Since January 2023, my family (my career-oriented wife and our 3-year-old daughter) has moved to Singapore. My name is Ro.
I have been attending a language school in Singapore for English since March, twice a week for two hours.
But starting in April, it has become a full-time class of five days a week, three hours a day!
In Singapore's English language schools, teachers are not only Singaporean but also British, Canadian, and others. The overwhelming majority of students are Asians, particularly Chinese and Korean, but there are also Vietnamese, Myanmar, and Brazilian students.
There are twelve people in my current class, and three of us are Japanese, including myself.
Women make up 90% of the class, and they are mostly housewives.
The tuition fee for a three-month full-time class is approximately 280,000 yen, which is a little less than 100,000 yen per month.
In my opinion, studying intensively for a short period is the best way to learn a language, so I don't think it's too expensive.
My plan is to attend the language school for three months and then another three months to reach the advanced level.
The class covers grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and speaking, and there are also homework assignments and listening practice on an app that can be done at home.
I have only attended a few days of classes so far, and there are tests, so everyone is focused during the class.
I have also made some friends, and I think it's great to attend a language school in a new country.
I had lunch with some classmates the other day.
I can't compare which school is the best, but I think the teaching materials at the school I attend are good. However, the reputation of the teachers within the school varies, and the quality of students in the same class can differ, which I think is the same for any school.
There are twelve people in my current class, and there is a significant difference between the best student and the worst student (there was an interview for class placement).
So there may be a "class lottery" effect, but ultimately, it depends on the individual's effort.
By the way, I have adopted the "NO JAPANESE" tactic, which means I don't speak Japanese to the Japanese people in my class (laughs). This is to prevent me from wanting to escape into Japanese.
I plan to acquire lifelong English skills in the next six months.
I consider it as a basic requirement for my overseas life in the future (although my plans are still uncertain).
