My Experience Studying at a Japanese Language School in Japan

Since I’ve been studying at a Japanese language school in Tokyo for about half a year now, I thought that it was about time to write about it. At first, I wasn’t exactly feeling this particular topic, but I suddenly realized that this might be something that more people would want to learn about.

After all, it is just different, and some of the things that are normal in a Japanese language school in Japan (or at least mine) might not be the norm in others.

Let’s be honest, most of us think it’s like any other language class in school, right?

The truth is that it isn’t. It can be that way sometimes, but honestly, it is so much more than that. Here are the things I’ve observed so far, but bear in mind, not all language schools are the same:

We were assigned classes based on our skill levels

Before starting classes, we had to go through interviews at school to determine our exact level of Japanese. This includes not only our spoken Japanese, but our grammar, vocabulary and kanji knowledge as well. Obviously, it is impossible to place all of us in classes that suit our exact level, but they came close enough.

For instance, I noticed in many classes that while some students have twice the grammar and kanji knowledge than their classmates do, they are hindered by their almost zero ability to speak Japanese. Basically, they are fine with written Japanese, but fall flat when it comes to speaking it. Their classmates, in contrast, have less grammar and kanji knowledge, but fare much better at speaking. This is how the school tries to keep a balance in classes, I suppose, since grouping people with exact same levels in everything is hard.

Young classmates

If you’re an older student like I am, then you’ll be surrounded by students who are a lot younger than you are. This is because a language school is considered a school you go to before heading to university. Thus, this would make… the majority of your schoolmates about 18 years old.

I know. Yikes. Fret not, however. Adults do go to language schools here as well. It is just that they are much fewer in number.

And if it makes you feel any better, one of my schoolmates is probably… about 60 years old? So if you’re thinking about learning a new language abroad, it’s not too late for you. Get out there and enjoy! 🙂

People of different nationalities

Being born and raised in Malaysia, I’m no stranger to being around people of different races and cultures. But the experience is a little different in Japan. While there are many people of different nationalities around me here, we are not tied by a common language or culture. There is no glue to stick us together, so to speak. I mean, we all have an interest in Japan but that can only take us so far when we can’t communicate with one another.

As such, what happens is that we cobble something together with our limited Japanese and hope that things improve once we learn more of the language. Still, it is interesting. The foreign community here, while largely dominated by the Chinese and Vietnamese, is extremely varied. You will meet lots of people from different walks of life, and if you are lucky, you might make some lifelong friends.

Accents, they are worked on

It never occurred to me that our accents would be worked on during the initial stage of school, but they were. With Malay pronunciation being almost the same as Japanese, this was something I took for granted. We never had to practice pronunciation at my Japanese language school back home. We just hit the ground running.

The same cannot be said for my schoolmates. I remember that during my first few days at school, I could barely understand anyone because despite speaking the same language (Japanese), their voices were heavily accented. Not that this is a bad thing, mind, because my spoken Mandarin is laughable at best, but it was interesting to note. So yeah. We spent the first few weeks or so practicing how to pronounce things.

Thankfully, we’ve all come a long way since then.

Nihongo only

One of the biggest differences between my language schools in Malaysia and in Japan is that in my school in Tokyo, we’re only allowed to use Japanese in class. Lessons are taught completely in Japanese, and students are forbidden from using any language but Japanese. This was something that intimidated me prior to my arrival in Japan, but once classes started, I was at ease. This was largely due to how our teachers are able to communicate effectively with us despite our limited Japanese vocabulary. And slowly but surely, we started to get used to listening to Japanese on a daily basis.

Speaking to and with fellow students can be a challenge, though. Despite being sorted into classes according to our skill levels, everyone has different levels of proficiency.

Feeling like both an adult and a child at the same time

When you’re re-entering school after being in the workforce for a couple of years, it is pretty much inevitable that you’re going to end up feeling like you’re both an adult and a child at the same time. Usually, when this happens, it takes place at a university, but since it’s a language school, it is ten times worse.

You are surrounded by rowdy students who are generally much younger than you are, and if they aren’t rowdy, then they are still childish in one way or another. Then, you’ll have teachers who will be telling you what to do and when to do things, much like they would tell a child. But at the same time, they know that you are older than the others and thus expect a certain level of maturity from you.

Then there are teachers who might be younger than you… Whoo boy.

Language and cultural barriers

Experiencing language and cultural barriers with the Japanese is pretty much expected… But with fellow foreigners? Much less so.

Luckily, this is my second time studying abroad so the culture shock didn’t hit me that hard. I suppose age plays a factor in it too, because things that I would’ve found frustrating in the past, I now simply observe and shrug my shoulders at. That said, I do admit that I miss how I never have to explain why I do certain things whenever I’m back in Malaysia. Now, I always feel like I have to provide a million and one reasons why I can’t do certain things whenever I get an insistent “But why?”. Worst part is that I have to explain with my limited Japanese, which isn’t fun.

Limited vocabulary when an answer is needed for a complex subject? Usually I just end up saying, “Oh, I just don’t feel like it.”

An insane workload. Be prepared

There are times when it feels like the days just blur into one another. At first, the workload was manageable enough during the first three months. I’d have to say that this was because the teachers wanted to give us time to get used to living in a new country. There were lots of paperwork and other important things to settle.

But once those things were out of the way, classes really started to heat up. We learn a bunch of new grammar rules every day, lots of kanji, lots of new words. It got to the point where we are now flying through the pages of our textbooks, learning something, writing it down hastily in our notebooks, then moving on to something new without a chance to properly use our newfound knowledge. We are even expected to know new words before being taught. This is due to the facts that 1) I got placed in a class that is pretty intense (in less than 6 months, we already finished going through 3 textbooks), and 2) we are expected to do extra studying outside of school.

There you go. This is what I have to share about my experience here. May it be of help to you. 🙂