NihongoDO answers
your frequently asked questions.

At Japanese language coaching school NihongoDO, we will select and use the most appropriate Japanese language materials on the market according to the goals and language ability of each students.

Many schools use original materials but original materials have limited variation and cannot provide the best fit for each student. At NihongoDO, we customize study programs according to your goals and Japanese language ability. In order to ensure that you study with the most appropriate Japanese language materials, we use commercially available materials from which you can choose from a vast selection, rather than original materials.

Of course it is possible. In fact, we highly recommend NihongoDO for beginners because the scope of learning is very large that you can get lost if you do not have a solid plan in place at the beginning.

At NihongoDO, we customize learning methods, materials, and lessons based on a thorough understanding of the language ability of each student. You can receive the learning program that is appropriate for you. Beginners are also welcome.

At NihongoDO, a coaching Japanese language school, you will have time to study while continuing your work or other daily activities.
Here are reasons why you will be able to attain time to learn.

【1. Support of Exclusive Consultants】
At NihongoDO, our exclusive consultants will monitor your daily learning progress and help you to make appropriate progress.
For example, if you are struggling with a wall that is preventing your growth, we can offer tips and new study methods to help you break through the wall. Also if you are really busy with work, we can temporarily reduce your study time to the extent that you can continue, so as not to break your study habits, but increase the amount of study when you are settled.

【2. Immediate Results】
At NihongoDO, you will spend less than 100 hours a month in individually-optimized and high-quality Japanese language study program. It is not easy but that is why you will see results in a very short period of time.
Motivation is essential to continue learning. One of the most effective ways to stay motivated is to see visible results. Your motivation will never be interrupted by seeing the immediate results of your efforts.

【3. Utilization of Spare Time】
Our Japanese language study program makes the most of your spare time.
You can find time to study during your spare time even in your busy life; for example, when traveling to/from work, during your lunch break, when doing housework such as cleaning and laundry, and when taking a bath. You will be able to study Japanese without making major changes to your existing lifestyle by making effective use of these times.
Our exclusive consultant will ask you about your life schedule and propose a study plan that you can continue without difficulty when you enroll.

NihongoDO provides a program for those who are concerned about their ability to continue learning. Each student is assigned an exclusive Japanese consultant who supports them on a daily basis. Please feel free to consult with your consultant at any time about any concerns or worries you may have about your studies.

We also provide one-on-one meetings with an exclusive consultant once in every two weeks. During the meeting, we will review your actual learning results, give you advice, and re-design your study plan. Please do not worry since you will be managed by an exclusive consultant in order to ensure proper learning progress.

In addition, you will spend less than 100 hours a month in individually-optimized and high-quality Japanese language study program. It is not easy but that is why you will see results in a very short period of time.
Motivation is essential to continue learning. One of the most effective ways to stay motivated is to see visible results. You will stay motivated by seeing the immediate results of efforts.

In fact, 91.7% of students actually continue with our one-year program.

It is said that it takes at least 2,200 hours for English speakers to master Japanese, even if they study it efficiently. This result shows how difficult it is to learn Japanese.

If you try to study 1,000 hours in three months, you need to study 11 hours per day. This is a very unrealistic number.
The ideal study time is 3 hours per day in order to learn in a short period of time with continued motivation and without strain.

However, 3 hours per day is the amount of study time required for beginners to become proficient in Japanese. Advanced students who already have a certain level of Japanese language proficiency or those whose goal is to improve their Japanese language skills on a more limited basis, such as traveling, taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or watching anime/manga, can achieve results in a shorter amount of time.

If you are a beginner in Japanese, it is difficult to become able to speak Japanese fluently with less than 6 months of study. At NihongoDO; however, we provide individually-optimized and high-quality Japanese language study program which requires 3 hours of study per day. This means that your Japanese language skills will improve significantly even in a short period of time.

Learning Japanese does not necessarily mean that all abilities will improve in a certain amount. Generally, students first improve listening skills and then their speaking skills. If you only need to improve your listening and speaking skills to be able to communicate with others, you may be able to achieve your goals even if you take a 6-month course.
Plus, if you are an advanced student who already has a certain level of Japanese language proficiency or if your goal is to improve your Japanese language skills on a more limited basis, such as traveling, taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or watching anime/manga, it is possible to achieve results in a shorter period of time, such as 3 months.

Yes, it is possible. If you have any requests, please let our staff know at the time of free consultation.
However, please understand that we may not be able to meet your request in some cases.

We are often asked by our students what makes NihongoDO different from other Japanese language schools.
Here we would like to explain three differences.

【1. Optimized Study Plan For You】
Most Japanese language schools offer a learning plan that allows students to choose one of several predetermined patterns. However, this method provides only standardized services and reduces learning efficiency significantly. It is also not uncommon for less-than-ideal schools to have no study plan at all and students simply take lessons in the dark.

At NihogoDO, our exclusive consultants will clarify your goals and current language ability and build a study plan that will help you achieve your goals in the shortest possible amount of time. This personalized study plan will help you achieve your goals efficiently.


【2. Remarkable Study Time】
It is said that it takes 2,200 hours for a complete beginner English speaker to master Japanese. However, it is not a rare to find Japanese language schools that offer only 50-minute lessons once a week. This means students only learn about 4 hours per month, and it would take more than 45 years to achieve 2,200 hours of learning.

