"Why is Yamasa's language diversity so important? Why make the effort?

You may have only one chance to study in Japan, and you will learn more, and at a faster rate if you are speaking Japanese all the time AND your classmates are NOT speaking to each other in another language. At Yamasa, Japanese is more than just the language of instruction, but also the most viable language of communication. It is only genuine language diversity that avoids these problems, and also prevents difficulties associated with accent reduction. However very few of Japan's accredited programs take it as seriously as we do. As a non-profit Institute, Yamasa may be better positioned to pursue policies that concentrate on improving quality. Please look at the charts and see just how different Yamasa is.

Chart 1 of 2. Average native language background of "Shugakusei" for APJLE accredited institutes ALL JAPAN.

Chart 2 of 2. Native language background of "Shugakusei" at the YAMASA INSTITUTE.

The top chart is complied based on the nationalities from the monthly reports released by the Immigration Bureau in its "JINRYUU" magazine. As you can see, most Japanese institutions have a very narrow recruiting base. Furthermore the long run trend over the past 5 years has been for a steady increase in the number of Chinese speaking students. For any school that valued high quality education and diversity, this would require a response. Yamasa has done so. Our policies are reflected in the second chart showing the native language background of Yamasa's students.

You will note that there is a fairly even distribution of the languages. Spanish remains a little under-represented, so universities in the Spanish speaking parts of the world are being contacted and exchanges developed. The number of Chinese, English and Korean speaking students is steadily increasing in numerical terms - but each is steadily decreasing in percentage terms as the International Office continues to pump its resources into developing infrastructure for recruiting students from, in particular, the European Union and Latin America.

Who will you be learning with???

It is only because Yamasa is serious about program quality that maintaining language diversity has become a key challenge and priority for Yamasa's support staff and Admissions Office. There is for example the seasonal difference between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Not everyone's "Summer Holidays" occur during Japan's summer and vice-versa. Most students at Yamasa are also self-funded, so exchange rates and economic variables are another factor.

However we have been successful and more effective in being able to provide language diversity consistently than any other program provider, and this is simply due to the high level of committment. The result is a dynamic group of people from many different cultural backgrounds, with very different experiences and outlooks. But all seeking to discover both Japan and themselves in an unusually stimulating academic environment. We hope you can join us.

For more details regarding Yamasa's students, please click on each of the link buttons on the left hand side of this page.