Yoshida Institute of Japanese Language — Local services in Tokyo

I rather enjoyed my time studying here in 2018! I was one of the problem students that was often late or didn't show up to class - and of course, that's a big no-no (especially so if they are sponsoring your student visa!) The big goal here is to get you ready to take your JLPT course, and of course (if you don't already have a degree) apply for universities in Japan! You pay, generally, in 3 month increments - and it was a lot less expensive than I though it would be (honestly) sitting at around $3,000. However, if you're only working 28 hours per week... That may be difficult! Bring lots of money with you! The building is on the older side with small bathrooms. I would often bring in my own hand fan for the summertime since the circulation isn't very good - and there is a general mixed feeling from classmates from different countries about using the AC that is in the classroom (some people think having cold air blown on you when it's hot will make you sick.) The lessons themselves are pretty basic, but I loved how my teachers would add their own flair as they could - unfortunately this is still a school, there will be specific lesson plans that need to be followed (Minna No Nihongo is the base book used - later on they branch to a "custom made" lesson book for things like kanji.) Minna No Nihongo DOES have a translation counterpart to their book, and I highly recommend purchasing it - it presents different vocabulary that isn't included in the standard book!

Also, the school is a bit of a walk to get to the Takadanobaba Station... However, there is a streetcar on the Toden Arakawa Line that can take you elsewhere (I rode this every day from Otsuka Station, it was significantly faster than taking Yamanote for me.)

The students here come from all over, from Myanmar, Vietnam, China, Thailand, etc... To England, Australia, US, Canada, Mexico, etc... Ultimately, you'll meet someone interesting and make some great friends along your journey in Japan! Though... The teachers prefer if you use Japanese to communicate on the break... (I hardly ever did, and even was able to have some conversations with a couple teachers in English, since they also wanted to improve, as I was teaching English in Japan!)

As I said, I really enjoyed my time studying here, and if I am ever to move back to Japan - I would consider studying here again as a refresher, even if it is just to catch up with my favorite teachers! Special shout outs to Tani-sensei and Kamiya-sensei! I really loved those ladies, even if I drove Kamiya-sensei...

Probably the worst school I’ve ever been to.

The school is old, dirty, smelly and tiny. Every class I had was very uncomfortable due to the nasty environment. Because the class was so tiny and lacked circulation, people’s body odors would be condensed into the room which made it so difficult to focus. Sometimes I would see roaches and when I told the teacher all she did was make a joke about it and moved on. Bathrooms looks like they came straight out of a scary movie. I don’t think anyone cleans them. Building was so under maintained it was an eyesore. If I’m paying 430000¥ I would expect some small renovations to be done at least.

Teaching methods were so old school and unpractical. All we did is follow a book, learned a new subject everyday without going back to what we learned in the beginning, classes were not engaging, and staff were so strict despite it being a language school. I feel as if we were expected to instantly understand what was taught. We barely had any interactive exercises; it was all about memorizing content. They make you explain in front of the class why you skipped class and proceed to make you feel guilty for doing so. Another detail I thought was weird was to get our grade we needed to come to school, wait our turn one by one to get our results and when it was time for them to give you your results, they took way too much time asking about our future goals after school. Sometimes, if you were the last one to get your grade, you’d have to wait 2-3 hours when this could’ve been sent as an email. I feel like within my 6 months of learning over there I did not learn as much as I expected. Everything about that school was extremely inefficient and old school.

As a short-term resident, it was difficult to make any friends. A lot of the people there were mostly from the same country which meant they always gravitated to each other which meant I had a hard time connecting with anyone.

In brief, the bad school environment, inefficient teaching methods and a difficulty in connecting with people lead me to feeling miserable by the end of the school semester.

Would honestly not recommend to anyone please pick...

Traditional Japanese school, traditional teaching style.

Honestly, it's really boring. You're sitting in class for 3 hours reading out of a book, when it should be a reference only. However, the teachers are nice, but the school it's strict. if you miss a test, you cannot take it again without a doctor's note or late train slip. If you're late for a test, they will deduct 10%. Negative reinforcement is not effective. There are random forces that could happen that works make you late.

At the time of writing this review, it is a wonderful 22°C outside and the windows are closed.

This school has really old small classrooms with no air circulation. This being a language school, there are students from different countries, especially really hot ones. Some of these students cannot adapt too the weather.

I'm currently fighting with students from Sri Lanka who always close windows and complain its cold, making the classroom stuffy.

In the winter, the classrooms are too hot and these students turn the heat to 30°C...

In the summer, these students keep the windows closed, complain its cold, or turn the air conditioning to 27°C+... The same as outside temperature.

So what's the difference? Why turn on the air conditioning? I have emailed the school many times but they do not respond. The teachers are really too nice to do anything about this issue with the temperature.

I highly do not recommend this school given the boring classes, in my opinion, and the constant fighting with other students about the temperature being too hot always in...