Its comforting to know at 32 I won't be the only "old" person there haha, saving up this year and planning on going to Sapporo in 2021! Thanks so much for the video!
Haha yeah, don’t worry about that!! And in my experience everyone gets along well not matter the age! 😂 That’s so cool, I really want to visit Sapporo! Enjoy Japan!!
QUESTIONS: 0:24 How do I choose a language school? 1:53 How do I apply? 2:37 What are the requirements? 2:57 Language requirements? 3:16 How is it in the beginning? 3:52 What language is used in class? 4:39 How big are the classes? 4:52 What is the average age? 5:15 How much homework do you get? 5:45 Will you prepare for the JLPT? 6:30 Dormitory vs Apartment 7:24 What if I already know some Japanese? 8:11 School attendance!!
That was very interesting! I attended language school in Korea and can see a lot of similarities ;) I think the smartest thing is to research the schools in advance and find one that will suit your needs, like you said! I somehow ended up at a language school that was very focused on tests and wasn't really able to speak Korean after finishing, even though I had a quite good score in the tests lol ^^; Thanks for sharing!!
I'll be coming to Japan to study at a language school in April! I'm also 22. I already had the language school experience in Russia (on my year abroad at university), but I'm still a little bit worried especially with the whole pandemic situation.
Ohh, that’s exciting!! Yeah, I hope things will calm down again, they did start to let people with long-term visas (including student visas) into the country, I hope they won’t change that! And I hope you’ll enjoy your language school experience! 👏🏻
I REALLY want to go to a Japanese language school, but I'm afraid of embarrassing myself or getting lost when the teachers are only speaking Japanese. :'D Aaaa, I'm scared
I’m sure most students feel the same when they start!! If that’s the things that’s holding you back I really think you should go, there will for sure be more students feeling the same way that you can get support from haha xD
Hi Johanna! I have one question regarding dormitories - Do you know "Coco Chiyo" and "Rupo Kenchoguchi" dormitories? I need to choose between them for my stay in Fukuoka and I would like to know your thoughts or experience in case you stayed in one of these, visited, knew some friends staying there..? Thanks very much!!
Haha, your comment brought back some good memories! 😹 I don't know Coco Chiyo, but I stayed in Rupo for the first 6 months! I liked living there, it's quite close to school and to the subway, they have a nice lobby where I spent a lot of time studying and chilling with friends (i don't know how that has changed after covid started though), and the rooms were clean and nice! The only downside was that the kitchen got really smelly in summer (shared kitchen) because some other students didn't clean properly after themselves, and if you want a fridge you probably have to buy your own since there only is one shared fridge in the whole building, and I did hear of people having their food stolen/taken 😆 But I enjoyed living there! I'm afraid I don't know anything about Coco Chiyo though so I can't compare them to each other 😬
Ahh I see, thanks Johanna! Coco has its own small tiny kitchen space and a terrace, that seems to the main difference, but it looks like it's located in a busy road by looking at Google maps. Rupo seems to be located in smaller street, what makes me think it would be more peaceful and quiet. It's hard to know without seeing the place, isn't it?
@@yolandayog it's definitely hard to know! I think i chose based on the distance from the school (the other option was quite far away from school), and I ended up being happy with my choice! But i don't think any option is bad, they might just have different good points 😋 For sentimental reasons I'd say Rupo though, just because i enjoyed it 😂 But having your own kitchen is big if you like cooking! I guess you'll have to consider your options a bit longer 🤣
Fukuoka Foreign language School is one of the school I've been heavily looking into and considering going to! How much was your cost of living there outside of school expenses? (Meaning anything outside of the Total Course Costs from the Go! Go! Nihon web page) Based off personal experience, Is there anything you wish you knew about the school that you can't find directly online? Thank you so much for your time!
My monthly costs varied through my two years in language school since I had to live more sparsely some periods, but I think the least I got away with for a month (included rent, food, everything) was around 100,000 yen/month! I can’t think of anything specific that I wish I had known (it’s also a bit late and I’m really tired right now, sorry 😂), but I guess one thing to mention is that the degree you will get after the 2 year program at FFLC doesn’t really mean anything unless you have a bachelors degree/years of work experience in a specific field to back it up! I think some people think that that degree will make them automatically eligible to work in japan, but that’s not really the case!
