2017/05/02
Lorane
France
Shinjuku school Study Abroad course
I entered Arc Academy’s Study Abroad course and I am now staying in Japan under a working visa after graduation.
I have studied Japanese in France before coming to Japan. My majors at the University were English and Japanese, while my Minor was Marketing. After graduating from University, I was not satisfied with my Japanese level: reading and writing were good, but not the speaking part. I did not feel confident enough to speak Japanese. This is why I chose to apply for a Working Holiday Visa to Japan. At the time, I got better at speaking over writing and reading. However, when I went back to France, I got kind of homesick for Japan and I wanted to come back.
As you may know, it is difficult to get a Visa as a foreigner when you are still abroad. You have a better chance once you come to Japan, and only if you have at least JLPT N2. Of course, my Japanese was not at that level, and I was looking for a Japanese school. That is when I found Arc Academy, which was offering long-term studies. I thought it was interesting, and I contacted the person in charge at the time. My working contract back in France would end around the same time of the school’s entrance ceremony, so I decided to give it a chance.
My goal was not to learn Japanese at first, but to improve my fluency. However, when I entered the school, I was a little disappointed as I ended up in class 1, since my reading and writing abilities were not good enough, but in the end I felt like I had learnt more in six months at Arc rather than in four years at the University.
The difficulty level increased progressively and after six months I was confident enough to take the JLPT N3. When I was back in France, we had a lot of individual work, which is not very helpful to increase one’s proficiency; moreover, during classes, there was not really time to revise what was not clear. At Arc, instead, teachers were always available to explain again the parts the class did not understand. My teachers were all very passionate about their job, and always made sure to be easily understandable.
As a result, my reading comprehension improved noticeably, and I now have a good visual memory, as I spent a lot of time memorizing kanji with my classmates. It might sound unimportant, but I no longer need an English menu at the restaurant. I also gained in confidence when it comes to speaking to Japanese people, even over the phone. For example, when I came, I was registered in Japanese idols fan clubs, but I always had problem with my concert tickets and was unable to understand what I was told over the phone, to the point I had to have someone from Arc’s staff call for me. Now, when I have troubles, I can call by myself and understand what the other person says.
School’s staff was always very helpful throughout my stay, always helping me also with personal issues; for example, when I was looking for a job, the staff supported me finding companies that would match my profile and writing a resume, but they also assisted me with the health insurance when I needed it. Even now I have graduated, I know I can contact the school and reach for advice.
Also with my classmates, I did not expect to get along so well, given the age gap (I was the oldest student in the class), cultural differences and objectives: some, especially the younger ones, were preparing to enter higher education, while the others were studying Japanese in the hope to find a job after graduation. On the contrary, being like an elder sister to the others helped the class bond really well. In the end, it was nice to be with the same people from class 1 all the way up to class 8.
On the whole, I am really satisfied about my experience at Arc Academy, and I especially value the understanding I have now of Japanese manners, as I am working in the service industry, and my increased reading and speaking abilities.
As a personal message to all the students considering to study Japanese at Arc Academy, I would like to tell them it is a very good opportunity for the improvement of Japanese fluency, but also for any plan they might have afterwards, be it entering higher education or finding a job; lastly, it is also a very important experience on the human level, as you can make really good friends.