2017/05/02
Harris
England
Shinjuku school Intensive course
In England I was working in IT when I was made redundant from my job and found myself with a lot of time. I thought it might be a good idea to take a break from working for a while to study Japanese. I had wanted to learn another language for quite a while, and was already interested in Japanese music and films. So, that seemed like a good place to start. I started off learning by myself for about six months, but with quite slow progress. After a while I decided to take it a bit more seriously and signed up for lessons in my country.
As I had never been to Japan before, I thought that I would do three months first to see if I would like the experience and eventually consider to stay longer.
When I was looking for schools, I was searching for short-term programs. Most schools have a kind of six months to one-year minimum, so Arc Academy stood out as one of the candidates. Arc Academy was not just appealing for the short term program, but also for its location easy to get to, its good reputation and the possibility to make some field trips.
Also, another reason I came is that, compared to studying in England, it is so much cheaper to study in Japan. Also, there is a lot more opportunities to practice in Japan than there are in England. It is a really good feeling when you can learn something and then in the same day be able to use it in conversation and be understood.
Moreover, with group lessons you really have to keep up with everyone else. For me, that was a really good thing. With group lessons, everyone else needs to go at the same pace, so I find that I learned a lot more quickly here than I did in England. The courses seemed to push me along more.
I think the lessons are really well balanced – they cover the basics like reading, writing, and grammar. There is also lots of listening practice and conversation practice once your level has improved enough.
All of the teachers here are also really enthusiastic. Of course, everyone has a different teaching style, but I think this is good. If you only had one teacher, you may perhaps get too comfortable with that one teacher’s way of speaking or teaching, so I think that mixing it up so that you do not get too relaxed helps keeping you on your toes. Also, it was definitely part of the teaching to explain the cultural aspects as well: you do have to cover some cultural things in order for the language to make sense.
When I had questions for things outside of class, teachers were always around after class or during the breaks, and really keen to help out with my questions. In this, Arc Academy’s support structure is great. Generally, if you have any question the staff are really keen to help you out. They provide a lot of information to help you find part-time jobs and helping to find accommodations as well. For example, if there was an event or something that I was interested in, the staff at the reception were always really happy to help. I am sure that if somebody had an issue that was not school related, the staff would be more than happy to help as well. I feel it is really comforting to have that sort-of safety net, where you know that if there is something you are really struggling with, there are people you can ask. It makes the whole experience a little less daunting.
Generally, classmates too are really friendly, with everyone helping each other if they need it. In my class, people came from a lot of different countries, and there was a large variety in their ages. This is another good thing about the school – there is a really good mix of students, and sometimes the only way you have to socialize is to use your Japanese.
After graduation, I hope to find full-time work here. If that is not possible, I would probably go back to England and try to find a job where I can study Japanese as well.
To students out there who are thinking about studying Japanese at ARC Academy I would give the advice that, if you can come and study here, definitely do it. It is an experience that most people do not get in their lifetime – living and studying in another country. Plus, Tokyo is a really fun city where one is never short of things to do. And obviously, the standard of teaching here is great. You learn a lot, and there will be a lot of opportunities to practice. I do highly recommend coming here.