There is one vital question to ask yourself when considering learning a language.... "Who will I be learning with?"
Reprinted with permission from JLEIC Japan Study Guide.
When searching for an appropriate language program, an important factor often overlooked is the other students. However as these are the people who you will be learning with (and almost practising and/or living with), the origin, motivation and experience of the other students is vitally important.
This section contains detailed information regarding the nationality, native language age, gender and education background of Yamasa students and also comparisons with the information provided by the Immigration Bureau and other Japanese language programs where it is available.
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When it comes to having a genuinely international student body, many Japanese educational institutions aim to be, many claim to be, however very few actually are. Even many of the so called "international" universities have very few international students. NOTE! Yamasa is virtually the only APJLE accredited school with an admissions policy that deliberately emphasizes the importance of a diverse student intake - and perhaps the only one that has had the resources to consistently maintain it.
This is perhaps the largest difference between Yamasa and other schools. Our long term concentration on quality is assisted by our non-profit status and the strong support of the Hattori Foundation (established in 1919). As a result our excellent facilities and programs are complimented by the same attention to detail in regards to genuine language diversity.
THE FACTS: Many schools and university based Japanese Programs ("Bekka") will not mention it, but their student body will usually resemble the 2 charts below. The following information shows the nationalities of students with the 'Shugakusei' student visa in 1998-1999, and those of Yamasa during the year 1998-1999. The data below is published by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice. We have enclosed it in bar charts so that it is readily understandable.
Chart 1 of 2. Average nationality background of "Shugakusei" for APJLE accredited institutes nationwide.
As you can see from the chart above, the vast majority of schools recruit heavily from a very narrow range of countries. Most of the students are young, and many enrol via profit oriented commercial agencies and brokers. There are some programs where the majority of students are not ethnically Chinese, however most of these schools have a majority of students from one different language group instead. For example many commercial schools with Korean investors have the vast majority of their students recruited from Korea.
Most American program providers recruit students from US colleges, charge in dollars, and teach mostly in English. This is especially the case with many of the "Japan Centers" run by foreign universities - especially where their programs draw heavily upon the student body of affiliated universities and consortium members. The effect of recruiting from a narrow range of nationalities is then reflected in the range of native languages spoken by the students.
By most reports Yamasa is the only university or APJLE accredited program provider in Japan:
A) With no majority native language group AND
B) With large numbers of students from outside East Asia
C) That deliberately establishes language diversity.
Compare the figures above with those of Yamasa.
Chart 1 of 2. Nationality background of "shugakusei" student visa holders at the Yamasa Institute.
The Yamasa Institute is widely recognised as the exception. Our students come from all over the world and Japanese is usually the only common language they can use as a medium to communicate to each other in. The reasons for it include:
1) the fact that we have a wider range of university exchange links and full time International Office staff.
2) the fact that because we have a multinational support staff at Yamasa we are
able to communicate directly with students from countries usually under-represented in Japanese institutions in their native language.
3) the fact that we have a more professional management system and are able to
maintain our policies with highly experienced staff frequently seconded from the Hattori Foundation.
4) the fact that our greater degree of flexibility results in significant numbers of
professionals who no longer have university links being able to enroll in our programs.
Students enrolled in 1999-2000 originate from: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Ireland, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA, Vietnam.
And for those of you into student statistics...
Largest regional source of students: European Union (27.17%)
Most common native languages: English, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin), German, Chinese (Cantonese)
Number of student visa holders: 113
Number of students in other programs: 328
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"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.
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.
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The student body at Yamasa provides an language learning environment with a qualitative difference.
Of the accredited Japanese programs available in this country, very few have a student body with an educational background similar to that of Yamasa.
It is the deliberate policy of Admissions to ensure that the Institute continues to attract highly talented students of the Japanese language - and without in any way excluding graduates who are no longer enrolled in university studies or young students who have not yet commenced their undergraduate training - but who can clearly demonstrate that they are capable of performing well at Yamasa.
75.7% of Yamasa's students are completing or have already completed undergraduate or graduate studies. Many are aiming for second or higher degrees or towards careers requiring high levels of Japanese proficiency. A significant proportion of these students have already completed graduate degrees. By comparison the vast majority of international students entering Japan each year have only completed their high school education.
At Yamasa there is a strong science and technology bias which makes the student body a little atypical amongst language learning communities. In strong contrast to Yamasa, more than 60% of all of the international students in Japan studying at other schools come from mainland China alone. For these students and for most students in APJLE accredited schools or university "bekkas", their language studies are primarily used as preparation for undergraduate studies in Japan.