@@johannakatakana if FFLC degree is useless what do you think about (senmon gakku) vocational school degree? Can you work with it eventho you don't have bachelor degree or years of experience?
@@higgs135 A degree in a specific field that you want to work in later is definitely a key to find a job, a vocational school degree included! As far as I've understood it, it's generally easier to find work with a bachelor's degree (you have more options), but a vocational school degree is absolutely also an option! ☺️
I'm thinking of a Month long language trip with GoGoNihon. Of course it would be great if I could go for a longer time. But then I'm highly worried abot expenses. Like, before coming to Japan for 2 years did you save up a lot of money? I'm guessing you do part time Jobs or such? Thats kinda stuff that would confuse and worry me. I'm 30 and a working person in Germany. I do earn a lot but probs not much to safe up for like half a month of stay idk.
That sounds like fun!! I saved up money to cover most costs for my first year, and used a student loan for the second year (while still working at a part time job to earn some extra money)! Have you looked up the costs? Perhaps that would help to give you an idea of how much you’d be able to afford, or how much you’d have to save!
@@johannakatakana I kind of did read through some informations on GogoNihon. I talked to my Fam that I might consider a 1 or 2 Year stay att he school in Japan. By all means, I totally respect that it will be kinda hard to archieve that. But its someting I would work hard for ; v ; But mostly im worried since I only have a low high school diploma..or how u call it. So they might not even consider me. Its probs one of the lowest. (But we moved a lot in my childhood so I had troubles with learning since i had to switch schools a lot haha) Thats what troubles me more than having to save up money
In classes where the teachers speak only in Japanese, are the students allowed to look up words in a dictionary if they don't know how to say something in Japanese?
Hi again Johanna ^^ thank you to share all these good informations ^^ I have an important question about the « baito ». Because of the student visa, the max work hours are 28h/per week. How much we can expect (salary) with this type of work? It’s important because I mean apartment, food etc...😂 thank ☺️
How much you can earn depends on where in japan you live, the salary is higher in the larger cities (but so are the living expenses), but the general salary for a baito is around 1000-1200 yen/hour! ☺️
Thanks for your comment!! Not really sure what you mean by teaching method, but they teach exclusively in Japanese and move pretty fast through the chapters! FFLC is definitely a school you should choose if you want to advance faster and want to pass a certain level of the JLPT or even study for the EJU to get into a Japanese university! If i didn't really answer your question then please comment again and I will try my best xD As for free time, I had a lot! We only have classes around 4 hours a day, from 13:30-17:40 so all time before and after that is free to do whatever you want. I didn't start working part time until a few months into the school year and before starting to work I had LOTS of time! Almost a bit too much lol. But if you want to work part time to support yourself you won't have as much free time!
@@johannakatakana thank you, you answer pretty much what I asked. My goal is to study in fflc so I want to know the experience of a current student. Did you live in the dormitories of the school, if so can you tell me how much was the cost and the services in the building? Other thing I would like to know your experience in the first moment that you arrived in japan and what did you do after that? Do you also have time to travel around the country? Sorry if I make to many questions but I'm so excited. I want to be there as soon as possible. Thank you for your time and have a nice day
Yes I lived in one of the scholl dormitories for the first 6 months! To be honest I don't remember exactly how much I payed and the price might have changed, but I believe I payed around 300,000 yen for those 6 months. That included water, gas and electricity and I had to pay it while doing my applications while I was still in Sweden! The one I went to was pretty nice, the kitchen was a bit unclean sometimes when other students didn't clean up after themselves, but the rooms were really nice! You can choose to share a room with another student, when I was there the price for sharing was literally half the price of living alone in a room. Well, I already had 10 months of experience of living in Japan for a few years before, so I kind of knew what to expect and my firist few days might have been different than for students who came there for the first time. But I went shopping for cleaning supplies and other necessary things I didn't bring from Sweden and took some time to explore the area with all the new friends I made at the dorm! The first moment was a mix of pure joy and exhaustion from the long journey xD I went straight to the convenience store and got some foods that I'd missed lol!! Yes, you definitely have time! Japan has many random holidays that either fall on Fridays or Mondays, so you have lots of opportunities for weekend trips. I've traveled a bit, I went to all the prefectures on Kyushu and have visted Tokyo and Osaka too! There will definitely be time for traveling too! Hehe, i'm happy that you're excited and I 100% understand and relate to your feelings right now lol!! Don't hesistate to ask anything else, I love helping out! FFLC also released a new website just yesterday and I think it's easier to find useful information there now, so you should check it out!
