What should you do、to be
able to speak Japanese?

There are 5 traps in choosing Japanese schools:

It is not uncommon for those who wish to learn to speak Japanese to choose a Japanese language school as a means to achieve this goal. However, how many of your acquaintances around you have learned to speak Japanese only at Japanese language schools?

In fact, there are many traps that Japanese language learners tend to fall into at Japanese language schools. As a result, it is common for students to give up halfway through their studies because of the lack of success.

In this article, NihongoDO, a Japanese language coaching school, will introduce "5 traps of Japanese language schools that are particularly dangerous," which we know because we are in the language learning industry, and how to prevent these traps.

1st Trap：Too little time for learning in the first place

In conventional Japanese language schools, one 50-minute lesson is usually given once a week or twice a week. If students study for one year, the total study time will be as follows

• Once a week: 50 minutes x 52 weeks = 2,600 minutes (about 43 hours)
• Twice a week: 100 minutes x 52 weeks = 5,200 minutes (about 86 hours)

Please imagine this.
How many things can be mastered in just 43 hours of study?
Sports, musical instruments, painting, calligraphy, dance...all of these would be at a near amateur level in 43 hours.

Only studying when you at school

When you take lessons at a Japanese language school, you will be speaking Japanese with other students.
This kind of environment is very engaging and fulfilling but cannot be the only way of studying.
As a result, other forms of practice feel less fulfilling, leading you to feel like you have learned enough at school.

There is a sense of satisfaction from going to school, but learning Japanese requires more than satisfaction.That's the first trap of Japanese language schools

FSI Study finds English Speakers need 2,200 hours to acquire Japanese

According to a study by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), a foreign language training institute affiliated with the U.S. State Department, it takes 2,200 hours for an American diplomat to master Japanese after receiving excellent language training. English and Japanese are so far apart that learning them is not an easy task.

Going to a traditional Japanese language school once a week, it would take at least 51 years to learn Japanese.

If a student takes lessons once a week at a conventional Japanese language school, it is calculated that it would take approximately 51 years to achieve 2,200 hours.

• Twice a week: 2,200 hours / 86 hours/year = approx. 26 years
• Once a week: 2,200 hours ÷ 43 hours/year = approx. 51 years

As a result, some people may go to school for many years but not see the results they expect. Even if you are someone who learns best via socialization, you still need to leverage all forms of studying in order to succeed.

3 hours a day of high quality Japanese language study is essential

At NihongoDO, students will learn high-quality Japanese for 3 hours a day to avoid falling into this time trap.

• 3 lessons per week with a dedicated coach
• 3 lesson preparations per week
• 6 days of speaking study per week
• 6 days of listening study per week
• Grammar study 6 days a week
• 6 days of vocabulary study per week

We provide you with the best environt to learn Japanese in a short period of time.

Second Trap：Improving self-introduction ONLY

In conventional Japanese language school lessons, it is not uncommon to learn only two things

• Self-introduction
• Simple daily conversation

The first reason why this is happening is because the instructors change every time.

Because of the reservation system, it is difficult to choose the same instructor each time, and you will have to change your instructor one after another. It is not unusual to spend a large part of the lesson introducing yourself.

In short,learners have spent most of their free, short study time introducing themselves!。

Non-customized lesson content with fixed training program

It is not uncommon for conventional Japanese language schools, especially large ones, to have very strict manuals in place, and it is not unusual for students to receive immediate guidance if they deviate from the manuals.

This has the franchise advantage of maintaining a constant level of service, with many schools employing a variety of instructors.

However, each student's true need to learn Japanese will be different, and they will not be able to provide lessons tailored to that person's needs.

Learning without a goal will get you nowhere.

Few conventional Japanese language schools set clear goals. Instead, they focus on learning Japanese when at the school, without a bigger picture in mind. "
We feel like students are best motivated when they have a clear goal in mind. There is plenty to study if you want to, but time is not infinite.

That is why unless each goal is clearly defined and an efficient study plan is put in place to achieve it, you will end up with half-hearted learning with no sense of purpose.

Dedicated coaches protect the quality of lessons.

At NihongoDO, you will have a dedicated coach who will be in charge of your lessons. Each student is assigned to a specific coach, so you only have to introduce yourself once at the beginning.

Since we have exclusive coaches, we are able to understand what students' goals are in learning Japanese, what they are struggling with, and what kind of instruction is best suited for them, all of which enables us to provide lessons that are customized accordingly.

Third Trap："Just a person" who speaks Japanese

To become a school teacher, one must take an exam.
However, traditional Japanese language school instructors are only interviewed by their company.

We maintain a high standard for our coaches, assuring that they are teachers first and foremost.

Lack of competence to teach Japanese

Culture school instructors have acquired some skills through their own efforts. However, Japanese language instructors who were born in Japan are able to speak Japanese without any effort. They lack the experience of having worked hard to learn Japanese.

We believe that it is necessary to have dedicated skills and techniques for teaching Japanese.

At other institutions, many instructors are hired primarily because they speak Japanese with less focus on educational techniques.

Business Japanese cannot be taught by instructors with little or no business experience.

Many of our instructors have no experience in the typical business world. It is a common pattern for recent college graduates to teach Japanese while traveling.

It is impossible to correctly teach correct Japanese used in business to someone who has no business experience.

Dedicated coaches with business experience and the ability to teach Japanese

NihongoDO hires exclusive coaches who are certified to teach Japanese or have extensive business experience and can actually teach Japanese that can be used in business.

