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Four Important Things for Choosing a School
Do all Japanese language schools seem the same to you?
The only difference is the price? Which school
you go to affects beginners more than anybody else when it comes to how
effectively you can improve your Japanese language skills. Once you choose a school, you study in the environment for a couple of months at the shortest. People usually stick around for 6 months or 2 years at
the longest. That is why you must think carefully
when looking for a school. The early stages of your Japanese studies form the foundation of your future learning. See if the course you are about to join meets your
needs.
It might be difficult for you to determine which school is for you, especially when you do not have much experience in studying Japanese. Language professionals can see clear differences among many schools that appear to be identical. Here are some tips for you.
Four tips for choosing a school/course
- 1. Think about your purpose of studying Japanese and if the course meets your needs.
We have had people visiting our school who had studied Japanese elsewhere for 6months-3 years and felt that their Japanese had not improved as much as they had hoped (or even at all.) They were hoping we had something different to offer them. We do! They all had a common reason why their skills were not improving as much as they had hoped: They hardly ever had an opportunity to actually speak Japanese.
- 2. Find out what your classmates' purposes to take the course are.
Improving your skills by working and competing with others is a key factor in a learning process which is often neglected.
- 3. See how many students are in the class.
Too many students in class
The average number of students at a private language school is 20-30, and 50-200 at university.
They can learn how to read in a big class but what about speaking practice? It’s tough.
- 4. See what the percentage of Japanese vs. English use in class is.
Learning Japanese in English
Beginners usually study Japanese in English at private language schools. It is seemingly efficient but you don’t hear or speak Japanese as much as studying it in Japanese.
This method of studying often causes a lack of speaking ability.
In those four respects, what kind of school is AITAS ?
- Point 1
People who want to obtain conversation, reading and writing skills in parallel can benefit from AITAS more than those who want to just learn how to speak Japanese. - Point 2
Our students are hoping to live in Japan in the future, use Japanese skills at work or communicate with families and friends in Japanese. They are highly motivated and put a lot into their study. More importantly they encourage and learn from each other. Improving your skills by working and competing with others is a key factor in a learning process which is often neglected. - Point 3
People who want to take interactive lessons can benefit from AITAS more than those who prefer to just listen to a lecture in a big class. The average number of students in each class is 6-10, and the maximum is 12. A teacher can tutor each student carefully in class. - Point 4
People who want to be exposed to Japanese as much as possible can benefit from AITAS more than those who want to learn the Japanese grammar in English. All the classes at AITAS use only Japanese. We use the "AITAS Immersion Teaching Method" which offers students (including beginners) easy-to-follow lessons. We offer trials before you actually join a class to see if the course is what you are looking for.
