Among many advanced countries, Japan is a rather rare case that maintains a mono-language society where people mostly use only Japanese in everyday life. The Japanese language skills of foreign residents in Japan are completely up to each speaker, but if you are not very fluent, living in Japan can be a little burden. If you are a student, you may have lots of opportunities to speak Japanese, but if not, you may end up not using Japanese at all. In such a case, it is difficult to improve your Japanese language skill. If this is the case, you may want to think about joining local Japanese class operated by local volunteers.
Osaka International House Foundation
At Osaka International House Foundation in Ten-noji-ku, Osaka city runs various Japanese classes for foreign residents who live in Osaka, focusing on everyday Japanese, business Japanese and many more. Among them, “Exchange salon for foreign residents” run by experienced instructors takes special note on conversations. Normally, one-to-one or one-to-two lessons are held in the meeting room of Osaka International House, but only online lessons using ZOOM are available at the moment because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When you learn language, you can study reading and writing by yourself, but conversation skill can be improving only in actual conversations. This is the best class for those who want to improve their conversation skills in Japanese.
Osaka International House Foundation
Address: 8-2-6 Uehonmachi, Ten-noji-ku, Osaka city
TEL: 06-6773-8182
Open day: Saturday 14:15-15:15 (only ZOOM lesson is available at the moment)
Fee: ¥2,200/3month (11 lessons)
HONK Higashi Osaka Japanese Language Class
HONK Higashi Osaka runs Japanese lessons by volunteer staff 4 days a week at 7 places in Higashi-Osaka city. In conformity to Japanese levels of learners they offer various teaching styles including solving questions in pair with volunteer staff using text book and practicing conversation in a group discussion. Each class also has different schedule so that you can choose one that suits your schedule and leaning style. There are many fun activities other than learning, such as seasonal party and cooking lesson.
HONK Higashi Osaka Japanese Language Class
Address/TEL/Open days: Each class has different schedule and contact number, see their website.
Fee: ¥2,000/year (Fees to be paid for each class attendance)
Osaka Suminoe Kaikan Japanese Language Class
This Japanese class is held in a community hall of Suminoe-ku. This class provide one-to-one lesson with volunteer staff for people who want to improve their Japanese skill. Seats are limited as the number of volunteers is limited, therefore, inquire about availability beforehand. Classes are held on 2nd and 4th Monday every month, but there may be closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Check 3 months schedule on their website.
Osaka Suminoe Kaikan Japanese Language Class
Address: 3-1-20 Minami-kagaya, Suminoe-ku, Osaka
TEL: 06-6683-2882
Open day: 2nd & 4th Monday
Fee: Free
Namba Learning Center
Namba Learning Center runs 3-months-long Japanese classes for beginners 2 days a week (20 lessons). Each course focus on conversations. There are morning course and evening course to choose from. These courses are for person who is 16 years of age or older working in Osaka, and learners are required to attend all 20 lessons. Application is open every 3 months and closed once all seats are booked.
Namba Learning Center
Address: OCAT Building 4F, 1-4-1 Minato-machi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka
TEL: 06-6643-7010
Open day: Tuesday & Friday 10:00-12:00/119:00-21:00
Fee: ¥1,000 (text book)
Talk, talk, talk!
There are many cheap or free Japanese classes that are run by local volunteers in large cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. Unlike language schools, classes are not held everyday and not based on a curriculum, but costs are very low, and more than anything, you can have many opportunities to practice real conversation and writing with staff who can teach you focusing on the area you are not good with. If you want to improve your Japanese skill, don’t hesitate to contact them. Also, the list of Japanese classes is available on the website of Osaka city.
