Experiences with japanese languages schools

[jguticon]

I have opened this thead, so we can say our experiences with the schools of japanese language we study/have studied , in order to help others to choose better. I guess that you guys want to speak the language if you are going to live or study here?
My own experiences are:
-ARC academy. They have branches in Osaka,Kyoto and several towns in Tokyo. I took the easiest level here two years ago when I came to study japanese for just 3 months. Then before winter holidays I took the next level, ni kumi. We were about 9 people in the classroom. Maybe more westerns than asians. The speed of teaching is slow, good if don't have a lot of time to study or just came to Japan to have fun. But if you are planing to take JLPT, forget about, the speed is too slow, specially kanji. I seems that they have two sections, one where they put the asians (faster) and other one where they put the westerns or those asians that for whatever reason they can't learn faster.
In this school, I asked the staff for advice, I told them that I would wish to take JLPT so study faster. I asked one day to a woman at the front, and she explained me that there was another group which was faster, with mostly asians as she said (probably all of them),but she didn't told me if I wanted to join them.Why not, am I not a student of japanese like those in the other asian group? Then I asked the next day to another guy at the front, I didn't asked exactly the same question, I asked about the payments. And then, one the staff that was sitted next to him said something in japanese to him. I didn't understood, but I understood the word 'visa'. Then the guy replied to me 'didn't you ask the same question yesterday' and I said 'no, now I am asking about the payments, i am asking that in case i joined the faster group i would have to pay everything at once' The guy didn't know i had a visa for one year. I don't know what is going on in that school, but I suspect they discriminate western people. Anyway, I didn't liked it how they treat me so I change to:
-Human Academy. Is full of chinese and koreans, which is hard for me as a european. We are a group of 22 people and there are only two westerns. Until now the staff and the teachers are fine,but is like to be back at school. The speed is ok for my purpose,take JLPT, but is hard. I mean, the chinese love to correct you,it doesn't matter if you are right or wrong, they love to correct you! I am a bit isolated in the school, but I am leraning fast, that is what I want.
Anyway, here I what I think about the two schools I have been. I hope it hepls.

 

[aptiva]

TCC Japanese institute: Spent 8 months there in 2008-2009. Was just in Japan to have fun so I didn't really concentrate on my studies. But the staff was really nice, almost all of the students were Chinese or Korean, in my class the only other westerner was from spain, but even he didn't speak any english. So I learned a fair bit of japanese despite not taking my studies seriously
A possible downside was that they go through the kanji really fast. Seemed designed for the chinese/koreans who already knew how to write the kanji and just had to study the meanings/readings.
So they put me, the spanish & thai guy in a special class which went over that a lot slower.
But if I'd been ready to do a lot more work I probably could have kept up with the chinese. My swedish roommate seemed to be able to do it (he was using the heisig method since before coming to Japan)

They also hooked me up with an apartment which was ca 10-15 minutes away from school on foot. Cost me 30.000 a month and I shared it with 2 other guys. Was crowded but really fun.
Overall, I'd recommend it. Tuition is really cheap. ~600k per year and it's ~5-10 minutes from shinjuku station by train
Oh, and they also handled the Certificate of eligibility for me so I only had to show up at the embassy once to apply for a Visa before leaving.

Overall I really enjoyed studying there.

 

[kittychan81]

I also went to Human Academy, it was good I thought, very good, fast pace and very nice teachers. Most other students were Chinese, Korean or Taiwanese, but you always find that at language schools in Japan, that is just where the majority of students come from. My kanji was probably the worst in the class being from a western country, but it was a challenge for me to keep up and so therefore I probably learnt more kanji than if I was doing it at a pace to suit westerners.

I think it's good going to a school like that cos then you have to speak Japanese all the time in class as there is usually no other English-speaker. Or they are too shy to do it at least!

Try to invite your classmates out to do things after school, everyone wants to have a good time while they learn and they will like to make friends with as many different people as possible. Once I realised this and did more stuff with them school was much more fun!