Maybe it’s because I’m originally from the US, but every September I get a nostalgic “back to school” feeling that evokes memories of erasers, yellow school buses and Elmer’s Glue. Even though the school year in Japan starts in April, many private classes and tutors begin in late September and early October, so now is an excellent opportunity to check out some good bargains for ‘extracurricular learning.’
One area where many foreigners first want to start is learning Japanese — a skill both necessary for survival in this country, and for improving your quality of life. Did you know that there is large network of Japanese individuals interested in providing Japanese lessons to foreigners? There’s even special schools and a licensing exam. While the quality may vary, getting a private teacher (usually housewives or retired persons with some free time on their hands) is often a great way to meet people and get individualized instruction at a good price.
The Tokyo Nihongo Volunteer Network is a good place to start. The TNVN is a clearinghouse organization of Tokyo-area volunteer Japanese classes that “share[s] the concept of accepting and supporting people through language assistance. Some of the volunteers might be trained as language teachers, however, the nature of activity is not to teach Japanese, but to help learners’ daily life in the community by offering information and helping to solve problems.” The TNVN recommends attending a formal Japanese language school if you want to “study Japanese efficiently.”
TNVN’s website is fully bilingual and features a database of local area classrooms. Note that the English data is from 1999, and in some cases is out of date. We recommend contacting the group directly, or having a friend help you access the more readily updated Japanese language database.
Sometimes a major problem for foreign women in Japan (either married to Japanese or ex-pat spouses) with small children is finding time to study Japanese. The Osaka YWCA offers a six-month series of Japanese classes with child-care provided during the day. The next class series starts
on September 30th, from 10:30-12:00 AM on Thursdays.
The fee is only Y1000, plus Y200 per session for child care. Call 06-6361-0838 for details, and note that the class is limited to eight participants. I tried in vain to find a similar class in the Tokyo area: does anyone know of any?
Learning anything, including Japanese, requires a commitment of time and resources, but if you look hard enough, you can often find someone willing to trade lessons: English conversation for Japanese cooking, British tea making for kimono lessons.
The frugal will find a way! Enjoy learning!