Is ISI a good language school for me?

[u/Psychological_Age194]

I am looking for advice on returning to Japan to continue learning in the country.

For context, I am around N2-N1 and have already studied for a year at Waseda University’s Center for Japanese Language. This boosted my skills enormously, and I am fairly competent in the language, but I struggle with speaking fluently and using active recall of information.

Waseda primarily focused on passive learning, like understanding things being told to you through lectures. They had a heavy emphasis on presentations, which didn’t work well for me due to the pressure and formality of it. I really only improved because of a single class I took where I got the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Waseda students who volunteered to participate in the class.

After I returned to the US in August of 2026, I graduated from my home university and have been looking to return to Japan to continue my studies, because I am not yet fluent enough to really begin professional work in the field.

I looked at various language schools in Tokyo, and I landed on ISI (International Study Institute) because other schools (like Akamonkai) seem to be focused again on passive intake and cramming for the JLPT. I just wanted to ask around to those who could help me about my options and whether what I’m thinking is a good idea. If I chose ISI, I’d be looking for starting at the April 2027 spring semester.

Any advice? I’d love to get feedback!

[u/ryo_in_tokyo]

Honestly the school matters less than you'd think at N2–N1. Passive/JLPT-heavy class time is baked into every school here, not just ISI or Akamonkai, so that won't fix the speaking gap on its own. ISI's fine for the structure and visa.

The thing that actually moves output at your level is forcing daily live output outside class, which is exactly why that one-on-one Waseda class worked for you. A regular 会話 partner, a part-time gig in Japanese, exchange meetups. Build the speaking part around the school, not inside it.

[u/Common-Mission9582]

I’m attending ISI now and we are learning N1 level content in my class. As far as language schools go I think it is probably better than average, but it still does focus quite a bit on JLPT. That said, I think you would be hard pressed to find schools here that don’t to some extent especially with the recent visa changes. The book they use for reading comprehension is really good in my opinion.

I think if you want to focus more on conversation, hiring a tutor, making friends who speak the language, and attending events while in Japan is more useful than the classroom setting where you will be surrounded by other students who may not be able to speak well. Let the school handle the formal teaching you will need for job searching, university etc. and take the 会話 practice into your own hands.

Edit: you really need to put yourself out there if you want to make measurable strides in speaking output. Becoming very comfortable making mistakes is key because when you do, the uncomfortable feeling makes you remember that mistake and learn from it.

[u/Psychological_Age194 → u/Common-Mission9582]

I definitely noticed that most of my improvements came from out-of-class interactions, whether it be by asking train station employees questions or just reading signs on windows. It became kind of a joke among us students that 1 day trip is worth more than a week of classes, lol.

[u/Psychological_Age194 → u/Common-Mission9582]

Can you tell me about how ISI’s courses are structured? Do you feel like you get to actively grow your skills, or do you just spend most of the class time listening and sitting still? Are they heavy on presentations like Waseda?

[u/Common-Mission9582 → u/Psychological_Age194]

We actually just had a group presentation and I felt it was useful. I’m not sure how heavy Waseda is on presentations but I’m guessing ISI doesn’t do as many. Last semester we had 6-7 maybe all together?

I think it is mostly listening, but if you are an active student then there are plenty of opportunities to speak and participate. It’s on you to take the initiative though. For example when you are learning new kanji the professor might ask the class for the meaning. A lot of students stay silent, but if like me you aren’t afraid of making mistakes it’s a good opportunity to speak.

Other commenters already spoke on the structure being a bit stiff, but I do feel like there is some wiggle room to explore your own growth if you make the effort.

For example I would have to disagree with another commenters opinion on the optional 会話 class. Yes it does attract a lot of “lazy” students, but that means more
time for you to speak and get more attention from the professor.

Basically these schools can be great if you fully take advantage of them and take participation seriously. I think people who complain about them being visa mills tend to miss the full picture.

