 Hey guys, it's N.A.K.A. The Hazina Girl and in today's video I have a special guest if you guys are OGs to the channel And you aren't knowing who she is. This is my lovely sister, Neymar. I had basically somebody DM me and ask me a bunch of questions related to language school And then I realized I haven't been to language school in a hot minute I was in language school back in 2000. I want to say 16 to 2018 so it was a few years ago But Neymar just so happens to be in language school right now So I figured what better person to invite over and interview and ask a bunch of questions One thing by the way I totally forgot to mention is the fact that Neymar goes to ISI. Yes, I said Japanese language school And then if you guys didn't know I went to Aka-monkai Japanese language school Yeah, so we have two very different experiences very so she's studying for a year and six months I did a year and nine months plus three extra months in total I guess technically two years so another thing I wanted to mention to you is the fact that Neymar has a World global pandemic experience and I have a non-world global pandemic experience Yeah, so our experience are very different and I think for those of you that are debating between whether to go to ISI or to go to Aka-monkai Hopefully this video would be really helpful for you guys. Yeah. Anyways, okay. Let's go over the video Okay, so first question how many hours a day did you need to study to keep up with the pace of language school? So I would say about an hour before class. I spend a lot more. I like studying. I like languages I like being organized, but for the average person It's just an hour for like looking up meanings generally speaking It shouldn't take more than an hour a day to just like prepare for class. Okay, and what about like studying after class? Do you do any extra studying after course? I do yes I would say I like to designate like about an hour to three hours personally But I think an hour again would be okay Like, you know just like quickly reviewing because they do give you homework not homework is kind of like review So if you do that on top of like the pre-class and after class and the homework, you should be fine Okay, yeah, so in total about like minimum two hours maximum three minimum two max three I would say yeah, all right So you'd have a life to live, you know exactly yeah true first of all before you go diver dive deeper into it What level are you at? I think that's something you need to clarify. Yeah, I'm currently at level and two right now So these are these are the textbooks we're using so kanji and two and and grammar and two How long have you been studying to get to this end to level? So since September of last year So it's been about a year. Okay. Yeah, and I guess that's actually a good segue into the second question If you don't mind we're just gonna bounce right into the next one Which is did the difficulty level change as you went through the JLPT levels being like just being a language lover I think things made a lot of sense in the beginning and then now I'm just like Japanese is just a Language of its own like it's really just like you're you're losing me. I lost the patterns so now I'm just like it's more of like Memorizing lately. We've been learning like take out of the night. Oh, and it's like if you break it down It's like many night take out of the night like after doing this not to have to like I don't understand But really what it just means like it like without doing this Oh, I see none and none like what you're saying is that the grammar patterns get more and more complicated with time But you learn to have to simplify them in your mind Exactly trying to break down every element. Yes, and I heard from my tutor cuz I asked her Like why do you guys have so many ground patterns like in English? We don't like it's not and she's like honestly just when you're learning just ask your teacher Is this something that like a gram pattern that we use when writing or when speaking if you're getting the feeling that it's not a Grammar tense it's used on a daily basis. Just remember how to use it how to apply it But you don't have to actually use it on a daily basis So did the difficulty level change as you went through the JLPT levels. Sorry. Yes. It was definitely Yeah, yeah, like it's not like a whoo brings walking apart notes But I think like the fact that the difficulty level changes with time shouldn't be something that intimidates you No, no, not at all because it's not like they're ever gonna just like no Cost you into the deep end and be like, okay now swim and I'm a firm believer in get your tuition's worth Bombard your teacher with emails. I did that literally like whole of last semester. My teacher was getting at least Four emails from me every week like I don't understand They tell you they're like if you don't understand send me an email like tell me like let us know right She like took time out of class to explain to me a grammar pattern. I was like, thank you. I appreciate this You know also you did something that I think is very commendable, which I didn't do which is you hired a tutor Yeah, so through italki I heard about it from actually one of Sena's friends who does it does it in English for Japanese students here in Tokyo And she was like, yes, you