Fourth Trap：Lack of real world experiences integrated into study

In order to be able to speak Japanese fluently, it is necessary to integrate knowledge learned outside of lessons into your lesson plans.

In short fueling your learning with real world experiences is crucial to having a strong grasp of Japanese.

Conversations can't be made with unknown Japanese words.

Conventional Japanese language schools are often biased toward learning through lessons.It can promote your growth gradually,but if you don't keep inputting new knowledge, you will not be able to grow any further once your schooling assets run out.。No matter how many lessons you complete, you will never be able to converse using Japanese you do not know.

Lesson is not a time to listen to the instructor.

In a Japanese language school lesson, the instructor often speaks. If a student stops to think about what he or she is going to say, the instructor will immediately follow up and talk to the student.

Although it is nice, the instructor speaking Japanese in the lesson does not provide training for the student's speaking ability. Is it good listening practice? Yes, it will give you some practice.

However, listening practice can also be learned by shadowing yourself using movies and speech videos.

More importantly,speaking practice can never be done alone.。Don't spend your time listening to the instructor when you could be spending your valuable time listening to the instructor.

Techniques for speaking Japanese in lessons

At traditional Japanese language school, it is difficult to get the time to practice spaeking.
At NihongoDO, the following methods are practiced by our students.

• Decide on lesson topics in advance.
• Think about what you will say about the topic, what the other person will say and how you will respond to it.
• Practice the statements prepared in 2.

This allows you to concentrate on speaking Japanese without having to think about what you will say in the lesson.

Don't think that you have to go that far for a lesson. The preparation for this lesson itself is a form of study.

Unfortunately, that's not enough.

At NihongoDO, in addition to lesson preparation, you will learn listening and speaking inputs for 2 to 3 hours a day。So even if you do 3 lessons a week, you will never run out of topics to study.

Fifth Trap：People are not resilient enough without specific goals

Even the best Japanese language study is meaningless if it cannot be continued.

However, except for those with a spirit of steel, the human heart is weak.
There is an unconscious desire for ease and relief from hardship, and we will always look for reasons to interrupt our learning.

• It's raining today, so I won't go to the lesson.
• I am not feeling well today.
• I am busy with work this month.
• I need to take care of kids.
• It's a holiday season...
• I don't see any results and I don't see the point of this study.
• I worked hard yesterday, so I'm good for today.

Many of you might relate those.

To overcome this and continue learning, the following two points are important.

• The presence of others to learn with
• Learning Habits

However, in most cases, these two items are not provided by the Japanese language school, so you will need to prepare your own environment.

Strong passion to overcome your weaknesses

The motivation to learn Japanese lies within the learner themselves. However, if it is only your own motivation, the weakness of the human mind will get in the way.

This is where others who learn together come in.
It is very good to have acquaintances who have the same goal and can learn while reporting each other's progress.

• The tension of having one's learning checked by others.
• The desire not to lose or be disappointed by the other party.
• Efficiency in discussing your own learning concerns.

There are effects like those.
While there is no replacement having peers with the same goals, if you cannot find such a partner by any means, the following will also work.

• People who are trying to learn something, not necessarily Japanese.
• Someone who checks your progress even if they are not learning.

With NihongoDO, each person is assigned a dedicated consultant.

However, it is difficult to find a suitable person.

In the program of NihongoDO, an exclusive consultant is assigned to each student. The consultant is a specialist in Japanese language learning. The consultant will provide advice and encouragement on the progress reported daily by the student, and will regularly check that the student is learning correctly through one-on-one meetings.

NihongoDO's exclusive consultants are there to work with students to promote Japanese language learning.。

Not adapting to changes in one's routines

Traveling is fun, but it is also tiring.
Just lounging on the beach can make studying more strenuous than at home or in familiar places.

This is because when placed in an unusual environment, strong stress is created.
That is the source of fun when traveling, but what about when learning Japanese?
It is too stressful to continue learning in extraordinary conditions.

Therefore, we must make Japanese language study a routine part of our lives. This is what we mean by making learning a habit.

In order to make learning a habit, the following three points need to be addressed.

• Not significantly disrupt my current lifestyle
• Study according to a set schedule
• Do this every day as much as possible

In a typical Japanese language school, only the first requirement is met

Not having a strong schedule to commit to makes learning less of a priority to you. For example, How often do you forget to put your shoes on before you leave for work? Its not something you can procrastinate, even if it doesn't take much effort to do.

At many Japanese language schools, lessons are by appointment only.
If you are given an environment where you can go anytime you want by making an appointment, if it is a tough Japanese study, people will find some reason not to go.

At NihongoDO, lessons are fixed. If we decide on Wednesday at 8pm, we will have lessons at that time each week. Self study is more flexible to fit your life, but the same is true for scheduling them in advance.

It is only because it has to be done at a set time that people are able to continue.

Even if you study on your own, be sure to set a schedule and follow it.

20 hours in 6 days is better than 20 hours in 1 day.

It is easier to get into the habit of studying on a daily basis, even if the time is short, rather than concentrating on one day during the week.

Even with a set schedule, intensive study like this is not sustainable.
And what if you have plans on that one day that you can't change?
If you study 6 days a week, you only need to change one day, but if you are concentrating on one day, your study schedule will be greatly compromised. At NihongoDO, lessons are held three times a week, but input study is conducted six days a week. This allows students to make learning Japanese a habit.

With NihongoDOyou can achive your goals.

As you can see, there are many fairly large traps lurking in Japanese language schools.
However, with various schemes, it is possible to achieve solid results.

NihongoDO is now offering free counseling. If you are interested in learning more about the methods we have described and how they can help you, please join us.