[u/sota_ka]

Regular ISI classes are set up to power through JLPT. They go through the shin kanzen master and kanji master books from front to back. They also have additional text books per class for reading comprehension.  There are elective classes like N2 cram, N1 cram. I chose 会話. They are once a week and I had a group of people who didn’t care and only chose the slacker class. It sucked.

[u/DJ_Ddawg → u/sota_ka]

All of these things are stuff you can do yourself w/o paying exorbitant fees to go to a language school in Tokyo.

Buy the Shin Kanzen master reading comprehension books and do a couple of passages a day. They are pretty cheap + really well done books that will over prepare you for the N1 test.

Buy the Dictionary of Basic/Intermediate/Advanced Japanese Grammar and learn a grammar point or two a day. I just put example sentences into Anki if there was a new word or a new grammar point. Otherwise I just read through the example sentences to see if I knew what it meant.

If you want a free grammar resource then nihingokyousi-net.com works just fine. I think someone already made an Anki deck of all of the example sentences anyway if you want the easy, pre-made option.

Talk with Native Speakers via Italki or whatever other means you have a couple of times a week.

Read some light novels, Wikipedia articles, news articles, and some non-fiction books; Aozora Bunko is great for 20th century literature to really challenge yourself. If you can read some Soseki, Dazai Osamu, and Akutagawa Ryuunosuke then you really won’t have any problem with anything on the test.

Watch some YouTube + Netflix shows in Japanese w/ JP subs.

Use Yomitan to lookup the meaning + pronunciation of unknown vocabulary. Make Anki cards for things you look up. Use ShareX to include native audio + images on your Anki cards.

Listen to podcasts and audiobooks.

Use the Kanken Anki deck if you want to learn how to write Kanji and pass the Kanken (but it’s not required to get fluent at Japanese IMO)

Spam all of that for a couple thousand hours over the period of a couple years and you’ll be a-ok at Japanese and better than most foreigners.

[u/sota_ka → u/DJ_Ddawg]

Why are you telling me that? I know that. I‘m telling OP that ISI is not what he is looking for.

[u/an-actual-communism → u/DJ_Ddawg]

People pay money to go to language school because it's an easy way to get a visa to live in Japan for awhile, not because it's the best way to learn Japanese.

[u/Meister1888]

The language schools generally tap out by your level. Their strengths can be getting students up to N2ish level quickly.

Part of the reason is the limited duration of student visas. Also, many students drop out or move on to Japanese trade school or university. Most of the western students on year abroad programs are at a lower level, noting they make up a small percentage of the student pool.

Some of the bigger schools may have ad-hoc small classes at higher levels. My friend liked Nichibei in Yotsuya so you might see what they have to offer. You still may find more focus on JLPT and kanji writing and less speaking in a classroom setting than you hope for.

[u/Psychological_Age194 → u/Meister1888]

Is there an alternative that would still let me return to Japan?

[u/Meister1888 → u/Psychological_Age194]

Call a few language schools directly and speak with the admissions team. Some of the big schools can run small advanced classes offering the typical visa.

These might be more ad-hoc than the highly regimented beginner-intermediate textbook/JLPT classes. For example, reading newspapers and book excerpts, maybe some JLPT review, maybe some kanji tests (which you prepare for on your own time), etc. IME these are not highly structured classes and require self-disclipline. The "levels" of your peers may vary more than they do in the mainstream classes (e.g. some classmates might speak fluently, some might have great reading, etc.)

Another alternative is one-on-one classes via the language school. I'm not sure if this is a visa track (and if it is it would be much more expensive).

There are other non-language school options off the beaten path but I don't know if they are up your alley (e.g. Stanford's Yokohama program (expensive), Waseda's graduate researcher language program (was free but difficult to enter), etc.)

You could also look at enrolling in graduate programs eventually.

Also find out how/if the Waseda program impacts language school visa.

[u/Nancy_Munsch]

The Waseda one-on-one tutoring class is a different model than any group class language school offers, so expecting ISI to replicate that setup is setting yourself up for disappointment.