Job Discussion Forums

[sidneymorris]

hi. i'm looking to do a short (4-6 weeks) Japanese course and homestay in Tokyo over January/February. i'm a total beginner apart from a few greetings, hirigana and katakana. i'm going to be teaching in Japan come the middle of next year and I want to be able to speak a little bit of conversation straight off the airplane.

i was considering 'Sendagaya Japanese Institute' and 'Shinjuku Japanese Language Institute' because the fit my very limited window of time (Jan1 to Feb 15). anybody have anything to say about these schools?

also, if i do a homestay does anybody know if it's best to let the school organize that or is there a better way?

thanks.
perculator

[Nismo]

I studied at the one I believe you are talking about - Japanese Language Institute (in Japanese it is called nichibei kaiwa gakuin). It is located in Yotsuya. http://www.iec-nichibei.or.jp/jli/main.htm

It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. The teachers were very nice. I was required to study there intensively for a summer before I started school at Jouchi (near the JLI building - about a 5 minute walk). We packed the school with University of California students, and at the end we all went out drinking with the teacher. It was fun.

[sidneymorris]

hah, i thought i get more responses than that but thanks a bunch anyway. the school you went to is different from the ones i was looking at. i could possibly do it but cos of the start date it would only be 4 weeks (not 6). also, it seemed like they had kind of a business focus - how'd you find that? i'm hoping to learn more general everyday stuff. sounds a bit more serious than the courses i was looking at though which is good.

how long to you go to the school? you feel you learnt a lot?

reccomend homestay or hostel??

thanks for your help.

[sidneymorris]

crap, sorry. that last post was written in a bit of a hurry.

nismo, the school you went to is different from the two i was considering. i checked your one out and saw it was kind business orientated.
was wondering how much you learnt in your time there? how long did you study and how much did you know before you started??
also, did you do a homestay, hostel or what? what would you reccomend? i'm 23 and want to get out and see the nightlife but i realize this may pissoff a host family. on the other hand living with a host family would be a cool experience too so i might be willing to give up on boozing for a few weeks!

k, hope this makes more sense than the last one.
chur.

[Nismo]

Well, I didn't so much find it as it found me. I was a student of UC Santa Barbara, and last year studied in Japan through the Education Abroad Program (it was my last year of school). Part of our contract for a year abroad included a 6 week intensive course in Japanese, regardless of ability. UC Santa Barbara sent all of their students to the Japanese Language Institute in Yotsuya, regardless of what school they attended during the year. I was lucky that my host uni was a 15 minute walk away. Other students had to relocate to Osaka after they were through in Tokyo for that 6 weeks. We did use a business textbook, but the teachers managed to apply it to everyday life. Mostly that school was an English cram school for Japanese students - so there are people to exchange language with at breaks.

I would suggest a homestay. I was already living in an apartment at that point, and lived in the same apartment throughout the year. By the time the year was half over, I wished I had picked a homestay instead, but getting a good homestay is a gamble and I wasn't ready to gamble away a fun year in my life.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing - I hope you make it to Japan.