ISI Career and Language Academy, Harajuku - Shibuya City, Tokyo

Probiome

Some Advice Based on My Experiences:

The teachers are quite good and generally polite. However, almost none of them can speak English. Therefore, when you ask about the subjects, they cannot answer in English. This can make it difficult for you to understand the lessons you don’t understand. The lessons are quite intense. The teachers explain the lessons quickly. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to follow the lessons. In the first few weeks, some photocopy papers containing the Latin alphabet versions of Japanese words called romaji are given. The textbooks consist only of Japanese alphabets, except for a short explanation in English explaining the main purpose of the relevant section. Therefore, you need to be able to read and write the hiragana and katakana alphabets very well. Of course, it is also very important to be able to follow the lessons.

The “Direct Method” is applied as an education method in the school. In this education method, daily dialogues are intensively included, while grammar topics are given very little place. Since English language support is not included in the lessons, I had a hard time understanding the lessons. Moreover, I had a hard time understanding the somewhat complicated grammar structure. Although it is called “Learn Japanese from Zero”, it will be quite challenging for those who have never learned some basic Japanese before. Because, hiragana and katakana alphabets are taught only in the first 15-20 minutes of the lessons in the first 3 weeks. Then, dialogue topics are explained intensively and quickly. If you don’t know hiragana and katakana and don’t understand the topics because they are only taught in Japanese and you have difficulty following and understanding the constantly accumulating topics, you may have to repeat the grade or even drop out of school. Because, you will also have a hard time learning the kanji that make Japanese one of the most difficult languages ​​in the world. And I wasn’t informed about the teaching method at all when I enrolled in the school.

Recommendations:

- You don't have to enroll in a Japanese language school to learn Japanese.
- There are many native Japanese professional instructors who provide online education. I especially recommend Sayaka sensei's online lessons known as "NihongoDekita | Japanese" (Instagram) or "NihongoDekita with Sayaka" (YouTube). She has good English grammar and makes learning Japanese easy and fun with her own education method.
- If you want to enroll in a language school in Japan, I recommend that you learn Japanese at N5 level before coming to Japan.
- If you want to work part-time while studying in Japan, if you know Japanese at N4 level before coming to Japan, you can easily find a part-time job as soon as you arrive in Japan.
- Having N4 level of language knowledge before coming to Japan will both help you reduce the stress of learning the language and easily find a part-time job to overcome the high living expenses you may encounter.
- Before enrolling in a language school, I recommend that you ask whether the school has education methods and English language support.
- In my personal opinion, to avoid high costs, I think it would be more logical to learn Japanese in my country, get a job offer from a company in Japan and go to Japan. Instead of signing up for a language course, you can also learn Japanese by taking online lessons.

Adri

Very good school.
The staff and teachers are friendly and even when classes are over, take time to answer questions or help you with things you don’t understand. The classes are fast paced, and the teachers expect you to study hard. Therefore, this school is more oriented to students that take their studies seriously and want to improve quickly. However, the study environment and atmosphere are great, so you won’t feel too much pressure and see results quickly.

I went to a different school in the past but feel like ISI probably had the best learning atmosphere. Since the school is aimed at people who want to find a job, students are motivated and take their life here more seriously. It was easy to find people to study with or hang out after school and make friends.

The job-hunting training is also great. I was able to get a position in a Japanese company and most people that I started school with also already found a job.

睿哲

學校的分班制度讓人搞不懂
同一個班級裡程度差距太大

John A

As a foreign student who completed a one-year study at this Harajuku campus and successfully secured employment at the end of my term, then this is probably the best Japanese language school you can attend in Tokyo, especially if your goal is either to work, perhaps start a business, or learn about business mannerisms in Japan. The staff is very professional and each of the senseis have a unique personality that makes learning Japanese memorable.

ISI has campuses all over Japan and I'm sure there are plans for establishing more schools in the future. This is a testament to ISI's continuous strive for success. I highly recommend!

