As a member of the educational journalist group who visited Japan after the earthquake, the reporter learned that the number of students studying in Japan is decreasing due to the earthquake and nuclear radiation news. It is expected that in April next year, a number of "problem schools" will be "closed" due to insufficient enrollment. At present, how to choose a school for students studying in Japan is a supplementary lesson.
In April next year, schools with poor quality will be eliminated.
After the earthquake, some students adjusted their study destinations, interrupted their studies and left Japan. The number of students returning to school and the number of students enrolled in language schools also confirm this. Because of the language threshold of Japanese, Japanese universities and universities (graduate schools) generally do not directly recruit students from overseas. After passing the "language barrier" in a language school, foreign students take part in the "international student experiment" (referred to as "staying in the exam") and then enter universities and universities. Therefore, the enrollment of language schools is regarded as a "barometer" of the Japanese study abroad market. Judging from the situation of Tokyo Language School, the rate of students returning to school after the earthquake is around 80%, and the number of international students has been lost.
"It is estimated that the crisis will appear in April next year." Naguma Ichihiko is the director of the Japanese Language School in Tokyo. The language school he is in charge of has a history of 65 years of Japanese teaching, with European and American students as the main students. After the earthquake, the number of students enrolled has also decreased compared with previous years.
Now language schools pay special attention to the enrollment situation in April next year. "April" is the start date of Japanese education-Japanese education has four semesters, namely, 65438+ 10, April, July and 65438+ 10, and students are called "born in June, April, July and June" accordingly. Among them, April is the main admission period. Therefore, the enrollment situation in April next year can be roughly seen in the sunny and rainy days in the Japanese study abroad market.
The main affected schools will be some low-level schools with short capital flow. Chen, an expert studying in Japan and a senior consultant studying in Shanghai, analyzed that there are 449 Japanese language schools in Tokyo, many of which are rented by loans, and the shrinking enrollment will mainly appear in these schools. As long as you are dissatisfied with admission for two or three times in a row, you will close the door when the rent expires.
How do related links distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of language schools?
In view of the fact that most language schools in Japan do not have teaching buildings, but occupy several floors in office buildings, how can students tell the "life span" of the school? Japanese educators put forward four reference points:
1, school history. The threshold for running a language school is low and the level of running a school is uneven. This is a quick way to check the school running time. If the school has been running for more than ten years, it can stand the test of the market; Schools that have survived for decades or even hundreds of years may be traced back to the predecessors of cultural exchange groups, which have rich social resources.
2. Type of school. This is a survey of school funds from the main body of running a school. Japanese schools are run by school legal persons, consortium legal persons, joint-stock companies and individuals. Usually, the financial strength of the consortium legal person is relatively strong, and the school legal person often relies on the resources of universities and middle schools.
3. The composition of teachers. Most language schools are compatible with full-time and part-time teachers, which can be judged from the teacher-student ratio, teacher education background and school education concept. For example, some language schools publish their own Japanese textbooks, and some undertake the task of national Japanese teacher qualification training, which shows that the quality of Japanese education is better.
4. Continuing education. If you are studying in Japan for academic qualifications, you can refer to the proportion of schools that have been promoted to famous schools such as Keio University, Tokyo University and Waseda University over the years. In this way, we can not only see the admission rate of famous schools, but also get in touch with seniors and get first-hand advice on further studies.
Transformation: not only teaching Japanese, but also extending services for students.
In order to cope with the brutal competition, language schools began to seek transformation, from "only teaching languages" to "extended services", and most of them were free. International students choose schools according to their own needs, and get twice the result with half the effort.
1, set up a "tutorial class" to help students attack famous schools.
In recent years, in addition to Japanese teaching, language schools have also offered many guidance courses for further studies. After several years of exploration, these trainings called "learning guidance" are quite mature.
The reporter saw in the East Asia College of Xiashanhui that the school is good at providing admission guidance for universities. In addition to tutoring in application for admission and thesis writing, it also arranges for students to attend lectures by university professors first. Different from the guidance for senior high school students, the college entrance examination guidance involves everyone's specific major, and it is often one-on-one guidance, which requires high academic qualifications and knowledge reserves of the instructors. This tutorial is very valuable in the industry.
In ARC Language School, on the basis of previous years' guidance, a new "prestigious school class" and a "large university class" are set up this year to guide university entrance and postgraduate entrance respectively. "There are more and more international students who want to enter colleges and universities, and the exam countermeasures class came into being." Furukawa, head of the Academic Affairs Office, introduced.
