< See All PostsDoes it make sense to study in a language school?
by Short_Use2059 on Apr 25, 2026
I’m moving to Japan for a year in June with a WHV, and I’m considering going to a language school of some kind to learn the language. I’ve been already in Japan for 3 months before (January - April 2026), and my girlfriend is also Japanese, so to also improve our conversations, I thought it’s be a wise idea to actually study the language there during my stay.
However, I’ve heard horrific stories regarding Japanese language schools, specifically in regards to the stress it causes to students having to study 4-5 hours/day for 5 days + doing long homeworks, and the fact that language schools don’t really teach you how locals speaks, so I’m quite unsure whether it makes sense for me to spend money and efforts in a language school.
I know how to read and write hiragana and katakana and I know quite a few words/sentences as my gf teached me them during my precious stay. My goal is to communicate, so I’d rather stick to learning vocabulary and grammar to build sentences, rather than learning how to read/write (especially kanjis). What makes most sense for me? What was your experience? Would doing a part-time job help me with learning?
Comments
by ZeusAllMighty11 on Apr 25, 2026
> I’ve heard horrific stories regarding Japanese language schools, specifically in regards to the stress it causes to students having to study 4-5 hours/day for 5 days + doing long homeworks, and the fact that language schools don’t really teach you how locals speak,
If you actually attend school to learn, this is standard... You do ~3 hours of class each day, and about ~2-3 studying the material for the next day. You do this everyday until the end of the semester, when you take exams to see how well you learned. You will learn how to read, write (by hand, though many schools do homework digitally now), and speak at any school worth their salt.
For most people, Japanese is a difficult language that takes a considerable amount of time and practice. There's no shortcut through it.
by AmphibianSea3602 on Apr 25, 2026
My school is still all pencil and paper they're teaching both the polite version and the friendly versions homework isn't alot but I have alother of catching up to due to my limited vocabulary
by nile_green on Apr 25, 2026
If you want to learn the language, you’ll need to dedicate several hours a day for several months to get there. Attending Japanese school is absolutely the best way to learn.
For me, this was 3 hours class a day, then an extra 2 hours or so homework + study, then of course lots of practice with Japanese friends out and about throughout Tokyo.
by FAlady on Apr 25, 2026
Learning how to speak without reading and writing doesn't make sense IMO.
by CuisineTournante on Apr 25, 2026
That's how you learn a language tho
by beginswithanx on Apr 25, 2026
Most visa sponsoring language programs are full time.
Since you’d be on a working holiday visa you don’t need a full time program to be in Japan. If you don’t want to study in a full time program, you could do part time, once a week, private lessons, etc. There are plenty of part time classes options.
by Short_Use2059 on Apr 27, 2026
Thank you, and yes, I think I’ll go with part time classes at this point
by [deleted] on Apr 26, 2026
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