totally it's super inexpensive You could do trial for at first and then when you find the person that you really really like that you can Invest in like a package which is like five tutoring sessions For like for a specific amount generally speaking that you can find people for is like a low of a price from like five dollars to like $13 right for just a one-hour session, which is good and each tutor like specifies in like a particular area So I was gonna take the eju and the JLT team and the two that I got she's like a full-time Japanese teacher She teaches like like other foreign students in Osaka and like the good thing is it's online So you don't have to worry about getting there on time or whatever or whatever and you could figure out the time difference too It's like you're still like back home and whatnot. Yeah, it's really worth it Like I did like a pros and cons list of like whether or not like I should invest in it And I realized that the only thing that was really just a con was spending money So just like I want to get better at everything so and it's a really good idea, too If you want to like have more natural sounding Japanese like I didn't want to sound like a robot So I used to ask her I'm like my goal is and you can tell your tutor your goal I was like my goal is to sound like like natural sounding like and express my emotions in the most natural way She's like great. I'm gonna keep an eye out for that and I'll help you So it's really good for that. So get yourself a tutor if you feel like you're you know Starting to sink a little bit in the deep waters. Just get yourself a tutor Next question is is it doable to have a part-time job at the same time or is it a stretch? And is it really stressful? So my part-time job I have two part-time jobs I work as an a kaiwa sensei. So it's basically like English conversation lessons, but it's not like the lessons It's just like educational activities with kids But all in English and so I do that on Thursdays and Saturdays. So on Thursday is just a one-hour shift It's like like right after class on Saturday. It's pretty much a six-hour shift So from nine to three and then the second job that I do is babysitting which is on Sundays So I only do it on Sundays. I used to do it like during the week as well But it got really complicated and just really messy. I requested to only do Sundays with a particular family So yeah, I do that also for like a six-hour shift. So from nine to three and yeah Do you think it's stressful or do you like enjoy it? Like do you have moments where you're like, oh, this is a bit much I think I found a rhythm for myself. I think I've been able to adjust there I'm not gonna lie. There are days where it does feel very stressful, but I've just kind of figured it out throughout the weeks So throughout the week, I'm like planning thinking, you know, how I want to do what I need to do But also just prioritizing myself first Yeah, if you have a job that's able to actually give you days off when you need it and can be there and understand where you're coming from as a Student working this specific part-time job, then it'll be doable I remember the part-time job I was doing when I was back in language school was I did a few But the first one I did was working at a hotel That job was kind of too stressful for me The one that worked for me the most was also English teaching And if you guys want a full list of all the part-time jobs that I did in Japan I have like a video I'll link that as well in the corner. You can watch it But for me I think like finding a job that actually worked with my schedule and finding people who are willing to understand where I was coming from That was the most important. Yeah, the truth is that not everybody is nice here Yeah, like not everybody actually not everybody has your best interest at heart exactly, right? So you need to be like Truthfully, I can only work one day. We're gonna be like bye. Well, there's there are lots of opportunities for foreigners here Yeah, so yeah next question Is it generally stressful like your school life is your school life generally stressful or are you able to find time to Relax and have fun now. It's definitely not stressful at all. No, I mean Not I think I I Self-imposed stress, but when I look at my classmates, they're cruising Like like a lot of them are just like living their lives and which is a good thing Like you're supposed to you came here So you should obviously still need to go to school because I can't you know my visa Yeah, but Afterwards, I don't do any anything school work related like I don't read a kyo kajo I don't pick up any textbook whatsoever it is I just like just chill and just like whatever I want to do like if I want to go to shimokita and like thrift for a bit If I have a little pocket change, you know do that Or if I just want to sit at a cafe and read a book do that and then come home and not worry about it Cool next question Are your classes generally memorization based and were you given a crazy amount of things to learn? Memorization based week like in terms of what particularly like are they just like this is the facts memorize it Or do you think they have a different method? No, no, so lately in like every single time we learn a new grammar pattern We have this thing now where it's like our