Yes of course! I am actually leaving Fukuoka at the end of this week, I'm moving up to Kanagawa to start university there! I will make videos talking about that too of course! Let me know if you have any suggestions/ideas for videos that you'd like me to make! Thank you, I definitely will!!
I like your video! Recent;y i'm thinking about applying to a Japanese school and i tried to use gogo nihon. but they couldn't help me because i'm from Iran. Can you make a video about how expensive is life in Tokyo?
Thank you!! Many of my friends didn't use GoGoNihon but applied straight to the school through the schools website! So that's definitely an option too. If there are any schools on the GoGoNihon website that you're interested in just visit their website and contact them directly! I've never lived in Tokyo so I'm afraid I'm not the best person to ask for that, hehe. But there are many videos about life in Tokyo so I hope you can find some information from other channels!! If you have any other video suggestions please let me know! And feel free to contact me on my instagram if you use it, I'd be happy to help you more if I can!
I’m not quite sure if I understand your question. Do you mean how life is in FFLC? As in how busy school gets? 😊 That’s so nice!! I’m sure you’ll have a great time, I still know some students there are they are really nice! The teachers and other staff are super nice too 😄
Hi Johanna, thanks for the super informative video! I wanted to ask if I could apply to for the 2 year language program at FFLC without any background in Japanese? Unfortunately, I can't use Go! Go! Nihon! because of the current pandemic and my nationality. And I'm confused because on FFLC's website it states this for qualifications: "For the Japanese Course: Eagerness to learn Japanese and proficiency equivalent to JLPT N5 or better * JLPT N5 or higher certification, or an equivalent amount of study (150 hours or more), must be attained prior to applying for a student visa to learn Japanese." Again, thank you and sorry for the super long message!
The reason why they ask for a certain level or certain amount of hours is because they don’t want to spend too much time teaching basics, when that time could be used to teach more advanced things! So for example, they usually ask students to learn hiragana and katakana before coming so that they don’t have to use time to teach that in class, and same with basic phrases etc! I did however see lots of students who didn’t know anything at all when coming, so I don’t know how strict they actually are about it haha. Just learn what you can before going and you should be fine! I can’t remember having to send any “proof” of how many hours I’d studied, I think I just checked a box in the application form, so I don’t think you need you need to worry too much about that! ☺️
@@johannakatakana thank you so much for the reply! I emailed and asked them about this and they clarified that the certificate /number of hours was for those who don't have a bachelor's degree from their own country. I'm good with that but I'll definitely take your advice and learn as much as I can before starting since I won't be able to enroll until 2022. Inquired to late and the deadline is in less than 2 weeks 😅
Yeah, the more you prepare and study before enrolling, the higher level you will start at when you enroll, which means that you will be able to advance more as well! I think preparing makes sense and is a very good thing to do before enrolling! I hope you enjoy it there - even if it’ll take a while until you can go! And let me know if you have any other questions, here on RUclips or on my Instagram @johannakatakana! ☺️
Yes, absolutely! I think I remember someone doing that, as well as some people advancing to a higher level class! It could go both ways, that your homeroom teacher recommends it to you or that you tell them what you want to do! I think they'll give you extra support for you to catch up before making any decisions, but I don't think it's unheard of!
Hey. Hope you're doing good. I just checked with the fflc website. It says that we're required to study 150 hrs or N5 equivalent Japanese before applying. So do we have to do that?
I really don't think that many of the students who enrolled in the beginners course had 150 hours of studying behind them when they came 😹 The reason they say that is because they want people to have a basic grasp of the language (like being able to read and write hiragana and katakana) before enrolling. To make the start smoother and because they only use Japanese in the classroom when they teach! I always recommend people to learn as much as you can before your school start to get ahead a bit when you arrive!