At NihogoDO, students are required to study Japanese for 3 hours a day, which is about 80 hours a month, including 3 lessons a week with an exclusive coach. We go to such lengths that we are able to greatly improve your language skills in a short period of time.


【3. Full Support System】
The enemies of language learning are failure and getting lost. No matter how excellent your learning method is, it is meaningless if you cannot continue. You must choose the most appropriate learning method according to your progress.

That is why our exclusive consultants monitor your learning progress on a daily basis and give you appropriate advice and adjustments to your study plan. This ensures that you always follow the most appropriate learning method without falling behind.

You will basically learn grammar as well. However, the grammar required is at the elementary school level Japanese. More advanced grammar is rarely required in conversational Japanese, therefore, students will concentrate on other studies after mastering basic grammar.

The final results will vary depending on your current Japanese language ability, your goals, and the length of your study period. However, since we provide 3 hours of Japanese language study per day, including Japanese lessons with an exclusive coach, it is possible to achieve significant learning results in a short period of time.

The following is a specific example of a typical learning outcome after one year of study at NihongoDO.

If you are a beginner in Japanese at the beginning of the course, you will be able to understand most of the Japanese listening comprehension after finishing one year program. In terms of speaking, you will be able to express your opinion clearly and communicate at a slower pace.

Moreover, if you have goals such as hoping to have meetings with business partners or work in Japan, you will be able to acquire the basic Japanese language skills as well as the Japanese language skills to achieve your desired goals.

Lessons at NihongoDO are divided into two levels. First, the coach will teach you Japanese for beginners. After you have gained some basic skills, you will then move on to lessons that focus on speaking Japanese as much as you can.

It is essential to go through a cycle of input learning to acquire Japanese language knowledge and output learning to use the acquired knowledge in actual situations. If the instructor spends a lot of time talking, as in typical Japanese language school lessons, the time for students to output the Japanese they have learned through input study will be reduced.

To address this issue, NihongoDO asks students to prepare for the lesson topic in advance. By preparing thoroughly in advance, students can concentrate on speaking Japanese in the lessons. Please think of the native coach as a facilitator and supporter. By outputting the knowledge you have input in the lessons, you will be able to acquire Japanese language skills that can be used in real business situations.

NihongoDO mainly uses shadowing to improve listening skills. Shadowing is a method of learning Japanese that links sounds to meanings and is very effective in improving listening comprehension.

There are two reasons why students are unable to understand Japanese.

One is a lack of knowledge of the Japanese language, which means not knowing the words being spoken. In this case, vocabulary study is necessary.

The other is not being able to connect sounds to meanings. Even if you know a certain word, if you do not know how a native speaker utters the word, you will not be able to connect the word with the sound and understand the meaning in actual conversation.

Shadowing is a very effective way to counter this problem.

The shadowing study mainly uses movies and speech videos. This helps students to develop their ability to listen to native Japanese. For beginners, we also use audio materials, but these are in Japanese with speed and content designed for learners, and are far removed from native, which is live Japanese. Shadowing with these materials will not develop listening skills that can be used in real-world situations, so we recommend that you stop using them once you have developed a certain level of proficiency.

We mainly focus on instantaneous Japanese composition and phrase memorization.

Even native speakers use middle school-level vocabulary and grammar in about 95% of their conversations. The processing capacity of your brain is what actually makes it difficult for non-Japanese people to speak Japanese, even though they can have a conversation using simple words. When you are speaking in Japanese, you are probably thinking in your head what you are going to say. However, when it comes to Japanese, the thought process of what to say is added. This process causes confusion in the brain.

To solve this problem, you need to train yourself thoroughly until Japanese words come out of your mouth without thinking.
For example, when someone says hello to you, it is not difficult for you to instantly reply hello back. This is because hello is completely automatic in your mind. By automating other English words and phrases to the same level as hello, you can accelerate your Japanese.

However, automating all Japanese phrases takes a huge amount of time so NihongoDO selects the Japanese phrases you need according to your goals. Through efficient goal-oriented learning, you can acquire speaking skills that can be used in business situations in a short period of time.

For more details, please refer to the column 「94.6% of Speech of Biden is Middle School Words. Yet, why cannot Japanese people speak Japanese?？」

Yes, it is possible. In fact, many people living abroad are taking NihongoDO courses online.

Since the launch of NihongoDO, we have offered all of our programs online as well. We are confident that the results of our online courses are comparable to those of our in-class courses.

You can pay monthly by credit card.

It takes about 60 minutes but may take up to 90 minutes to complete the application process.

Our Japanese language learning specialists will listen to your concerns, goals, and Japanese language ability, and suggest the best Japanese learning method for you. We will not force you to join us, so if you are not sure what you should do, please feel free to join the free consultation.

Click here for free counseling

At NihongoDO, you will learn by using commercially available course materials. Therefore, you will need to pay for the textbooks in addition to the tuition fee. However, the materials are not very expensive, and the average cost is around $200 per year, depending on your study plan.

If you cancel your membership during the 7-day free trial period, you will not be charged any tuition fees. However, we will not charge you for any materials that you have not paid us for, such as materials that you have purchased on your own.