There are also schools offering scholarships as incentives. The Japanese Language School, the Edo Cultural Center in Akasaka, has scholarships to encourage students to get high marks in Japanese proficiency tests and foreign students' exams and compete for prestigious schools.
In addition, students can also choose from the academic system. Most Japanese schools are half-day, but the reporter saw in Shude Japanese School that this is a full-time school located in Banqiao, a suburb of Tokyo. The business is not booming, and there are few opportunities for students to work, which objectively achieves the goal of "reading sage books wholeheartedly".
2. Obtain the Employment Permit to serve the students.
Of course, studying and working in Japan is the standard image of Japanese students. After all, not all students aim at further study, and some students are not well-off, so living expenses and even tuition fees can be deducted from working. The employment recommendation provided by the school can enable students to obtain rich employment information while working and avoid being deceived.
Take ARC Language School and Xiashanhui East Asia College as examples. Located in Shibuya and Shimonoseki respectively, they belong to downtown Tokyo and have many job opportunities. Schools set up employment support departments, hoping to improve students' employability, stay away from the bottom employment and accumulate experience for future employment. In addition to recommending employment opportunities to students, the school also holds regular "induction meetings", similar to campus recruitment in China.
3, cultural activities, to give students a "frontier" platform.
Individual schools with rich social resources will also build cultural platforms for students to "take the lead". When the reporter visited the East Asia College of Xiashan Club, he met the annual speech contest of the whole school. The "elected" representatives of each class took the stage to give a Japanese speech, and the contestants not only won cash bonuses, but also the judges sitting under the stage were representatives of well-known Japanese companies such as Mizuho and East Asia, which provided opportunities for students to take up jobs in the future.
Students studying in Japan: "The opportunity to get into a good school has come."
After the March 1 1 earthquake, facing the question of "going or staying", Zhu Jingyi, a student from China, chose to stay. Zhu Jingyi is a graduate student majoring in journalism at Waseda University. She remembers that on the day of the earthquake, traffic in Tokyo was paralyzed and she was afraid to go home. She took a taxi with strangers to the shelter of Waseda University. The original 30-minute drive took her four hours, and the taxi fare was 1 10,000 yen. The changes brought to her by the earthquake are: the rent of the old house was refunded and she moved into a small building with a new construction date. "Pay attention to life in the future and live in a stronger house." She chose to be a staunch "pro-Japanese".
After the earthquake, a group of international students, like Jing Zhu, chose to study in Japan. When visiting Japanese students studying in China, the reporter found that Japanese animation culture left a deep impression on them, making them a firm "pro-Japanese faction"; In addition, more people have average academic qualifications in China and have been admitted to universities and graduate schools in Japan. Returning to China means that their studies are interrupted. "Without a diploma, returning to China is also to stay at home and mix society."
In the eyes of these students, the reduction of international students is an opportunity to get into a good school. In fact, some people gave up after the admission to the University of Tokyo this year, and some advanced language schools also said that students' initial choice was "1 from 5" and may be "1 from 3" in the near future. According to the analysis of Japanese study abroad observers, the competition for admission to famous schools in Japan will indeed decrease, but students must weigh the advantages and disadvantages if they want to seize the opportunity.
It is very important to apply for colleges and universities.
In recent years, the number of international students applying for universities has been increasing through language schools. When applying for colleges and universities, the situation in all countries is similar, so you have to make your tutor "like you". Tip for international students: Before entering the school, you have to "set up magnetism" with your tutor early.
The path for international students to apply for Japanese universities and colleges is: 1. Take the international student exam. If you want to apply for a first-class national university, such as Tokyo University, and a private super-class university, such as Keio University, you must reach 700 points or more (out of 800 points); 2. Japanese proficiency test level 1; 3. English test. Top universities will require TOEFL, but the scores are not high. For example, Keio University only needs to ask for a new TOEFL score of 50 for freshmen in science (the TOEFL score of Japanese universities will be different); 4. The instructor agrees. Scores are hard indicators, and this last point has too many variables.
Shao Wenjun, an undergraduate majoring in Japanese in Tianjin Normal University, studied in Japanese School of the National Library. He intends to study comparative culture at Waseda University. By applying for Waseda trainees, she has participated in seminars organized by her tutors many times. In the eyes of international students who have successfully applied for prestigious schools, this method can "mix faces" with professors and have a greater chance of being admitted by professors.