FAQs about Japanese Courses

The class structure of Practical Conversation Course is focusing on the conversation. The students study to put what they learn that day into practice of life in Japan.

It significantly varies depending on your accommodation. For more information about accommodation, please see this page.
Other expenses include transportation and food. It’s around 500 JPY to 1,000 JPY per day for transportation if you live within 1-hour range from the school. Lunch at casual restaurants is around 500 JPY to 1,000 JPY.

If you are unsatisfied while studying at KAI, please first talk to your teacher or staff at the reception. If your problem can’t be solved by above, please refer to the student handbook you receive after your enrollment.

We use an app called “Zoom”.

There is a download center on the home page of Zoom.  You can download there.
Please install the newest version when the app is updated.  

https://zoom.us/download

If your data capacity is limited, you may have trouble when using Zoom for a long time.   We recommend to use an unlimited capacity Internet service.

It is possible to participate in the lesson with one PC, but considering to use the textbook on hand, it is better to use two devices such as PC and  tablet or PC and mobile phone.  You can participate in the lesson with the tablet but the video will be off while you are watching PDF data of your textbook in the tablet.  ( You can listen to the teacher and your classmates talking but you can’t see them.)  Also, it is not necessary to prepare microphone and camera if they are installed in your PC but we recommend to use headset or earphone with microphone to provide the better environment.

The security of Zoom has become news since around March, 2020, but Zoom issued a massive update to enhance security from June 1.  Also KAI School uses meeting passwords and follows best security practices.  
We have been using Zoom since March, 2020 without any problems.
We will continue to collect information about security and do our best.

If you have concerns, we can give you a connection test before the lessons start.  If it is determined to be difficult for you to take lessons, you can cancel for free. 
However if you decide to proceed with your application and attend lessons, the normal cancellation policy will take effect.

The easiest way to join the zoom meeting is by using the link we provide. This way you don’t need to type your ID or password.

Try these methods:

1. Leave the Zoom meeting and reenter.
2. Click “ ∧ “ mark on the right hand side of your microphone button and change settings.  If your PC doesn’t have microphone, choose “same as the system”

Click “ ∧ “ mark on the right hand side of your microphone button and change settings.  Click “audio setting”  on the bottom and uncheck “adjust the volume of microphone automatically” in the microphone setting.

Try these methods:

1. Turn off your camera.
2. Leave the Zoom meeting room and reenter.

We cannot refund or compensate the lesson fee because of your problem.
Each lesson is recorded and shared after the lesson, so please catch up by yourself by watching the recording.  The recordings will be deleted after 1 week.

The message appears when the teacher has not started the meeting yet.
Reenter the meeting 5 minutes before the lesson.  If the message appears 5 minutes before the lesson, please contact the Skype group chat of your level or contact DLS(Digital Learning Service) Support.  (Where you contact is different from the course you take.)

If you questions are not solved, please feel free to contact us.
Contact information :

1. e-mail address: admission@kaij.co.jp
2. skype: KAI J support

46% is Europeans including 13% of Sweden. Other European countries include Spain, Switzerland and UK, etc. 27% is Asian which includes Taiwan’s 14%. The rest are from North America, Latin America, Oceania and Africa.

The school takes in new students 4 times during the year: Jan/Apr/Jul/Oct. The maximum length that you can study for with a student visa is 2 years. If you plan to study in a Japanese university / vocational school, please note that they usually begin in April or October. It means you should finish your lessons with KAI in March or September.

Please refer to the this page. Late applications are only accepted if you have a very special reason.

Only those written in Japanese or English are accepted. Documentation in other languages must be accompanied by a Japanese or English translation.

Yes – Please do not leave any blanks. When something is not applicable, please write N.A. If you make a mistake, cross it out with two parallel lines; please do not use correction fluid.

A proof of graduation form your high school and an offical letter indicationg your enrollment at the University are needed.

• A certificate from Language institute / University / high school indicating the total amount of hours studied.
• A Japanese Proficiency Test certificate.

