learning japanese

[dimitri_can]

I think you misunderstood what i meant. In Ikoma, it just works that same like Bunka. You don't have to standby that money.

Regarding the late payment issue, i don't wish to go any further because i feel this kinda thing is quite personal and like what you said, will cause abuse to that system.

-In Bunka, every level is defined as a "course", every "course" that's completed is paid in full and completely before you start the "course". Not everyone is obliged to "standby" another "$248" for the next "course', for whatever reason it may be. Like if I finish Ele1 today, I can choose to sign up [ and pay for ] Ele2, next week, next mth, 4mths later, or even next year. Personally I DO NOT WANT to feel obligated to standby another sum of money just so that I can complete a level of study properly [ without a peace of mind ], in case I have financial commitments elsewhere to use it immediately anytime. I am sure no school will be willing to wait more than 1 mth for payment, and no student would be able to focus on learning if money issues are always at the back of his head [ like how to pay for the 2nd half of the 10 lessons ]. At least I know that when I pay $X for Y lessons, that's the end of it, just go for lessons and finish 1 whole course with no worries.

-you stated "speak to the manager, she may allow you to pay later, provided u have valid reasons", in this case, I feel a person's situation that creates inability to pay is "valid reason" enough from that person's point of view. Not to mention "may allow ... to pay later", not 100% will allow, and how "later" is "later" ?
Every school is a for profit business, not a charity, I think it will only be approved on very rare occasions, and will be open to abuse if word gets out.

-I "stuck" to one school because
a) I do not have deep pockets like others who signs up for practically every major language school in Singapore
b) My time is limited as I have my own ad-hoc work aside from a normal job
c) My money is limited as my ad-hoc work requires [ sometimes sudden ] upfront costs to pay, and the income from this work does not come in predictably.
d) I like to focus on one school at a time.

It's good that you let us know more about you. Whatever i said, nothing personal behind it, but for your own good. Walking through the journey of studying Japanese has never been easy. I have about 10 friends who studied in Bunka, all very hardworking people. Most of them after Intermediate or Pre-Advanced, cannot speak, vocab power not strong, then in the end give up Japanese. I just don't wish for you to regret your choice later. I don't have deep pockets like you who can take private lessons from Elementary to Intermediate. It's all hard work, you wanna study, you work to come out with the money for it.

I have also seen people who are successful from Bunka, but stuck at Pre-Advanced 3 for very very long, even though they have passed their level 2 by self studying. In the end, they just end up quitting Bunka.

-So only Ikoma in Singapore has all their teachers who took part in the Japanese teacher certification test.

-In case you don't know, the rental per sq feet at Shaw House [ near mrt / main shopping area ] is obviously more expensive than Delfi Orchard [ far end of main shopping zone ] which is also factored into the lesson fees.

-I have already made my choice 15 months ago [ this forum was one of the places where I made my final decision about which school to join ]... Eventually I will join this school that you hold so much praise about [ and every other school in sg ]. For now, I like to bury my head in the sand ...

Bunka has some of them too. I know that rental is more expensive, but i feel it makes the place more conducive to study, i am sure ah_keong will agree with me on this as well.

Let us know when you join Ikoma and tell us what is the experience that you get. Till then, Good Luck

 

[Kermit_TheFrog]

anyone knows when we will get back the JLPT results?!

 

[sweet_vanilla]

early march

 

[dimitri_can]

last week of Feb

 

[azumangadaioh]

I think you misunderstood what i meant. In Ikoma, it just works that same like Bunka. You don't have to standby that money.

Regarding the late payment issue, i don't wish to go any further because i feel this kinda thing is quite personal and like what you said, will cause abuse to that system.





It's good that you let us know more about you. Whatever i said, nothing personal behind it, but for your own good. Walking through the journey of studying Japanese has never been easy. I have about 10 friends who studied in Bunka, all very hardworking people. Most of them after Intermediate or Pre-Advanced, cannot speak, vocab power not strong, then in the end give up Japanese. I just don't wish for you to regret your choice later. I don't have deep pockets like you who can take private lessons from Elementary to Intermediate. It's all hard work, you wanna study, you work to come out with the money for it.

I have also seen people who are successful from Bunka, but stuck at Pre-Advanced 3 for very very long, even though they have passed their level 2 by self studying. In the end, they just end up quitting Bunka.



Bunka has some of them too. I know that rental is more expensive, but i feel it makes the place more conducive to study, i am sure ah_keong will agree with me on this as well.

Let us know when you join Ikoma and tell us what is the experience that you get. Till then, Good Luck

I think you misunderstood what i meant. In Ikoma, it just works that same like Bunka. You don't have to standby that money.

