Paying for Classes

General discussion about learning languages
vonPeterhof
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Re: Paying for Classes

Postby vonPeterhof » Mon Aug 17, 2015 2:02 am

Right now I'm taking Japanese classes in Japan, after having studied the language on my own for about five years without ever having visited the country. This is far from the first time I've taken language classes, but it's the first time I'm doing it entirely on my own dime, while Japanese was my first and by far the most successful attempt at self-learning (a year ago I passed the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test). If all I needed out of Japanese was enjoying Japanese-language media and interacting with people who share my interests my current level would have been more or less enough for me. However, for quite some time I've wanted to apply my Japanese skills professionally. All my attempts in this direction have so far been unsuccessful. The first job interview I had almost entirely in Japanese showed me just how inadequate my active command of the business language actually was, while at another interview (entirely in English) I was told directly that, while my skills and work experience made for an attractive résumé, the fact that I had never lived in Japan made them wary of hiring me for a job requiring a good understanding of Japanese business culture.

So after I lost my job earlier this year I saw it as an opportunity both to do some serious study of business Japanese and to actually visit the country for a period much longer than a standard paid holiday would have allowed. I'm about halfway through the three month course and so far I think it's been great. Studying business terminology and standard expressions has worked much better with immediate feedback and challenging assignments. It also helps that I'm studying the main (non-elective) course with the most advanced group in the school, so some of the common problems of classroom language learning aren't as prominent - there are only five other students, three of them speak considerably better than I do, so there's little concern about mutually reinforced mistakes, and the teachers generally don't feel the need to simplify their speech. The elective courses are a bit more inclusive, but they do teach very important specific aspects of business Japanese. The complete lack of other Russian speakers at this school is also a major plus (native speakers of English and other European languages are also few and far between). I've obviously yet to see whether or not this course will really do anything for my employability, but so far I do feel like I'm making progress, while the opportunity to explore Japan is a pretty good bonus.
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