teacher puts up like this to our code and we have to scan it with our phones And then we basically write our own sentences with this new grammar pattern And she goes one by one saying this makes sense. This doesn't make sense guys be careful of this This is a noun be careful of that that doesn't really make any sense So it's really really helpful. So it's not just memorization base this one this like particular brand Yeah, it's it's it's hard to adjust to when you're coming from like the n5, which is like what is it? Mina no, Nihongo, which is this yeah, which is very like hold your hand walking to the park Which is great for the beginning, but I think that like when having this gave multiple examples It's really not memorization base. It's like they're trying to help you as much as possible to apply Yeah, and also to understand. Yeah, I was gonna say by the way I also use this okay Kanzen musta This is also what we use that come on guy and we also use me none in your home go out the beginning So I think like it's a mix of both you do do a lot of memorization But the most important aspect like you said is application actually being able to use the things which are memorizing So I remember for example that come on guy we used to get these little booklets Which I think I also talked about in my come on guy video But we used to get these little booklets that had like the kanji that we were learning for that section So at the end of the day one class ended after we had finished all of our learning Our homework was to write the kanji down like you know, maybe 20 30 40 times to kind of let it sink So the memorization aspect of it is not literally just like taking flashcards and being right But it's also like writing it down with your own time so that you learn how it's written And you're doing this memorization plus application Next question is would you consider a come on guy in my case or ISI in your case to be a very intense school? No, it's absolutely not ISI is really not like a huge part of being an ISI student is you being able to Study on your own like outside of class without anyone asking you like that's Number one way for you to succeed and feel like you've not wasted your time It's a good thing for you to be attending class and that's a huge part of your language journey and being able to grow and learn but another Significant part is you being able to sit on your own and just going in Finding the vocab Practicing speaking like all of that stuff. That's really up to you. Would you consider that to be like intense though But what do you prefer because like okay? For example, my answer for a come on guy is like in the classroom They were intense but for me that worked because outside of class. I was not as intense on the study I see you see what I mean so to me I would say is a come on guy an intense school Yes, the teachers would drill you really hard if you didn't know the kanji they would like they would be like Why don't you know the kind did you not study like they were intense in that sense But outside of class I'm not an intense person like I don't go out of my way to study hours and hours and hours on end I basically was just the type person who like I did the bare minimum homework And then I was trying to learn Japanese by my surroundings So for me an intense school like a come on guy was perfect But like you are an intense study here by the by nature Yeah, so for you a non intense school like I actually work right? It does I'm sure there's one person who went to come on guys like I don't think I come on guys intense at all I'm sure there's one person who goes to I said like no I asked the most intense right? Yeah, I'm sure there's people who disagree with the opinions that we have but again like it just depends on your own learning style Also once if I wanted to mention just because I think it's perfect to talk about it right now I had a friend who actually went to both schools. My name is Francesca. Hey, what's up, Franny? She went to Akamonka for three months and she realized Akamonka was not the school for her And so when she came back to Japan she applied to go to ISI yeah, and she ended up studying there So and that's how I ended up there. Exactly. That's how name of fun out about it and ended up there as well But I think like ultimately that's probably the best thing you can do if you're super unsure The best thing to do is come with a short-term tourist visa come for like three months Test out the school that you're interested in and see if you like it Yeah, yeah, random question that I wanted to ask you what made you want to go to ISI versus Akamonka Like why did you pick up and you forgot I tried I was initially just gonna do the exact same thing as you I tried to apply through Akamonka. Um, but like I think it was just like I missed the entry They date to apply and then and then like I was initially gonna go in July But then that didn't happen and I was like, okay I'll just try ISI and no offense. I kind of had a bad experience like trying to get through to the staff So I think that's part of where I gave up But it's kind of a blur knock. It's been like two years. Yeah Yeah, but and then I just like email the people that I said like yeah, great Eventually I came in and what's it called in December? So I know that a lot of people who