Program Reviews

I spent 8 weeks at JaLS in Kyoto studying Japanese. I had the most wonderful experience; it was everything I was hoping for and more! The staff are super friendly and helpful, the teachers are fun and the lounge is so cool! I had a lot of fun meeting new people and finding out about a different culture with the different activities they offer. They make parties for special occasions where you can meet Japanese people who are learning English, and speaking "lessons" where you meet Japanese people and play some fun games. The activities are so nice, I loved them all. It was so easy making lovely friends and the time just went by so fast!
It was an unforgettable experience and I strongly recommend it to everyone looking for learning more about the Japanese language, culture and people.
Thank you for everything JaLS! :)

On my University break I decided to go to Sapporo for 2 months to work on my language skills and have a bit of a holiday. JaLs was the perfect combination of learning and having fun! I made amazing friends during my stay and the staff were helpful and kind. I experienced a Home Stay and lived on my own in a private apartment, and the organisation and help provided from the school was incredible. Everything went smoothly and I was able to have a stress free experience. All the activities organised by the school were very enjoyable and the schools facilities were clean and modern. I would highly recommend JaLs if you are wanting to learn Japanese in a relaxed environment that focuses on culture as well as language. I would definitely come back to JaLs Sapporo next time I need to brush up on my Japanese!

I studied at Kyoto JaLS through a 6 week internship program and it was more than I imagined it would be. Everyday was something different, with daily reviews about your progress and where you would like to focus. Due to this, I was able to experience many different aspects of company life through this program such as; working in the cafe, serving customers at the front desk, organising and hosting different events, co-guiding tours around Kyoto and performing simple translations. The teachers, staff and students were all amazingly friendly and fit with the relaxed atmosphere of the Co&Co World Lounge. I gained a lot of experience and skills at JaLS that I will use in my future career while also having a great time. I am so glad I was able to experience all this.

[eng/de]

Hello, I am a Hokkaido Japanese Language School student from Germany coming to Japan with a working holiday visa. I planned to work in Japan and looked for appropriate schools. After evaluating different options, I chose JALS because they offer internship courses to prepare you for working in Japan and put you in classes that suits your skill level. In my case I was not a complete beginner but not yet intermediate.

I studied Japanese at JALS from November to March (14 weeks) with an internship lasting for 6 weeks and staying at a host family.

I had a wonderful and joyful time and made many international and Japanese friends. What I treasured most is the friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I was really scared at the beginning coming to Japan by myself. But not only the host family but the staff at JALS as well made me feel at home in an instant. Furthermore, I was really amazed how skillfully JALS’ teacher can convey grammar comprehensively without using English or another language beside Japanese. The many activities, the patient and helpful staff members and teachers as well as the flexibility makes JALS perfect for a short time language experience. I was able to improve my Japanese from ”throwing a few words at Japanese” to “having casual conversation with patient Japanese” in 14 weeks.

Even though I recommend anyone, who wants fun language holidays, to go to JALS, it gets really crowded during seasonal courses. With 8 people in one small classroom it can get noisy and the time being able to talk Japanese in class is reduced. With longer stays like mine the teaching methods can also get a bit monotone. I think, with increasing the free talk time during classes the learn experience could be heavily improved and the fear of talking to Japanese taken away.

All in all the Hokkaido Japanese Language School taught me a lot of valuable language skills and helped me start my working holiday trip thoroughly. It’s an experience that will last, especially because of all the great people I met at the school.

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Hallo, ich bin deutsche Schülerin an der Hokkaido Japanese Language School und bin nach Japan mit einem Working Holiday Visa gereist. Vorab habe ich mich über geeignete Schulen informiert, mit der Intention später in Japan zu arbeiten, und entschied mich letztlich für JALS. Grund für diese Entscheidung war der Praktikumskurs und die flexible, individuelle Kursauswahl entsprechend des Sprachlevels. In meinen Fall war ich zwar kein kompletter Anfänger mehr, aber auch noch kein Fortgeschrittener.

Ich schrieb mich für November bis März (14 Wochen) ein und belegte die ersten 6 Wochen den Praktikumskurs. Während dieser Zeit lebte ich bei einer Gastfamilie.

