I found out about CIJ a few days ago and finally decided to join today. I’m really enjoying the videos so far since it’s so easy to find videos that are both interesting and suited to my level.
I recently studied Japanese in a language school in Japan for around 10 weeks and CIJ is very similar to the teaching method that my school used. I was in the speaking course and from the first day, the teachers speak to you in Japanese. Just like CIJ, they speak slowly, enunciate very well, and use copious amounts of hand gestures while drawing on the whiteboard. The only difference is that we obviously had to speak in class (and in Japan in general) so there was a lot of output as well. By the end of the course, I went from not being able to understand anything at all to being able to have basic conversations with locals. Most importantly, I gained the confidence to go around Japan and do anything.
However, since I am no longer in Japan, I needed something to help me continue my studies and CIJ is absolutely perfect for that. I’m especially excited about trying the cold character reading (CCR) method after reading about it in the guide here since there are transcripts on every video.
I’m curious, so please let me know about your CIJ experience!
Hey Aki!
It is some time away, but I am in the process of considering which school to attend when I’m ready. How did you make your decision of which program? How happy are are you with it? What extra or unforeseen expenses did you encounter?
I have many more questions, but I think it would be rude to assault to with all of them.
1) How did you make your decision of which program?
I actually had compiled a spreadsheet that listed all the details and pros and cons of the language schools that I was interested in, but it came down to the fact that I didn’t want to attend school in a big city such as Tokyo or Osaka. That made it very easy because those cities tend to have the majority of the programs anyway.
However, that was just a personal preference of mine. I had already experienced going to language school for 2 weeks in Fukuoka a few years ago so I didn’t really feel like being in a big city again although I really loved Fukuoka. I also have friends who went to school in places like Sapporo and Kyoto and only have good things to say, so you should just see what your goals and priorities are and pick a program in a city that you’re interested in.
2) How happy are are you with it?
Extremely happy. You learn a lot, you meet a lot of people, and you leave Japan with some of the best experiences in your life.
3) What extra or unforeseen expenses did you encounter?
Eating out can be expensive especially when you’re with a huge group of people and you all split the bill at the end.
Grocery shopping is way too fun. My friends and I would have a budget of something reasonable like 2000 yen and we would end up spending at least 4000 yen every time we went.
FRUITS. They are incredibly expensive. The ones at the supermarket aren’t even that good but you need to pay a premium for them.
Onsen. In my experience, they’ve all gotten more expensive and I had to create a separate budget just for my hot springs.
Trips in general. I would end up paying so much for the train tickets, accommodations, food, etc every time I went on a trip which sounds like common sense but I did not expect my friends to go on trips so often.
I only went to the movie theater once with my friends but it is incredibly expensive. I think our tickets were 1800 yen each.
If you’re staying in an accommodation at school where you need to buy your own things, even the 100 yen stores like Daiso can really add up. We had to buy everything, like our own kitchen utensils and cleaning supplies. In this regard, staying with a host family can drastically cut your cost.