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yamasa.org / home / acjs / english / programs / program_notes -
Student Profiles
Tuition Fees
 Ní thuigim thú
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yamasa.org / home / acjs / english / programs / program_notes -
Student Profiles
Tuition Fees
Ní thuigim thú
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Yamasa is accredited by the APJLE as required by Japanese law (Accreditation No. B302). All APJLE accredited schools are recommended to maintain a maximum class size of 20 for students with the 'shugakusei' student visa, and a minimum program length of 800 classes/year. It should be noted that the regulation states "recommended" and not "required". The regulations also state that events such as parties, ceremonies etc. can be actually be counted as classes. The regulations also state that for passive learning (ie - where oral interaction between students and faculty is not required - for example a lecture where questions are not permitted) then class sizes may even exceed 35. There is also no actual penalty if a school temporarily has a maximum class size in excess of 20 students - even if this was the figure they published in their publications or website.
It should be noted that while the APJLE regulations have improved the general quality of Japanese language education, there are also several loopholes through which commercial (for profit) schools can improve their financial bottom line. Some of the resulting problems include:
Other cost saving methods include relying heavily on casual contract teachers, minimal or no expenditure on computers and other learning technologies, and using partitions/panels to create extra classrooms instead of investing in sound insulated walls. Unfortunately the regulations are not tight enough to prevent such abuses of the "spirit" of the regulations, even though such practices are technically within the "letter" of the regulations.
It should also be noted that it is not just the administrators of commercial schools, but also program providers at some universities who often use cost saving methods that ultimately reduce program quality. Many Japanese universities are seriously underfunded and under-resourced. The Japanese government offers subsidies to Japanese universities and colleges for foreign students - and according to most reports issued by the universities themselves - a substantial proportion of these funds are not spent on the programs and services supporting foreign students, but rather is used to cross subsidize loss-making programs elsewhere in the university.
By contrast Yamasa is able to concentrate exclusively on intensive teaching schedules and smaller classes. The stability is because we do not need a profit margin and have long term financial backing from the Hattori Foundation (established in 1919). The main differences is that at Yamasa:
Many of our programs provide considerably smaller class sizes. For example our seminar format classes have a maximum size of 6 students. The reason why small classes are important is that it enables team teaching and class participation. Many language schools need to use rote-learning, as it is the only way to teach large class sizes. But with large classes, you can not receive any personal attention or the chance to speak.
Please also note that Yamasa is also one of the few Institutes that only considers the actual classes and testing to be program hours. This means that the difference between the length of Yamasa programs and those of other schools is usually significantly understated.
At Yamasa you simply learn more than students at other schools.
Questions regarding this file...
If any of the information in this file is unclear, or if you need more detailed information, please click here and read the study/applications section of the FAQ before contacting us. Best regards, Declan Murphy.
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