Die Zeit bei JALS war wunderbar und voller freudiger Erinnerungen. Ich konnte viele internationale und japanische Freundschaften schließen und wurde vom ersten Tag an mit offenen Armen in einer herzlichen Athmosphäre empfangen. Vor allem da ich zu Beginn große Sorgen hatte, allein in ein Land am anderen Ende der Welt zu reisen, war ich erleichtert, sofort so warmherzig in die Familie aufgenommen zu werden. Weiterhin war ich erstaunt, mit welcher Leichtigkeit die Lehrer an der Schule auch schwierige Grammatik ohne den Gebrauch von Englisch oder einer anderen Sprache neben Japanisch vermitteln konnten. Die vielen optionalen Aktivitäten, das gedulige und hilfsbereite Personal und die Lehrer, als auch die Flexibilität des Unterrichts machen JALS zu einer idealen Schule für ein Kurzzeitspracherlebnis. In den 14 Wochen war ich in der Lage mein Japanisch von “wir werfen einzelne Wörter in den Raum” nach “wir haben ein Alltagsgespräch mit einem geduldigen Japaner” zu verbessern.

Ich empfehle jedem, der einen Sprachurlaub machen möchte, sich bei JALS einzuschreiben. Während der Saisonkurse sind die Kurse jedoch etwas voll. Auch wenn die Klassen mit 8 Schülern sehr klein sind, kann es gelegentlich sehr unruhig werden und die Zeit, sich während des Unterrichts auf Japanisch zu unterhalten, sinkt. Ideal sind Klassen mit nicht mehr als 6 Schülern.

Der Unterricht bei längeren Aufenthalten wie meiner neigt dazu, auf Dauer monoton zu werden. Ich denke, wenn man die Zeit, in der man freie Unterhaltungen führen kann, erhöht, würde das den Unterricht wesentlich verbessern.
Trotz allem denke ich, dass Hokkaido Japanese Language School eine sehr gute Schule ist, in der man wertvolle Sprachkenntnisse erlangt und ohne Sorgen sein Working Holiday starten kann.

Translation: Special thanks to Jals. I am a Japanese-based teacher who comes to school. Because I have to live in Japan for a long time, I have a lot of language and stress. I am afraid that I will not understand. But don't worry if you come here. There are good teachers, good staff, and the kindness is really great.

I have been studying in school for two months in 2017. I have learned a lot from here. Whether it is the knowledge in textbooks, the life in Japan, or all kinds of anecdotes, the teachers will be very serious and will let me speak in this language. I have a lot of fun to learn Japanese every day and want to know different Japan. Most importantly, the school has extracurricular activities every afternoon, so that you can learn Japanese and learn more about Japanese culture. It is very good. There are also foreign students from all over the world. When chatting, they will not know more about the cultural differences between countries.

I came here again at the beginning of this year. I have a lot of improvement in Japanese and I am very happy. I hope to like Japan, a small partner who likes Japanese, will give you a different learning experience!

Learning a new language is always hard, you’ll never pick it up over night. There are also many ways to study a language too.

With JaLS Hokkaido Langauge School they create the perfect and ideal way of learning a new language. The school itself creates a sense of joy the is very intoxicating. It makes you want to learn and stay forever. Wether its the staff members or your new classmates or even meeting Japanese people, JaLS provides a safe and fun environment for you to be yourself and to study the languages in many new ways.

The Language School itself creates many opportunities for you to practisce your Japanese skills not only in the classroom but in extracurricular activities. For example: the school hosts many language exchange nights. These events are a great way to meet native Japanese speakers and become good friends. Another example is the school has each week multiple activities for you to opt into that help you get to know more about Japanese traditions, cuisines and way of life.

So wether or not you are old or young, knowledgeable or not, JaLS Hokkaido Language School accommodates to all people, so that you can have the best time of your life.