went to Akamonka I actually went through this company called Google Nihon which basically like they help you apply to go to the school So you don't have to deal with the staff directly. True But I think ISI is probably easier to apply to directly by yourself here. Okay, so this next question These are from me. I added a few questions cuz I think like these are very specific to our situation. It's okay Next question is were you able to make friends easily? Yes, and no so basically the first stage was I was still in Canada learning from online obviously due to COVID Obviously because I was everybody was starting from grounds here. Everybody was new everyone's gonna kind of be shy You know zoom shyness or whatever, but you're gonna see that as like you get broken out into like breakout rooms or whatever They're gonna like the teachers try to like get people to talk and like you're gonna see everyone always has something to ask Where are you from? What are you doing? What what made you come to Japan? So I feel like from there I was able to make You know at least two to three friends and actually one of them like we spoke we like managed to exchange What's it called like mine and we like called each other and we're talking like oh when you come to Japan Oh, I'm coming in December on me too like that kind of thing is this when you were in Canada in Canada Okay, my experience was completely in-person so obviously for me I mean and I'm a social person like I like to talk with people I like to make new friends But I remember like I made some significant friendships in your logo with people who I'm still best friends with to this day And so I think it is easy to make very valuable friendships in like Japanese language school But I think the people who maybe like let's say if they don't speak the same native language as you and they can Oh, you guys can only communicate in Japanese Those people are a little bit harder to be friends Because you don't really have that like ease of communication that you would with let's say somebody who speaks English Yeah, but it's not to say that it doesn't happen. Yeah. Yeah, it is possible though Yeah, there's people who I'm sure you're dating by the way in ISI. Oh, yeah, apparently I don't think there was much dating enough. Okay, honestly people I think we were probably just focused on studying. Yeah, but our school is so lax and they have too many like events So I think people are just like Or coming coming and then zoom me a message zoom me your line Zumba Zumba not puppy on zoom. That's when you know, I'm buying is when guys are sweeping into your DMs Basically, but it's on zoom. Yeah, but on zoom exactly not buying on zoom classic. That is a very real thing. Be careful Yeah, watch out for the zoom buzz. Anyways, next question Oh, I guess you kind of touched on this But like how was the studying online versus in class and how was the studying in Canada versus in Japan? Very intense in Canada was intense because I was doing a full-time job Yeah, the time difference was another fracture my own lifestyle in Canada plus another lifestyle that technically I should be living in Japan It was very very intense. Yeah, I need to sleep in I need to take days off Yeah, I was literally doing my homework at work some days. Yeah, like no not some days every single day Because it was really intense and like because my weekends were a move the day up So I my weekends were Fridays and Saturdays and then Sunday. I had class. Yeah, and that messed me up You're literally taking class like at like 2 a.m. Yeah, so I was like, oh I have to sleep Oh dinner. Oh wait homework and like I remember one time I got into class on my teacher was like The time difference is why she did it from 2 to what time 2 a.m. To 3 10. Oh, sorry. No 1 to 3 then And then I would wake up at for 7 to get to work. Oh, it was it was very intense very very intense I did not like that one bit But what about now studying online in Japan versus, you know online in Japan, it's lonely Let me be honest with you that it's usually the small interactions that make it You know like passing over of a pencil or like giggling with the person beside you about what your teacher said I like what I mean, so just get your vaccine and just go to class. It's really worth it Just be careful. I'm gonna be careful You can come like sporadically like the teachers allow you to do that like you can come like Two to three times in class and then everything else online like it's up to you You can pick but obviously attending class like every single day. It helps with discipline It helps with like natural conversations before class with your teacher. Yeah, it helps with asking questions It helps with confidence confidence. It helps with like everything like online obviously like in person Sorry is the best way to go, but of course Figure out what works for you Yeah, I don't have any input to give because I never had the online experience for watching you do it Honestly, I have a lot of respect for you because it looked like it was it was a journey But yeah, I think that's we're gonna end this video Thank you Neymar for giving us your input your advice your experience and I hope you guys enjoyed this video If you did make sure to give it a like make sure to subscribe and I'll see you in the next one. Bye