Galane David-san France
6 month with 150 hours course

Q1. What Issues Do You Have on Studying Japanese?

I started learning Japanese a few years ago, on my own and with the help of a few Japanese-speaking friends. I wanted to learn a new language and Japanese seemed interesting and stimulating! Learning on my own was tedious and slow, and I tended to be irregular in my practice of the language. In four years, I’d learnt katakana and hiragana, and could understand casual conversations, but that was about it.

Q2. What Made You Decide to Study With Us?

I found the Nihongo Online School on the Internet. I had to be able to prove that I had followed a 150-hour program of learning Japanese in order to go study in Japan. So I was looking for a cheap, effective and quick way of learning everything I needed. Nihongo Online School met all my criteria: it was cheaper than taking courses in my home country/city, it was online which meant I could plan my time better, and finally it was a one-to-one course with a Japanese teacher, which I think is the best way to improve quickly.

Q3. Could You Tell Us About Your Lesson Experience, How to Proceed Lessons With Teachers, Materials And So On?

I had a meeting with someone from Nihongo Online School to discuss my needs and the opportunities the school could offer me. They really seemed to want to create the best possible program to help me achieve the 150 hours I needed to do. We quickly planned our sessions around my schedule, and from then on I had lessons three times a week with a teacher in one-on-one sessions. During these sessions, we spoke in Japanese, as I was able to understand most of it, but the teacher could speak a little English if necessary. We also discussed various topics related (or not) to the lessons in Japanese and I felt I made a lot of progress thanks to having to express myself in Japanese. We started our lessons with the basics, but we quickly skimmed over them as I wasn’t a complete beginner. The teacher adapted to my level, which I really appreciated. We used the PDF version of a textbook during the lessons and I was given homework after each chapter. In fact, the time devoted to homework was included in the 150-hour programme. Sometimes it could be very time-consuming, but I think it was important practice for improving.

Q4. Do You Have Any Requests to Improve Your Study With Ss?

Overall, I’m very satisfied with the lessons. I feel I’ve improved my listening and speaking skills. The only thing I would have liked would perhaps have been some exercises on the kanji included in the homework.