I went to Hokkaido JaLS for two months, staying in a share house offered by the school.
The school was simply amazing. The staff are all friendly and easy to talk to, the classes are fun and you learn a lot!
In my class, we used the Minna No Nihongo textbook, going through two chapters each week. The teachers were all very kind an knowledgeable, and although classes were all in Japanese, they used simple language to help us understand.
There are many activities you can sign up for in the afternoon some free, some for an extra charge. The activities are a great way to see the city and meet fellow students!
Living in the share house was so much fun. People from all over the world lived there, and it was a great way to learn about different cultures. We would sometimes have parties where we would make food together such as takoyaki and nabe. The public spaces in the house (kitchen, livingroom and bathrooms) were all kept neat and tidy.
I loved my time at Hokkaido JaLS, and I'm definitely considering going back!

I spent 2 weeks in Jals as an absolute beginner. Being a slow learner, i didn't expect much from the course, in the end i feel amazed for managing to learn so much in 2 weeks, Hanagana, katakana and 4 chapters of the textbook. The teachers are all very patient and professional, the teaching materials are organised and well prepared, which helps us to learn Japanese efficiently and effectively.

Besides, the cultural courses from Jals are all very interesting and organised. i have joined several classes like the Taiko, mochi making, pottery class, sushi making and the outing to Shiga (an art exhibition). They were all amazing, i could experience Kyoto culture in a very relaxed and organised way. We were well taken care of in each activity, it allowed us is to experience Kyoto in a relaxed n organised way without the language barrier.

Last but not least, the staffs of Jals are extremely friendly and helpful, they are very professional and detail minded to arrange things for me, from accommodation to all the classes. It was a wonderful holiday in Kyoto!

Often when you read things about a school on their site they exaggerate how good the school is and how great your experience there will be. So when I read the over positive information about JaLS on their website, I thought that it was an exaggeration as well. That the experiences I would gain there and the school certainly could never be as great as was written on their site. I have never been more wrong in my life.

When I went to Sapporo all on my own to study at JaLS, I was very scared. I had been there before, but I had never gone there alone. Plus, I was feeling down because of a recent experience. I was not happy. I was not enjoying life. However, being at JaLS really changed that. I started feeling happy again. I started smiling again. I have met so many amazing people during my time at JaLS and I have gained so many valuable experiences. At the sharehouse, at the school and during the breaks with my classmates I spent so many wonderful moments with so many people. And I finally discovered what I want to become in the future. I struggled with that for so long, but thanks to JaLS I finally found it out. I know now that I want to become an English teacher in Sapporo. I already obtained a TEFL certificate for that during the last few months. And I also took the TOEFL. My dream is to return to JaLS one day and to become an English teacher there. I love the warmth and kindness and the overall atmosphere at JaLS. It makes you feel welcome and it lets you feel at ease. I’m really glad that I decided to do an internship and study Japanese at JaLS. I will never forget all the amazing moments I spent with everyone there. JaLS is like a second family to me. And it made me love Japan again. I had started to hate Japan because of previous bad experiences, but thanks to my experiences at JaLS, I started loving Japan again. I’m eternally grateful for all the things I gained thanks to JaLS. I will certainly come back one day and become an English teacher there. I would recommend this school to anyone. JaLS will change your life in a way that you would never expect.

Marion Meester (23), The Netherlands

The nicest Japanese school I have ever had the pleasure of attending(twice!!!) Yes I love it so much I had to go back for more! I attended Hokkaido Jals in 2017 and this year attended Kyoto Jals. With amazingly beautiful classrooms and cafe, an extensive Japanese curriculum to suit your Japanese level and a wealth of activities and opportunities to improve your Japanese Jals honestly has it all. For people who want to experience Japan, and I mean REALLY experience Japan more than your average tourist, Jals is a great place to start!

I had some amazingly fun cultural experiences at Jals, like temple visits, tofu making classes and many conversation classes/casual gatherings that I could have never had anywhere else. I was able to experience Japan on a deeper level, develop my Japanese and make friends with some lovely people along the way.

Whats more, I found the staff so friendly and accommodating. They went above and beyond to make sure that my stay, as well as that of all the other students, was fulfilling. The teachers as well were always checking in to make sure that the level of the classes suited us, if there was any other questions or problems we were having in regards to our stay in Japan and always did their best to make our classes as fun as possible!

Cannot recommend this place enough! If you haven't signed up you're already missing out people!