Japanese Classes

Japanese classes are like a sushi platter – you never know what you are going to get and you’ll always be unsure of the quality of the fish. I have had my fair share of Japanese classes, both group and private. In Japan I took volunteer lessons at the local ward office, then several years later I studied at a Japanese language college for several months full time. I took private lessons from several teachers in preparation for the Japanese language proficiency test at great expense. I also did a certificate course in Japanese back home in Australia. I have done more than enough study, but I could certainly learn more.

Looking back at my Japanese language education I would have to say the majority of my classes weren’t very beneficial considering the amount of money I invested. I say this because all but a few of my teachers rarely taught Japanese to suit my needs and goals. Most of them just taught what they thought I should know or what they had to teach.

Finding a Good Japanese Teacher

Finding a teacher who can understand your needs and deliver a lesson that will actually teach you something worthwhile is something few students consider. As a complete beginner you will most likely walk away from any lesson having learned something regardless of the quality of the teaching. You will probably find the going slow and develop a mindset that Japanese is difficult to learn and just accept the teacher you have. The problem comes to light once you have the fundamentals of the language under your belt and are ready for the next level. Few teachers will ever really ask you what you want to learn and customize lessons to met your needs. You need to be pro-active in finding a good tecaher or school.

Paid Japanese Classes

Before taking lessons, especially paid lessons, you should think about what you want you want to learn. For example, do you want to learn Japanese grammar? Spoken Japanese? How to read and write Kanji? Are cultural activities important to you? You should also set goals and share them with your teacher. Do you want to study Japanese to get into a Japanese university? Are you wanting you communicate with your Japanese in-laws? Are you interested in taking JLPT? Don’t ever pay for lessons until you know what you want and are sure you will receive lessons that will help and not hinder your progress.

My paid Japanese lessons at a school in Japan were a disaster. My level assessment and induction to the college went very well. However, after a few lessons I found myself in a very frustrating situation. I enrolled to the school with the hope an intention of taking a course to improving my spoken and written Japanese. I soon realized that I had been enrolled to classes for students wanting to take JLPT levels 1 or 2. Most of my students were studying Japanese with the intention of enrolling to a Japanese university.

On my first day I was quite shocked to find out that I was one of only four English speaking students in the whole school. The rest were Korean and Chinese students. Although I made some great friends, I found myself stuck in a class with students far beyond my level who could read and write Japanese. I had only knew a few hundred Kanji and certainly couldn’t read. Most of the classes were reading focused and very difficult. I spent the majority of my classes trying to work out just the readings of Kanji. I would work out their stroke order and then search for the kanji in an electronic dictionary. Just to work out the reading and then the meaning of a single kanji would take me up to 3 or 4 minutes. I rarely finished any of the in class work in time and found the homework far beyond my abilities.

I spoke to teachers and explained my situation. I was unable to change classes and just told to hang in there (Ganbatte kudasi) and keep at it. Eventually I become so frustrated and I started skipping classes. Some mornings I just couldn’t get myself up knowing I would be spending 5 hours frustrated and completely lost with a growing list of kanji and grammar I couldn’t understand. I kind of felt like the classroom pet. And I mean the animal kind because I couldn’t understand a bloody thing and everyone kept patting me on the back offering words of encouragement. No matter how motivated I tried to get myself in the morning the day would always end with me close to losing my sanity. So you have been warned – learning Japanese isn’t always fun. Find yourself a good school or teacher.