Legend: I shall use the word "course" to denote a level for all schools mentioned below.

I think you misunderstood me also, the idea [ in context to my personal situation, and probably others ], that a course, having 20 lessons, and have the option of paying half [ for 1st 10 lessons first ], then pay the 2nd half later, is not comfortable for me. In the event, like I mentioned, a need to deploy cash elsewhere, means there is a chance [ definitely for me, and possibly others ] that I am unable to pay the 2nd half. That definitely means 2 outcomes, one is to somehow "source" for this shortfall to pay the school [ likely within 2 weeks, anytime longer will cause undue embarrassment ], the other of course, is to drop out of the course [ having finished half only, and without gaining full learning benefit from completing the whole 20 lessons ].

Now in my context, at the same price I can spend to complete half a course elsewhere, I can finish one completely in Bunka, which, timeframe wise, is short, easy to plan for the next one also since, the size of payment for a course is smaller [ means I have easier planning cashflow ]. It's goes to say that in that sense, those in borderline financial situations should choose one that charges lower, at least in the initial stages of learning, to see if learning Japanese at all is suitable in the 1st place. Note I am discussing above from a cost effectiveness point of view...

It's good that you let us know more about you. Whatever i said, nothing personal behind it, but for your own good. Walking through the journey of studying Japanese has never been easy. I have about 10 friends who studied in Bunka, all very hardworking people. Most of them after Intermediate or Pre-Advanced, cannot speak, vocab power not strong, then in the end give up Japanese. I just don't wish for you to regret your choice later. I don't have deep pockets like you who can take private lessons from Elementary to Intermediate. It's all hard work, you wanna study, you work to come out with the money for it.

I like to clarify here,
- I took individual lessons only from Intermediate level onwards [ exactly which level will not be mentioning here ]
- Deep pockets are illusionary, all that money [ I mean almost ALL ] came from my ad-hoc work [ albeit unpredictable, sometimes no income from there for 3-4mths, on occasion even delay my lessons just to wait for payment ]. There is no way on earth I can even think about learning Japanese if I only use my salary pay to take lessons.

Also, once a decision is made [ of course carefully thought out beforehand lah ], and action started, it will be followed through right to the end [ barring unforeseen catastrophes ], so the word "regret" is, well, I have not used it for a long time...

Still, it has been a good debate, let us spend more time thinking about how to take July paper bah !

 

[JCMaths]

Legend: I shall use the word "course" to denote a level for all schools mentioned below.

I think you misunderstood me also, the idea [ in context to my personal situation, and probably others ], that a course, having 20 lessons, and have the option of paying half [ for 1st 10 lessons first ], then pay the 2nd half later, is not comfortable for me. In the event, like I mentioned, a need to deploy cash elsewhere, means there is a chance [ definitely for me, and possibly others ] that I am unable to pay the 2nd half. That definitely means 2 outcomes, one is to somehow "source" for this shortfall to pay the school [ likely within 2 weeks, anytime longer will cause undue embarrassment ], the other of course, is to drop out of the course [ having finished half only, and without gaining full learning benefit from completing the whole 20 lessons ].

Now in my context, at the same price I can spend to complete half a course elsewhere, I can finish one completely in Bunka, which, timeframe wise, is short, easy to plan for the next one also since, the size of payment for a course is smaller [ means I have easier planning cashflow ]. It's goes to say that in that sense, those in borderline financial situations should choose one that charges lower, at least in the initial stages of learning, to see if learning Japanese at all is suitable in the 1st place. Note I am discussing above from a cost effectiveness point of view...



I like to clarify here,
- I took individual lessons only from Intermediate level onwards [ exactly which level will not be mentioning here ]
- Deep pockets are illusionary, all that money [ I mean almost ALL ] came from my ad-hoc work [ albeit unpredictable, sometimes no income from there for 3-4mths, on occasion even delay my lessons just to wait for payment ]. There is no way on earth I can even think about learning Japanese if I only use my salary pay to take lessons.

Also, once a decision is made [ of course carefully thought out beforehand lah ], and action started, it will be followed through right to the end [ barring unforeseen catastrophes ], so the word "regret" is, well, I have not used it for a long time...

Still, it has been a good debate, let us spend more time thinking about how to take July paper bah !

I guess the real difference you two are talking about here is, in the event that one doesn't finish the entire 'course' in Ikoma, does one have to restart from Term 1 of the course, or does one have the choice of joining a different class when it's in the middle of the course. I believe that Ikoma is really quite flexible, so if you can convince the teacher that your Japanese level is there, you should be able to join a class in the 2nd term (someone verify this?)

Hence there is really no difference between Ikoma and Bunka in terms of planning of finances. It's only how they named each term. Ikoma calls it 2 terms of the same course because, I guess, they use the same textbook.

