do not get into the university, at least I have the language school to fall back on.
At the time of writing, I have applied to the Japanese Language Program (JLP) from Waseda University’s Center for Japanese Language and I have been accepted! So I’m waiting for the paperwork to process at the moment.
Without me realising, this blog post became longer than I expected. Hence, the need for part two! In the next post, I aim to point out my considerations when choosing language school courses versus university programmes, along with my choice of Waseda University over Keio University.
Catch you in the next post!