Many of the students are currently enrolled in degree or graduate programs at their 'home' university and take the opportunity to spend a year, a semester, quarter or a summer at Yamasa. However for a steadily increasing number of professionals and mature age students, a Yamasa program also offers a great sabbatical - the opportunity to do a serious program that for many reasons may not have been possible for them earlier. For many students a Yamasa program is a suitable stepping stone to career enhancement or a career change. Quite a few of Yamasa's students go on to work in Japan or Japan related careers.
As a result, if you had enrolled in Yamasa during the 1999-2000 academic year your classmates would include graduates and currently enrolled students of universities including:
(Aust.) Monash University, RMIT, Univ. of Sydney, Univ. of Melbourne, (Canada) UBC,
Univ. of Waterloo, Univ. of Victoria, (China) Northeastern University, (Denmark) Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen
Business School, (Germany) Munich U, Rostock U, Erlangen U, (HK) Chinese Univ. of H.K., City Univ. of H.K.,
(Hungary) Kossuth Lajos Univ., (India) Pune Univ., (Italy) Milano Univ., (Korea) Yonsei Univ., (Russia) Moscow State Univ.,
(Singapore) N.U.S., (Spain) Universidad Publica Navarra, CEPADE - Universidad Politechnica de
Madrid, (Sweden) Lund Univ., Linkoping Univ., (Switzerland) Univ. of St. Gallen,
(UK) Cambridge Univ., Durham Univ., Oxford Univ., Warwick Univ., (USA)
UC - Berkeley, UCLA, Univ. of Texas - Austin, Univ. of Michigan - Ann Arbor,
MIT, Stanford Univ., NYU, Columbia, Univ. of Washington, Hawaii Univ., amongst many others,
Although they usually form a small minority, many of the students who have come to Yamasa after completion of only high school studies have subsequently proved to be highly talented students of the language and have been extremely successful. In some cases, youth is an advantage in language acquisition.
It is in fairness to these students that the Minimum Entry Requirements for most Yamasa courses does not exclude applicants without a tertiary background. In all cases however, applicants are only accepted if they can indicate an aptitude to succeed in an academically challenging environment. Most of these students are either aiming for university places in Japan or are taking a year out (gap year students) for language study before commencing university in their home country.
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The average age of Yamasa's students reflects the higher levels of academic and professional achievement by the student body. In 1999-2000 the average age of students with student visas was 26.8 years. For students in short term courses the statistics were similar, though with more seasonal variation.
The average and median age of Yamasa's student body is reported to be substantially higher than that of most APJLE accredited schools - however we have no way of accumulating reliable statistics as the ages of students are not collated nationally. All of the anecdotal evidence with have been able to receive and the fact that the majority of our students have already commenced or completed university suggests a more mature age student body than most Japanese language schools and university based Japanese programs ("Bekka").
Table 1. Age distribution of students.
As you can see from Table 1, around 15% of Yamasa's students are aged 23 or younger. By comparison just over 18% are aged 30 or older. The main reason for this is the higher level of education. The median age is 27, the average age is 26.8. In 1999-2000, enrollments produced a student body which is 52.3% Male and 47.7% Female. This is similar to previous years and while there is always some fluctuation from year to year it is rarely more than 5% each way. There is a minimum age of 18, that can be waived only under special circumstances. There is no maximum age limit, and some of Yamasa's students have been in their 70's.
Table 2. Age distribution of female students.
The profile of the female students enrolled in Yamasa's programs indicates a slightly younger average age than the student body as a whole. A higher percentage of females are currently enrolled university students than is the case with the male students. There is also a slightly higher tendency to be aiming for undergraduate positions or placement into specialized vocational courses in fields such as fashion, apparell and design. The median age is 25, the average age is 25.2. Some 22% of the female students are aged 23 or less, compared with 15% for the student body as a whole.
Table 3. Age distribution of male students.
The profile of the male students enrolled in Yamasa's programs indicates an older average age than the student body as a whole. The median age is 27, the average age is 28.3 - due to the mature age students. Just over 35% of the male students are aged 30 or higher, compared with 18% for the student body as a whole. A slightly higher proportion of students holding Masters and Doctoral degrees are male, and the number of male professionals taking an extended break is higher. Another reason appears to be the military service requirements of Korea and Taiwan - the result being that male students tend to complete their undergraduate degrees later than their female peers.
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