I have a question : in the dormitory, like how much people are there in one room ? Like 4 ? 6? And girls and boys are separed I suppose ( I hope so haha) Thanks for the video
I think generally Fukuoka is a safe city, and I was never scared to walk outside even late at night. As for places that should be avoided, there is an area called Nakasu-Kawabata in the center of the city, and that is an area that you probably should hang around at after it gets dark. It’s been called the red light district of Fukuoka and there are lots of sketchy people there at night lol. Also, you should avoid parks in the central area at night!
Hello Johanna, How are you doing? I hope you are doing fine. I'd like to ask if it is generally fine to rent directly an apartment thru real estate agent like Able instead of living in the dormitory suggested by fflc in the first six months. Is this okay, cost-wise?
Heyy, thank you for your comment!! I'm doing very well right now! ☺️ That is of course nothing they will stop you from doing, it's completely up to you! Personally I normally recommend starting at a dorm, both for the social aspect (you'll get to know lots of people from school by living there) and also because then you won't have to worry about paying bills and all that comes with living in an apartment! But it is definitely okay, there were some people in my language school who did that!
@@johannakatakana Thank you very much johanna. The info helped me a lot and strengthened my resolve. I just sent an email to the staff of pr and student recruitment and signed the no dormitory agreement form. but I will still need his help to act as a reference for the property landlord around higashi-ku.
Hello,thanks for your sharing.I prefer to choose the fflc which is your alma mater.I have read the Qualification for application,one of the requirement is get the level N5 or at least 150 hour for learning Japanese.How do u get this? 2.I want study Japanese language with my wife.So which it best to settle down our living place?Although the school have the dormitory,So can we choose the same room to live together?Looking forward to your reply.
Good choice on going to FFLC! 😋 Well, you’ll just have to study! I think the main reason for why they’re asking for that is so that you don’t have to spend a long time working through the basics when you start your language school, because then it would take a long time for the class to be able to advance. They generally want you to know hiragana and katakana, and some very basic Japanese words and phrases before you enroll. I’ve met students who didn’t know any Japanese when arriving though! But I’d definitely advice you to get ahead as much as possible through studying before you move to Japan. As for the dorms, you cannot live together in them since you only have the choice to either live alone in a room or share a room with someone of your gender. If you are okay with that then you could go for it, but if not then I’d suggest moving into an apartment instead!
It depends on if you have a bachelors degree/around 10 years of work experience! If not then you’ll need to get that, or alternatively go to a uni/vocational school here in japan after you finish language school!
Hey, you made a very informative video. I am currently pursuing B.Tech in computer science. I will graduate next year june. I have JLPT N3 and want to learn for more advance level. after learning for N2 atleast I will search for tech related job. can you tell me, like can I join any school for intermediate level to advance level? Thank you
I’m happy to hear that!! I’m not sure if all schools offer that, but to give you an example I had a few students who were at N3 already when they enrolled in my language school, and they joined the more advanced second year students and studied with them only for a year! In my case I was somewhere between N4 and N3 and was placed in the most advanced 1st year class, and we started with N3 and some N2! If you’re okay with learning things you already know in the begging you could probably do like I do, but if you want to join an even more advanced class you could probably be placed with second year students! That will mean that you only can study for one year though.
@@johannakatakana thank you for sharing this information. But do you know someone like who are fresher and joined language school then finds the job ? basically I mean is it possible to find job after N2 if I am fresher.
Its comforting to know at 32 I won't be the only "old" person there haha, saving up this year and planning on going to Sapporo in 2021! Thanks so much for the video!
Haha yeah, don’t worry about that!! And in my experience everyone gets along well not matter the age! 😂 That’s so cool, I really want to visit Sapporo! Enjoy Japan!!
Did you have a college degree before going to language school? And How are you doing at the language school?
QUESTIONS:
0:24 How do I choose a language school?
1:53 How do I apply?
2:37 What are the requirements?
2:57 Language requirements?
3:16 How is it in the beginning?
3:52 What language is used in class?
4:39 How big are the classes?
4:52 What is the average age?
5:15 How much homework do you get?
5:45 Will you prepare for the JLPT?
6:30 Dormitory vs Apartment
7:24 What if I already know some Japanese?
8:11 School attendance!!