Yes – your application will not be accepted if you do not state all previous visits to Japan in the personal records. The reason and duration of any previous visits should be stated. If you are unable to give the exact dates of any previous visits, you musut state the reason why you are unable to do so.

A tax statement showing your annual income is acceptable. Other documentation may be acceptable – please ask for clarification.

An annual net income of 8,000,000 JPY is the absolute minimum. However, the number of your family members, the age of the sponsor, his/her legal status etc. will also be taken in account to see whether it is possible for him/her to provide financial support for you. (approx 2,000,000 JPY/year)

The sponsor must have a close relationship with you (i.e. be your relative), and must be regarded as having had a stable life for a long time. His/her income, visa status, visa length, number of family members etc. will be taken into account when determining whether if is possible to support you.

If you live in Japan and study Japanese language, even complete beginners can do some shopping in town and make orders at restaurants in 3 months, and exchange opinions with Japanese in a year.

Yes. We have a class for complete beginners. If you learn hiragana in advance, you can digest lessons even better.

They study “Reading,” “Writing,” “Speaking,” and “Listening” with balance with learning Japanese grammar.

They teach only in Japanese. But you don’t have to worry. They use a lot of pictures and photos to explain so that even the complete beginners can understand.
Once you get used to this way of study, you can also get accustomed to thinking in Japanese. As a result, you can become a good Japanese speaker sooner. Please take full advantage of your staying in Japan.

Yes. By doing homework everyday, you can make sure to remember what you learn at school. In addition, doing homework every day can be good preparation for the mid-term and final exams.

Yes. There’s a class to experience traditional Japanese culture such as tea ceremony and Japanese calligraphy every week. Moreover, you can see and experience modern Japan at after-school programs and activities, etc.

Please go to this page. If you have any questions, please make an inquiry here.

Yes. You can take the next level class once you complete your current one. The levels are from 1 to 4 at this moment.

Yes. They learn Hiragana in level 1 and Kanji in level 2 for several minutes at the end of the classes. In addition, we offer self-learning material as homework. For Kanji, we offer self-studying material and make corrections on request basis.

Yes. The class of General Course will be determined based on the result of the placement test and interview.

Yes. The tuition fee will be calculated on a weekly basis. In case you participate in level 1, you may be asked to take catch-up lessons (extra charge) in advance. 

No. The time is fixed depending on the class.

Yes. However, we can’t issue the certificate of completion.

You can attend cultural activities for Practical Conversation Course students like “origami”, “tea ceremony” and “shodo (Japanese calligraphy) once a week. You can also attend activities hosted by school such as “izakaya party”, “bowling”, “picnic”, etc. We inform the schedule and how to make reservations after the course starts.

Yes, you can study for 4 weeks in August. However, please note that the class time and room of the last one week may be changed.

You can apply for some activities even after the course have started, however, many activities may be booked up before the course starts. Applying with your lesson is recommended.

It is applicable only when the booking is completed 3 months prior to the course start date. Please contact us for detail.

Max. 8 persons in July and max. 12 persons in August course.

Yes. But please note that your attendance must to be 80% or more to get the certificate of course completion.

We make an arrangement based on your request.

Yes, you can. We’ll have a free counseling session before starting the lesson and design your lesson plan based on the result of it. If you aren’t sure how you would like to study, we’ll offer you a proposal based on the purpose of your study as well as your planned study time period, hours per day and frequency, etc.

If you have some educational material you would like to use, please let us know. We can also recommend some textbooks.

Basically, we teach with “direct method”, which is the method the teachers use only Japanese in class. That’s because we believe understanding and thinking in Japanese are more effective to learn Japanese language. However, as the hours of private lessons are limited, it’s possible to explain some points and things hard to understand in English.

Yes, it is. There are some people who appoint their previous teachers. In that case, we need to decide the lesson schedule with their availability.

Basically, one teacher gives the entire lessons. In case you take multiple lessons per week, it is likely that you have two teachers.

Yes, you can. If you want to, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Please pay the total tuition fee of the following month before your lesson starts and do it monthly in advance later on. We accept credit cards, too.

If you would like to leave school in the middle of your course, please refer to our “Refund Policy” page.