 

[dimitri_can]

I guess the real difference you two are talking about here is, in the event that one doesn't finish the entire 'course' in Ikoma, does one have to restart from Term 1 of the course, or does one have the choice of joining a different class when it's in the middle of the course. I believe that Ikoma is really quite flexible, so if you can convince the teacher that your Japanese level is there, you should be able to join a class in the 2nd term (someone verify this?)

Hence there is really no difference between Ikoma and Bunka in terms of planning of finances. It's only how they named each term. Ikoma calls it 2 terms of the same course because, I guess, they use the same textbook.

No need to restart the term. You are right, one has the choice of joining a different class when it's in the middle of the course. If your Japanese level is there, you can join a class in the 2nd term or any other level.

Thus, if you have self-studied/studied under a school Japanese before, you will speak to the teacher, where the teacher will first do a level check, then tell you more details about the class that he/she recommends you for (materials/books/what do you study).

In both Bunka and Ikoma, a student goes through 4 "courses/terms" to take N5. Anw, regarding this, i'll like to put a close to it.

One of the things i find lacking in Bunka, (correct me if i am wrong), there's not much 読解 in their elementary and intermediate lessons. For Ikoma, for every chapter, there's a 読解 practice.

 

[ajninknaw]

hi

im in tokyo right now studying nihongo , for a duration about 2 months total . ( everyday class )


next month i'll be flying back here and wonder which school should i continue my studies .

i studied in bunka in the past and i feel that the lessons are really boring and i cant understand anything .

any help will be appreciated ... thanks




edit : just to share how things work in japanese languages school in tokyo


your forced to use japanese on the very first day ( i signed up for complete beginner even though i have some basics )

teachers introduce hiragana on the first day and give you test on the 2nd day

they will revise everything you learnt for a week so that you remember it .

there is a different teacher everyday . ( i think they do this because they dont want the students to get bored )

their teaching method is very entertaining , try to make jokes and answer stupid questions we ask .


since i only studied in bunka before , i think bunka's teaching method suck bad .

 

[sugarbunny]

-Containing romanji, hiragana, katakana and kanji and audio [ on how the word is pronounced ]
http://www.languageguide.org/nihongo/

-learn basic words from watching videos [ some of them are quite funny ], word games using flash videos and others
http://www.genkienglish.net/genkijapan/menu.htm

-the origins of katakana
http://www.jref.com/language/non_english_foreign_words.shtml

-hiragana and katakana trainer [ requires u to type out the answers ]
http://kana.icann.se/

-hiragana and katakana trainer also but I like this one better because of multiple choice options [ just need to use mouse and click ]
http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/self/site/gakusyu/

It's better to have some basic knowledge [ use these links to help u ] so that you can enjoy the lessons better instead of trying to copy down everything sensei says in class, and find it too hard then giving up halfway.

thanks!!! i'll go learn them.

anyway i've signed up for classes at bunka excited!

 

[azumangadaioh]

hi

im in tokyo right now studying nihongo , for a duration about 2 months total . ( everyday class )


next month i'll be flying back here and wonder which school should i continue my studies .

i studied in bunka in the past and i feel that the lessons are really boring and i cant understand anything .

any help will be appreciated ... thanks




edit : just to share how things work in japanese languages school in tokyo


your forced to use japanese on the very first day ( i signed up for complete beginner even though i have some basics )

teachers introduce hiragana on the first day and give you test on the 2nd day

they will revise everything you learnt for a week so that you remember it .

there is a different teacher everyday . ( i think they do this because they dont want the students to get bored )

their teaching method is very entertaining , try to make jokes and answer stupid questions we ask .

since i only studied in bunka before , i think bunka's teaching method suck bad .

Wow. Everyday class for 2 months ! By the time u come back maybe can try going for pre-advanced class...

Maybe you joined years back when Bunka had branches, at that time quality really suffered, and bad counter staff too. Well, nowadays it's not so bad, even have standard protocol for answering phone calls, calling up students.

Athough I disagree that the teaching method suck [ I attended another school previously whose teaching method really sucked, but I liked the sensei though ] , I agree that some teachers definitely suck [ in Bunka ], and have successfully avoided them [ I did my homework with many ppl when I first joined ] in my early learning phase. The head trainer definitely don't suck [ plus every week we have laughter in the class taught by her ], but have very high standards for those who study under her.

If you like to give the school a chance again, I can provide a list of teachers that you should avoid, those that are good ,those who like to crack jokes, those that are serious [ by PM of course, don't intend to post publicly]...