That was very interesting! I attended language school in Korea and can see a lot of similarities ;) I think the smartest thing is to research the schools in advance and find one that will suit your needs, like you said! I somehow ended up at a language school that was very focused on tests and wasn't really able to speak Korean after finishing, even though I had a quite good score in the tests lol ^^; Thanks for sharing!!
I'll be coming to Japan to study at a language school in April! I'm also 22. I already had the language school experience in Russia (on my year abroad at university), but I'm still a little bit worried especially with the whole pandemic situation.
Ohh, that’s exciting!! Yeah, I hope things will calm down again, they did start to let people with long-term visas (including student visas) into the country, I hope they won’t change that! And I hope you’ll enjoy your language school experience! 👏🏻
I REALLY want to go to a Japanese language school, but I'm afraid of embarrassing myself or getting lost when the teachers are only speaking Japanese. :'D Aaaa, I'm scared
I’m sure most students feel the same when they start!! If that’s the things that’s holding you back I really think you should go, there will for sure be more students feeling the same way that you can get support from haha xD
So did you accomplish your wish?
Amazing
Thank you! ☺️
Hi Johanna! I have one question regarding dormitories - Do you know "Coco Chiyo" and "Rupo Kenchoguchi" dormitories? I need to choose between them for my stay in Fukuoka and I would like to know your thoughts or experience in case you stayed in one of these, visited, knew some friends staying there..? Thanks very much!!
Haha, your comment brought back some good memories! 😹 I don't know Coco Chiyo, but I stayed in Rupo for the first 6 months! I liked living there, it's quite close to school and to the subway, they have a nice lobby where I spent a lot of time studying and chilling with friends (i don't know how that has changed after covid started though), and the rooms were clean and nice! The only downside was that the kitchen got really smelly in summer (shared kitchen) because some other students didn't clean properly after themselves, and if you want a fridge you probably have to buy your own since there only is one shared fridge in the whole building, and I did hear of people having their food stolen/taken 😆 But I enjoyed living there! I'm afraid I don't know anything about Coco Chiyo though so I can't compare them to each other 😬
Ahh I see, thanks Johanna!
Coco has its own small tiny kitchen space and a terrace, that seems to the main difference, but it looks like it's located in a busy road by looking at Google maps. Rupo seems to be located in smaller street, what makes me think it would be more peaceful and quiet. It's hard to know without seeing the place, isn't it?
@@yolandayog it's definitely hard to know! I think i chose based on the distance from the school (the other option was quite far away from school), and I ended up being happy with my choice! But i don't think any option is bad, they might just have different good points 😋 For sentimental reasons I'd say Rupo though, just because i enjoyed it 😂 But having your own kitchen is big if you like cooking! I guess you'll have to consider your options a bit longer 🤣
Your advice is very helpful, thanks!
Fukuoka Foreign language School is one of the school I've been heavily looking into and considering going to!
How much was your cost of living there outside of school expenses? (Meaning anything outside of the Total Course Costs from the Go! Go! Nihon web page)
Based off personal experience, Is there anything you wish you knew about the school that you can't find directly online?
Thank you so much for your time!
My monthly costs varied through my two years in language school since I had to live more sparsely some periods, but I think the least I got away with for a month (included rent, food, everything) was around 100,000 yen/month!
I can’t think of anything specific that I wish I had known (it’s also a bit late and I’m really tired right now, sorry 😂), but I guess one thing to mention is that the degree you will get after the 2 year program at FFLC doesn’t really mean anything unless you have a bachelors degree/years of work experience in a specific field to back it up! I think some people think that that degree will make them automatically eligible to work in japan, but that’s not really the case!
@@johannakatakana if FFLC degree is useless what do you think about (senmon gakku) vocational school degree? Can you work with it eventho you don't have bachelor degree or years of experience?
@@higgs135 A degree in a specific field that you want to work in later is definitely a key to find a job, a vocational school degree included! As far as I've understood it, it's generally easier to find work with a bachelor's degree (you have more options), but a vocational school degree is absolutely also an option! ☺️
Hi Johannaさん！I hope you can share or tackle on living expenses or how to find your own apartment in Japan. ありがとうございます😊
Thanks, will definitely write that down!!
