Language schools recommendations

[maushan3]

So as some of you may know I went to Japan for one year on a high school exchange program. I am about to finish high school in May.

The thing is that I wanna go back for one year to keep studying Japanese. So I have browsed the internet for language schools and have found a lot of them online. The thing is, I need some recommendations from personal and/or aqcuaintances' experiences.

I have no idea which school might be right. I have asked the people I know in Japan but they have not been able to help me. So if any one of you could help me I'd appreciate it a lot.

Mauricio

[eric]

try some of the following guides:

http://classified.japantimes.com/ads/jpsc/
http://www.hiraganatimes.com/hp/school/index.html
http://www.aikgroup.co.jp/j-school/english/area/section/tokyo.htm

I applied for KAI, which is located in Tokyo. KAI applies on your behalf to get a pre-college VISA if you enroll in their general course (6 months to 2 years). The staff are really friendly and I have heard nothing but good things about this school. This is their website:

http://www.kaij.co.jp/e/

[dreamer]

I didn't heard much good from the Kai school from former students, but here's a list of schools in the Tokyo area that a friend of mine received:

AJALT http://www.ajalt.org/class/class.html

九段日本文化研究所　http://www.geos-japanese-insti.co.jp/japanese/index.html

Iidabashi language school http://www.funjapanese.net/

カイ日本語スクール http://www.kaij.co.jp/e/

インターカルト日本語学校　　 http://www.incul.com/jp/school/course/bsns_prv.html

千駄ヶ谷日本語学校　http://www.jp-sji.org/sji_english/index.html

アークアカデミー　http://www.arc-eg.com/nihongo/index.html

I.T.S. Language Center http://www.its-lc.com/

吉祥寺外語学校 http://www.klschool.com/

日米会話学院　日本語研究所 http://www.nichibei.ac.jp/jli/private.html

[maushan3]

Thanks y'all.

Out of that list I am somewhat curious in Kai school. The price is reasonable and it has been recommended a couple of times. The only bad thing is that they don't offer dormitory options, thus accomodation costing a lot more and being more of a hassle.

Intercultural school also looks good since the apartment is reasonable and utilities ae included (huge plus). The bad thing is the course price.

I am still going to insist on Yamasa. They told my once that I could not apply for a pre-college visa since I had already been given one in the Nagoya area (I coincidentally lived in Okazaki one year on a pre-college visa). I'll keep trying, though.

Mauricio

[maushan3]

try some of the following guides:

http://classified.japantimes.com/ads/jpsc/
http://www.hiraganatimes.com/hp/school/index.html
http://www.aikgroup.co.jp/j-school/english/area/section/tokyo.htm

I applied for KAI, which is located in Tokyo. KAI applies on your behalf to get a pre-college VISA if you enroll in their general course (6 months to 2 years). The staff are really friendly and I have heard nothing but good things about this school. This is their website:

http://www.kaij.co.jp/e/

Eric, where do you plan to be living? I think the school looks not too expensive and have read good reviews in the forum. However, they do not offer dormitories nor help with accommodation so that might be a bit of a problem.

Mauricio

[eric]

Mauricio,

I am planning to rent an apartment through Sakura House

http://www.sakura-house.com/

they offer a range of apartments and guest houses for foreigners, no key money or guarantor is required, and the rent includes all the utility expenses.

I already submitted my application to KAI, and through email, the person in charge of my visa told me I can contact them if I need help in finding accomodation. Why not give them an email? and see what happens :wave:

Eric

[maushan3]

Yeah, coincidentally my Japanese teacher here in Mexico used to teach at a language school and she recommended it to me. And I also met a fellow classmate who studied in Tokyo. He studied in another school but said he stayed at the sakura house, too!

On another topic, KAI told me that I needed to have relatives living in Tokyo so that they could intervew with them for me. I was hmmph? but after sending then an email, they just asked for more information about me.

I am norrowing my options down, I still think KAI might be a good school. We'll see.\

Mauricio

[eric]

I see

I'm going in July this year, and if you do choose KAI, I hope to you soon !

[A7mouse]

Hey Maushan,

Living in a gaijin house and going to a language school with a high concentration of English speakers is not my recommended lifestyle for learning Japanese effectively.

Actually I recommend getting as far away from either of those options as you can. Schools in the countryside are more likely to have dormitories than schools in Tokyo. Even if they don't have dormitories, renting an apartment for 30,000yen/month your move in costs will be similar to one month in a gaijin house and you'll save a bundle in the long run.

On nisshinkyo.org you can browse a database of language schools by region, etc..
On apamanshop.com you can search for apartments and get a good idea of the prices in the area.

I've never heard that you can't get a pre-college visa more than once, but I do know that it has a maximum of 2-years. I would think that if you were in Japan for 1-year before, you could come back on a pre-college visa again as long as your intended length of study at the language school is officialy 1-year. That's something you'll want to ask the consulate though. Otherwise you'll probably only have the select few language schools that are able to provide college student visas to choose from.

Hope this was some help, Good luck,
a7mouse