Kudan Institute of Japanese Language and culture — Attraction in Tokyo

I studied at KILC from September 2019 to September 2020 (JLPT N2 & N1), along with their online Business-Japanese course from November 2020 to December 2020.

My overall experience was incredible. KILC has an excellent community of qualified teachers and staff who are very warm and supportive of each individual student’s needs. The lessons are thorough and well-planned, infused with regular grammar lessons, extensive communication exercises, and detailed kanji lessons.

The staff go out of their way to make you feel at home while studying abroad. Furthermore, there are plenty of student activities (for instance, Japanese calligraphy workshops, Japanese food workshops, etc) and 1-day trips to places in and around Tokyo that are organized by the school; they help you get a first-hand experience of Japanese culture. KILC also organizes various kouryuukai (交流会) where you get to interact with various Japanese people, which is an excellent source of speaking practice.

One of the greatest aspects of KILC is that they deeply emphasize natural pronunciation and intonation while teaching Japanese. This helps students develop a much more native-sounding Japanese accent, which is a fantastic advantage to have, especially if you plan on studying or working in Japan long-term.

KILC’s teachers also take into account the various nationalities/cultures of their students while teaching. Having classmates from around the world means that you get a lot of different insights, and you get to understand Japanese from various perspectives.

Lastly, for those looking to work in Japan, or in a Japanese company, I highly recommend taking their (now online) Business-Japanese course where they extensively cover sonkeigo and kenjougo, Japanese business manners as well as writing Japanese resumes and cover letters. These classes are highly specific to each student, and teachers take their time to discuss your needs. Teachers also share important tips and resources about job-hunting in Japan. Apart from grammar lessons and resume-writing, teachers also have us practice with mock interviews and provide us with important feedback.

Overall, I highly recommend Kudan Institute of Language and Culture, as it is an elite institution that focuses on giving their students a very clear understanding of the Japanese language, as well as introducing them to various cultural aspects of the country—all the while making them feel at home regardless of where...

Ohh Kudan, how I miss you! I was at this school from April to July 2023 to study Japanese and it was the best decision of my life! Not only did I make a big leap in speaking Japanese, but I also made many friends from all over the world (Hong Kong, Malaysia, France, etc.) and many memories that I still think back to almost every day. Back then, I took a conversation course and an additional manga course. In addition, there were many extracurricular activities, such as mountain hikes, Kabuki theater and best of all: cultural exchange meetings with locals. These allowed us to consolidate everything we had learned and gain confidence in conversation. The teachers were all fantastic and although as a beginner I was initially afraid that everything would be exclusively in Japanese, I really understood everything very well. However, the workload was quite heavy as you learned new grammar every day. Thanks to this, however, I made a huge leap in just 3 months, which would probably have taken me more than twice as long in Germany. I also received positive feedback from my teachers and was even allowed to give an interview for the school's YouTube channel. I was also lucky enough to be able to use what I had learned with my host family and the other flatmate from Taiwan. None of them could speak a word of English, so I was forced to use only Japanese. Of course, this also contributed to my improvement and I had delicious Japanese food on the table every day. If you are considering staying with a host family: Bear in mind that the distances to school can be very long and tiring. My host family lives in Saitama Prefecture, so I had to take the train for over 1 1/2 hours every day through the Tokyo rush hour (with two changes at the very busy Ikebukuro and Shinjuku stations). You can of course be lucky, but I would only recommend a home stay if you have chosen the intensive course, as this only takes place in the afternoon and you can therefore avoid rush hour.

Summary: I can only warmly recommend this school, the teachers are fantastic, the teaching is very good and you can do a lot, be it extracurricular activities or the central location at Tokyo Dome.

Best regards from Germany to: Oide sensei, Morikawa sensei and Kobayashi...

I have to speak up, because I’ve been holding this in for a long time. I would like to share both the strengths and weaknesses of this school.

Cons: The conversation class at level 5（top level)was the most disappointing. The teacher seemed to lack authority, the topics often felt outdated and sometimes caused unnecessary conflicts, and when students behaved inappropriately, the teacher simply tried to please everyone instead of guiding the class.

During our final presentation, a student from a lower-level class openly expressed dislike toward people from my country, and the teacher present only smiled and said, “Oh, I see.” As a foreign student, I didn’t express my feelings at the time, but looking back, I feel it should be mentioned.

In addition, one teacher once made a careless joke encouraging students to do something illegal related to visas, and also said that when she traveled in Europe, she would dress like people from my country to avoid being robbed. I didn’t care much about it at the time, but later I realized it was actually quite disrespectful, although this teacher was personally still okay toward me.

Pros: The teachers who taught my intensive afternoon classes were excellent—professional, patient, objective, caring, and with a good sense of humor. Many of them left a deep impression on me, and I still feel grateful and happy when I think about those classes. The kanji classes were especially fun.

The teachers who supported student life were also very responsible and attentive. When I faced difficulties, they helped me with great kindness and care, which I truly appreciated.

The location is very convenient—if you like Akihabara, it’s within walking distance, and there are three subway lines nearby.

Although the facilities inside the school are somewhat old, it doesn’t seriously affect the overall learning environment.

Four stars to express my gratitude to the teachers and students who were kind...