Bry

Helpful staff and teachers are motivated and you can tell they care about their work.
Depending on your goals there are useful bits and they also create their own audio recordings which are helpful, plus a mix of online resources. On one occasion there has been a field trip to local workplaces to have some exposure to Japanese workplaces.
Sometimes the material is a bit hit and miss and feels distracted in different directions, but maybe its fulfilling a specific criteria required of a language school.

One strange point though, depending on your personality -
as a school for adults they tend to play children's games like singing lion king, freeze tag in the park, or throwing fake shuriken in class which can be a bit off putting.

Min Zheng

If you want to learn keigo and business Japanese, I definitely recommend coming to this school. The teachers are always thinking about what they can do for their students.

もし尊敬語やビジネス日本語などをちゃんと学びたいと思うなら、ISIキャリア外国アカデミー原宿校に来てください。先生方はいつも学生のために考えています。

안상진

온/오프라인 접근성, 시설 면에서 '중상(4점)', 교사의 수업태도, 정확성 등 교육품질 면에서 '평범, 보통(3점)', 커리큘럼 등 교육내용 면에서 중하(2점), 교사 외 직원의 학생지원 및 응대태도 등 면에서 '최악(1점)'로, 종합해서 2~3점 정도가 적절하다는 생각인데 리뷰가 전체적으로 감정적으로 너무 부풀려져있다고 느껴서 1점을 매깁니다.

한정적이지만 원하는 만큼 원하는 걸 얻을 수 있을 것 같습니다. 오히려 학원 안보다 학원 밖에서 여러모로 값진 경험들을 했던 기억이 남아있습니다.

일본 어학능력을 향상시키려는 경우, 부적절한 선택이 될 수 있고 반대로 비용, 효과면에서 모국에서의 학습을 추천합니다. 평범한 학원의 교육방식과 마찬가지로 주기적으로 테스트와 아웃풋을 강요하지만, 몇 마디 표현과 단어를 제외하고 그때 그때를 넘긴 이후로 이어질 만큼 도움이 되지는 않았습니다. 추가적으로 시도하는 선택수업이나 클래스 간 통합하는 프로젝트형 수업이 있는데 학기 당 4~5회차 내외로 질과 양적으로 부족합니다.

일본 취업을 준비하는 경우, ES, 이력서, 면접 등 내정 전까지 과정을 서포트하는데, 클래스메이트들 경험담으로는 첨삭이 도움이 되었다는 후문입니다. 외국인을 구하는 안건 위주로 추천하는 학원에 의존하기보다 리크루트 관련 회사나 에이전트를 찾아서 다시 그쪽의 면접매칭을 따르는 쪽이 다수.

학교와 담당교사에게 의존하는 학생은 많지 않지만, '취업'을 엣지로 내세우는 학교 입장에서는 성과로 비춰지기 때문에 푸시하는 편이고, 홍보에도 적극적입니다. 하지만 ISI 공식홈페이지에 세자릿수라며 홍보용으로 게재된 내정된 학생 리스트마저도, 같은 학생이 여러 내정된 케이스들이나 그 케이스들 자체도 중복해 집계하고 있거나, 타임스탬프나 소속학교 없이 게재돼있기 때문에, 집계된 자료의 그대로 믿을 만하지는 않습니다. 기업 면면을 보면 ㅂㄹ이 대다수지만, 특히 하라주쿠교의 경우 얼마 전 기존에 있던 학교법인을 인수해 세워진 신생학교이기 때문에 여러면에서 아직 업적이 부족한 게 사실.

Alithu Medina

Hace un mes llegué a Japón con mucho entusiasmo por estudiar su idioma y aprender de su cultura, al llegar me recibieron muy bien el personal, profesores y compañeros. Excelentes profesores que te apoyan todos los días para mejorar, libros y material didácticos fácil de comprender. Teniendo en cuenta que solo hablo español me he podido comunicar con ellos sin problemas. Excelente instituto para aprender japonés 100% recomendado. Estoy feliz de haber iniciado mis clases con ustedes.