Short Course (3 months)

Shinwa Foreign Language Academy

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Course description

Shinwa has short courses available for people who are already in Japan or are coming to Japan and accommodation. These courses are designed to help people brush up their Japanese or begin their studies. This is ideal for people who are working part time, evenings or visiting Japan as they can attend morning classes before their work begins.

Classes cover all aspects of Japanese learning. Speaking, listening, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and culture. We also have a variety of activities for you to engage in as well as interested sightseeing spots for you to enjoy during your stay.

NOTE: We can only accept students from America, Australia, Canada, Europe and New Zealand.
NOTE: If a VISA is needed, we cannot supply supporting documents for an application for a short course.

Course topics

Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, Grammar and Activities

Class schedule

Course duration
10-20 weeks
Start dates
04 Jul 2024, 10 Oct 2024 and 13 Jan 2025
Classes per week
20 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 45 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday
School holidays
29 Apr 2024, 29 Apr 2024, 03 May 2024, 04 May 2024, 05 May 2024, 20 May 2024, 23 Sep 2024, 03 Nov 2024

Shinwa Academy does not hold classes on the holiday dates above. The school does not compensate for these holidays, so make sure to choose your start date accordingly.

Class times

You can choose from the following class times:

Morning session
09:00 AM - 12:25 PM
Afternoon session
01:00 PM - 04:25 PM

Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.

Class level

All levels, beginner to advanced
You will take a placement test on your first day to determine your class level. You may also take this test before your arrival in Tokyo.

Class size

Average 15 students
Maximum 20 students

Student age

Age range 18 years old and older
Average 23 years old
(19 in the summer)

Certificate

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.
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Photos

  • Building of Shinwa Foreign Language Academy 1/39
  • Classroom at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy 2/39
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  • Computer room at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy 5/39
  • Entrance to Shinwa Foreign Language Academy 6/39
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  • Classes at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy 11/39
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  • Teachers and Staff at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy 21/39
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  • City of Tokyo 24/39
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reviews

Reviews

100% recommend

based on 6 reviews
5 stars
4
4 stars
2
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0
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1 star
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Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"Great teachers, very tough class"

Evan Poladian, student from USA

I really enjoyed this class. The course went over chapters 1-24 in the minna no nihongo textbooks with tests every week and a final on the last week. This also includes intensive hiragana and katakana workbooks as well as a kanji book we started on the 3rd week. I did not pass the class because I did not study enough. However, I highly recommend this class for new Japanese learners because through this class I made significant progress in understanding the language. Far more than I was managing with self study.
The one major issue I experienced is that this school seems more geared for Chinese students so I did not have many English speaking classmates. Which means that if you don’t understand something there’s not going to be someone you can rely on to quickly explain it in English if you’re completely lost. I was in a class of 12 people and I was the only American. There were 8 Chinese students, 2 Vietnamese students and 1 French student. From the looks of it that was common throughout the whole school. Personally, I was okay with this because it forced me to interact using the class content and I couldn’t realistically communicate ideas by falling back on my native tongue. If you take this class I highly, highly, recommend going to the English counselor for assistance if there’s anything you don’t understand.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
9 weeks
Date of study
16 Oct 2023 - 22 Dec 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Very organized & structured method of learning"

EDWARD HONG, student from Taiwan

I liked how organized the content was taught, for instance, each chapter would progressively built on the past lessons. I've also noticed that the teachers would change the grammatical structure of their sentences in order to demonstrate how the new chapter's content could be used. The location was nice and easy to access, I've been able to travel to my classroom via Tram, Subway, JR and all of them were very convenient.

I did not get to participate any activities nor use any provided houses so no comment.

I did find it troublesome with the pacing of the course, I took the 10-week session with Shinwa found it somewhat difficult to catch up if I fail to understand the current chapter's content. I also found that there is a lack of discipline in some classes. There was a day when the instructor didn't come and my class was split and merged with another class that was loud and disrespectful. It was not a good environment to learn in, as my peers would chatter in Mandarin and the instructor was not able to control the class.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
10 weeks
Date of study
10 Apr 2023 - 23 Jun 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
Ben Merritt, Office Director at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy responded to this review.
17 July 2023

I am both glad and sorry about your experience.
Generally higher level classes are much more disciplined and students are more focused. But we often find that those studying their first 3 months take time to become accustomed to the Japanese educational system, and as a result they often chat with each other about unrelated matters to the classes.
I will bring this up with the principal.

"Fantastic environment and lovely teachers."

Michael Laetsch, student from Australia

Had a great time. Teachers were passionate and accommodating. Loved my time there.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
9 weeks
Date of study
11 Jan 2023 - 21 Mar 2023
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
Ben Merritt, Office Director at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy responded to this review.
17 July 2023

Thank you very much for your kind words, we are very pleased you had a good experience.

"Really nice school"

Kevin Sandri, student from Italy

It has been nice. Teachers were friendly and overall everyhthing was ok.
Maybe just the teaching method was hard for europeans, due to different
method of learning

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Duration of study
3 weeks
Date of study
6 Jan 2020 - 31 Jan 2020
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.
Mika Hatakeyama, Student Manager & Interpreter at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy responded to this review.
06 July 2020

Thank you for your feedback.
The educational culture shock is always surprising for some people as it is very different in Japan compared to Europe and America.

It was a pleasure to have you here though.

"Supportive native speaking staff and enthusiastic teachers"

Katie Lambert

I was picked up at the airport and guided by a Ben from the office who took me to me accommodation by train, then registered me at city hall, got my insurance, hanko, bank account and mobile phone. He was really helpful.

Classes began a few days later and were hard at first as they do not use English at all so it’s fully immersive and intensive. But I soon caught up and adapted to the study culture of Japan.

Teachers helped me a lot and were really supportive and enthusiastic. They helped me to apply for college and I got in too.

Ben helped me a lot in his free time too, taking me to hospitals, dentists and even to sort out my first bills at my apartment.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
74 weeks
Date of study
15 Oct 2018 - 20 Mar 2020
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
Ben Merritt, Office Director at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy responded to this review.
20 August 2019

Thank you very much. I will look forward to seeing you graduate in March.

"Energetic, fast paced and great support"

James Stevens

I studied for an 18-month course and graduated last year. The course was fast pace and hard to keep up for the first 2 weeks. But teachers organizes man to man classes after in English to help me catch up. After a week of these, I was back on track.

Japanese schools teach in Japanese only which was daunting at first but once you pick up the language and self-study you can learn very easily.

I went from beginner to N3/2 level in my time.

After I graduated I returned to the states and now work in a company that needed a Japanese speaker so I often visit Japan now.

It’s a good school and the English speaking staff, Ben was super supportive and helpful. He taught me basic grammar in his free time when I was stuck and helped me with registering at city hall and stuff.

Can’t recommend this school enough.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
75 weeks
Date of study
5 Oct 2015 - 17 Mar 2017
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
Ben Merritt, Office Director at Shinwa Foreign Language Academy responded to this review.
01 February 2018

Thank you very much for your review!

I hope your studies are going well and that you are able to use Japanese as often as you can with your chosen career!

visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you. If you wish to receive your paperwork by express mail, you will be charged ¥ 4,000 when you register.

Flights and airport transfer

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Tokyo based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from Shinwa Foreign Language Academy staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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