Your videos are useful
I'm thinking of a Month long language trip with GoGoNihon. Of course it would be great if I could go for a longer time. But then I'm highly worried abot expenses. Like, before coming to Japan for 2 years did you save up a lot of money? I'm guessing you do part time Jobs or such? Thats kinda stuff that would confuse and worry me. I'm 30 and a working person in Germany. I do earn a lot but probs not much to safe up for like half a month of stay idk.
That sounds like fun!!
I saved up money to cover most costs for my first year, and used a student loan for the second year (while still working at a part time job to earn some extra money)! Have you looked up the costs? Perhaps that would help to give you an idea of how much you’d be able to afford, or how much you’d have to save!
@@johannakatakana I kind of did read through some informations on GogoNihon. I talked to my Fam that I might consider a 1 or 2 Year stay att he school in Japan. By all means, I totally respect that it will be kinda hard to archieve that. But its someting I would work hard for ; v ; But mostly im worried since I only have a low high school diploma..or how u call it. So they might not even consider me. Its probs one of the lowest. (But we moved a lot in my childhood so I had troubles with learning since i had to switch schools a lot haha) Thats what troubles me more than having to save up money
In classes where the teachers speak only in Japanese, are the students allowed to look up words in a dictionary if they don't know how to say something in Japanese?
Hi again Johanna ^^ thank you to share all these good informations ^^ I have an important question about the « baito ». Because of the student visa, the max work hours are 28h/per week. How much we can expect (salary) with this type of work?
It’s important because I mean apartment, food etc...😂 thank ☺️
How much you can earn depends on where in japan you live, the salary is higher in the larger cities (but so are the living expenses), but the general salary for a baito is around 1000-1200 yen/hour! ☺️
@@johannakatakana oh I see! So it will be less than 300 $ a month as a salary for 28 hours in student visa. Not a lot!Thank you!
Yeah it’s unfortunately not that much! Language teaching will generally give you better payment, but it’s hard to get many hours with teaching 🤷🏼♀️
How's the teaching method in fflc? And how much free time do you had in your first year?
Thanks for your comment!!
Not really sure what you mean by teaching method, but they teach exclusively in Japanese and move pretty fast through the chapters! FFLC is definitely a school you should choose if you want to advance faster and want to pass a certain level of the JLPT or even study for the EJU to get into a Japanese university! If i didn't really answer your question then please comment again and I will try my best xD
As for free time, I had a lot! We only have classes around 4 hours a day, from 13:30-17:40 so all time before and after that is free to do whatever you want. I didn't start working part time until a few months into the school year and before starting to work I had LOTS of time! Almost a bit too much lol. But if you want to work part time to support yourself you won't have as much free time!
@@johannakatakana thank you, you answer pretty much what I asked.
My goal is to study in fflc so I want to know the experience of a current student.
Did you live in the dormitories of the school, if so can you tell me how much was the cost and the services in the building?
Other thing I would like to know your experience in the first moment that you arrived in japan and what did you do after that?
Do you also have time to travel around the country?
Sorry if I make to many questions but I'm so excited. I want to be there as soon as possible. Thank you for your time and have a nice day
Yes I lived in one of the scholl dormitories for the first 6 months! To be honest I don't remember exactly how much I payed and the price might have changed, but I believe I payed around 300,000 yen for those 6 months. That included water, gas and electricity and I had to pay it while doing my applications while I was still in Sweden! The one I went to was pretty nice, the kitchen was a bit unclean sometimes when other students didn't clean up after themselves, but the rooms were really nice! You can choose to share a room with another student, when I was there the price for sharing was literally half the price of living alone in a room.
Well, I already had 10 months of experience of living in Japan for a few years before, so I kind of knew what to expect and my firist few days might have been different than for students who came there for the first time. But I went shopping for cleaning supplies and other necessary things I didn't bring from Sweden and took some time to explore the area with all the new friends I made at the dorm! The first moment was a mix of pure joy and exhaustion from the long journey xD I went straight to the convenience store and got some foods that I'd missed lol!!
Yes, you definitely have time! Japan has many random holidays that either fall on Fridays or Mondays, so you have lots of opportunities for weekend trips. I've traveled a bit, I went to all the prefectures on Kyushu and have visted Tokyo and Osaka too! There will definitely be time for traveling too!