Still here is what you wanted to ask. The top 3 schools that most of the ppl here sign up are [ not in any order ]:

-Ikoma
-JCS
-Bunka

Just curious, which year, what level and who was the sensei that taught you during that time at Bunka ? [ and if another location also ]

 

[azumangadaioh]

thanks!!! i'll go learn them.

anyway i've signed up for classes at bunka excited!

Did u find out which sensei will be teaching your class ?

 

[azumangadaioh]

.... they use the same textbook.

How can both of them be using the same textbook..... Bunka's textbook is proprietary, meaning the rights to the textbook belongs to them. I don't think Ikoma will also be using the same textbook to risk legal action...

 

[azumangadaioh]

No need to restart the term. You are right, one has the choice of joining a different class when it's in the middle of the course. If your Japanese level is there, you can join a class in the 2nd term or any other level.

The problem with me is I like to follow through actions, complete something properly, and not leave halfway, leave things hanging if I have a choice. So I rather sign up for something I am able to finish [ by being able to pay up completely with a peace of mind ], to focus on learning properly for at least 1 level of study.

One of the things i find lacking in Bunka, (correct me if i am wrong), there's not much 読解 in their elementary and intermediate lessons. For Ikoma, for every chapter, there's a 読解 practice.

It is the same as Ikoma, there are reading exercises and explanation at Ele levels [ everyone has a chance to read from the passage, every chapter has at 2 passages from the textbook ], for Int levels, there are also 2 passages, but the sensei has the discretion to decide to just go through the passage briefly if overall, students are progressing too slowly and delay the course schedule. There is actually a list of teaching items to be followed by every sensei, but, if time does not allow [ due to slow progressors ], some items may have to be shorten...

 

[JCMaths]

How can both of them be using the same textbook..... Bunka's textbook is proprietary, meaning the rights to the textbook belongs to them. I don't think Ikoma will also be using the same textbook to risk legal action...

they use the same textbook.

Ouch, quoting out of context. 'They' do not refer to Bunka and Ikoma.

Ikoma calls it 2 terms of the same course because, I guess, they use the same textbook.

I meant the 2 terms of Ikoma use the same textbook for both terms of the same course, e.g. lessons 1-15 for term 1 and lessons 16-30 for term 2.

I still don't see much difference between calling it 2 terms of the same course or naming them as separate courses, because the amount of contents you learn from each session can't vary that much.

Oh well, to each his own. I personally couldn't be disciplined enough to attend lessons and only managed to stick to learning Japanese regularly after I got my private sensei, but also had to stop that after half a year as I'm now working in Japan.

 

[dimitri_can]

それはいいじゃないですか!　:d

 

[dimitri_can]

The problem with me is I like to follow through actions, complete something properly, and not leave halfway, leave things hanging if I have a choice. So I rather sign up for something I am able to finish [ by being able to pay up completely with a peace of mind ], to focus on learning properly for at least 1 level of study.



It is the same as Ikoma, there are reading exercises and explanation at Ele levels [ everyone has a chance to read from the passage, every chapter has at 2 passages from the textbook ], for Int levels, there are also 2 passages, but the sensei has the discretion to decide to just go through the passage briefly if overall, students are progressing too slowly and delay the course schedule. There is actually a list of teaching items to be followed by every sensei, but, if time does not allow [ due to slow progressors ], some items may have to be shorten...

それはそうですね。. 中途半端はよくないですね。 =)

 

[dimitri_can]

Wow. Everyday class for 2 months ! By the time u come back maybe can try going for pre-advanced class...

Might not be pre-advanced. In Japan, most students only attend half day school (a.k.a 4 hours).

4 x 5 days=20 hours

20 hours x 8 weeks=160 hours.

Maybe N4...

 

[dimitri_can]

Latest info!

The following countries offer N3 in July.
Japan, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan and Korea.

Email received From Japan Foundation

 

[sweet_vanilla]

So does SG have N1 n N2 in july?

 

[azumangadaioh]

Latest info!

The following countries offer N3 in July.
Japan, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan and Korea.

Email received From JLPT Foundation

Actually currently Taiwan's website already state there will be N3 in July, but no information on how non-resident foreigners can sign up there. China's website however, can't seen to find anything on both info [ if there's N3 and non-resident foreigners can take part ].

Website for Japan, does state that it's possible to go there to take part, but you have to get a someone staying there to help u register [ in order to have a local address ], but states that N3 is for Dec only. HongKong, also allows us to go there to take part, register online but need to get someone locally to pay the registration fee [ the other alternative is to fly there and register personally ], but no mention about N3 in July. I don't know about Korea, cause I don't know Korean yet.

All the websites stated only have info on Dec 2009, still not updated yet. But if JLPT Foundation says there will be N3 in July for all 5 locations, then that's great.