Hehe, i'm happy that you're excited and I 100% understand and relate to your feelings right now lol!! Don't hesistate to ask anything else, I love helping out! FFLC also released a new website just yesterday and I think it's easier to find useful information there now, so you should check it out!
Yes of course! I am actually leaving Fukuoka at the end of this week, I'm moving up to Kanagawa to start university there! I will make videos talking about that too of course! Let me know if you have any suggestions/ideas for videos that you'd like me to make!
Thank you, I definitely will!!
@@johannakatakana good luck in the university, I will send you good vibes.
I like your video! Recent;y i'm thinking about applying to a Japanese school and i tried to use gogo nihon. but they couldn't help me because i'm from Iran. Can you make a video about how expensive is life in Tokyo?
Thank you!!
Many of my friends didn't use GoGoNihon but applied straight to the school through the schools website! So that's definitely an option too. If there are any schools on the GoGoNihon website that you're interested in just visit their website and contact them directly! I've never lived in Tokyo so I'm afraid I'm not the best person to ask for that, hehe. But there are many videos about life in Tokyo so I hope you can find some information from other channels!! If you have any other video suggestions please let me know! And feel free to contact me on my instagram if you use it, I'd be happy to help you more if I can!
How about FFLC lives and after FFLC? I'm gonna there in October.
I’m not quite sure if I understand your question. Do you mean how life is in FFLC? As in how busy school gets? 😊
That’s so nice!! I’m sure you’ll have a great time, I still know some students there are they are really nice! The teachers and other staff are super nice too 😄
@@johannakatakana thanks i thought im going to make good time!!
Hi Johanna, thanks for the super informative video! I wanted to ask if I could apply to for the 2 year language program at FFLC without any background in Japanese? Unfortunately, I can't use Go! Go! Nihon! because of the current pandemic and my nationality. And I'm confused because on FFLC's website it states this for qualifications: "For the Japanese Course:
Eagerness to learn Japanese and proficiency equivalent to JLPT N5 or better
* JLPT N5 or higher certification, or an equivalent amount of study (150 hours or more), must be attained prior to applying for a student visa to learn Japanese." Again, thank you and sorry for the super long message!
The reason why they ask for a certain level or certain amount of hours is because they don’t want to spend too much time teaching basics, when that time could be used to teach more advanced things! So for example, they usually ask students to learn hiragana and katakana before coming so that they don’t have to use time to teach that in class, and same with basic phrases etc! I did however see lots of students who didn’t know anything at all when coming, so I don’t know how strict they actually are about it haha. Just learn what you can before going and you should be fine! I can’t remember having to send any “proof” of how many hours I’d studied, I think I just checked a box in the application form, so I don’t think you need you need to worry too much about that! ☺️
@@johannakatakana thank you so much for the reply! I emailed and asked them about this and they clarified that the certificate /number of hours was for those who don't have a bachelor's degree from their own country. I'm good with that but I'll definitely take your advice and learn as much as I can before starting since I won't be able to enroll until 2022. Inquired to late and the deadline is in less than 2 weeks 😅
Yeah, the more you prepare and study before enrolling, the higher level you will start at when you enroll, which means that you will be able to advance more as well! I think preparing makes sense and is a very good thing to do before enrolling! I hope you enjoy it there - even if it’ll take a while until you can go! And let me know if you have any other questions, here on RUclips or on my Instagram @johannakatakana! ☺️
What happens at FFLC when you fall behind? can you switch to a 'lower' class? Will the teachers recommend it or can you ask for it? Thank you!
Yes, absolutely! I think I remember someone doing that, as well as some people advancing to a higher level class! It could go both ways, that your homeroom teacher recommends it to you or that you tell them what you want to do! I think they'll give you extra support for you to catch up before making any decisions, but I don't think it's unheard of!
Hey. Hope you're doing good.
I just checked with the fflc website. It says that we're required to study 150 hrs or N5 equivalent Japanese before applying. So do we have to do that?
I really don't think that many of the students who enrolled in the beginners course had 150 hours of studying behind them when they came 😹 The reason they say that is because they want people to have a basic grasp of the language (like being able to read and write hiragana and katakana) before enrolling. To make the start smoother and because they only use Japanese in the classroom when they teach! I always recommend people to learn as much as you can before your school start to get ahead a bit when you arrive!
I have a question : in the dormitory, like how much people are there in one room ? Like 4 ? 6? And girls and boys are separed I suppose ( I hope so haha)
Thanks for the video
Good question!! In the dorm I lived in you could choose to live alone, or with one other person. So max 2 people. And it was of course separated! ☺️
Is Fukuoka safe, have you faced any problems? Is there’s any area that should be avoided while being there?
I think generally Fukuoka is a safe city, and I was never scared to walk outside even late at night. As for places that should be avoided, there is an area called Nakasu-Kawabata in the center of the city, and that is an area that you probably should hang around at after it gets dark. It’s been called the red light district of Fukuoka and there are lots of sketchy people there at night lol. Also, you should avoid parks in the central area at night!
Its very fukuoka
Hello Johanna,
How are you doing?
I hope you are doing fine.
I'd like to ask if it is generally fine to rent directly an apartment thru real estate agent like Able instead of living in the dormitory suggested by fflc in the first six months.
Is this okay, cost-wise?
Heyy, thank you for your comment!! I'm doing very well right now! ☺️
That is of course nothing they will stop you from doing, it's completely up to you! Personally I normally recommend starting at a dorm, both for the social aspect (you'll get to know lots of people from school by living there) and also because then you won't have to worry about paying bills and all that comes with living in an apartment! But it is definitely okay, there were some people in my language school who did that!
@@johannakatakana Thank you very much johanna. The info helped me a lot and strengthened my resolve. I just sent an email to the staff of pr and student recruitment and signed the no dormitory agreement form. but I will still need his help to act as a reference for the property landlord around higashi-ku.
I hope you find a nice place! I found higashi-ku being quite calm and comfortable to live in!
Hello,thanks for your sharing.I prefer to choose the fflc which is your alma mater.I have read the Qualification for application,one of the requirement is get the level N5 or at least 150 hour for learning Japanese.How do u get this? 2.I want study Japanese language with my wife.So which it best to settle down our living place?Although the school have the dormitory,So can we choose the same room to live together?Looking forward to your reply.
Good choice on going to FFLC! 😋
Well, you’ll just have to study! I think the main reason for why they’re asking for that is so that you don’t have to spend a long time working through the basics when you start your language school, because then it would take a long time for the class to be able to advance. They generally want you to know hiragana and katakana, and some very basic Japanese words and phrases before you enroll. I’ve met students who didn’t know any Japanese when arriving though! But I’d definitely advice you to get ahead as much as possible through studying before you move to Japan.
As for the dorms, you cannot live together in them since you only have the choice to either live alone in a room or share a room with someone of your gender. If you are okay with that then you could go for it, but if not then I’d suggest moving into an apartment instead!
If I study only in a Japanese Language School can I get a full time job?
It depends on if you have a bachelors degree/around 10 years of work experience! If not then you’ll need to get that, or alternatively go to a uni/vocational school here in japan after you finish language school!
Is there any cost of rent for dorms?
It depends on the place, you’ll have to ask the school you’re applying for! I payed rent for the first 6 months in one go before I moved over there!
Hey, you made a very informative video. I am currently pursuing B.Tech in computer science. I will graduate next year june. I have JLPT N3 and want to learn for more advance level. after learning for N2 atleast I will search for tech related job. can you tell me, like can I join any school for intermediate level to advance level? Thank you
I’m happy to hear that!! I’m not sure if all schools offer that, but to give you an example I had a few students who were at N3 already when they enrolled in my language school, and they joined the more advanced second year students and studied with them only for a year!
In my case I was somewhere between N4 and N3 and was placed in the most advanced 1st year class, and we started with N3 and some N2! If you’re okay with learning things you already know in the begging you could probably do like I do, but if you want to join an even more advanced class you could probably be placed with second year students! That will mean that you only can study for one year though.
@@johannakatakana thank you for sharing this information. But do you know someone like who are fresher and joined language school then finds the job ? basically I mean is it possible to find job after N2 if I am fresher.
Hmm no, I don’t think I know anyone like that personally!
Hey nice videos
Thank you!!
What is your native language? Where are you from?
Swedish! I'm from Sweden ☺️
Hi johanna.. I heard that japanese language schools are very strict in treating students. Is there any corporal punishment in these language schools?