"From 'a, i, u, e, o' to studying abroad in Japan, we take care of it all."

"A sister school of the ××× Language Institute in Japan."

"Recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Education for admission to Japanese universities."

A flurry of advertising flyers from Japanese language schools in Taipei all put out the same provocative message: Come one, come all! Come to Japan to study! Being an overseas student in Japan is easy.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, around 6,000 students from the ROC are studying in Japan, among whom more than a third are students at language schools.

The reason for such a high proportion, explains Mao-feng Tsai, Dean of the School of Foreign Language and Literature at Soochow University, is that Japanese is not a required course in the ROC--unlike English, which is taught from junior high on.

"Except for students at a few special schools," he says, "most people only begin to study Japanese once they're in college or out in the work force." So going to a language school is a matter of necessity for most students arriving in Japan.

Besides which, students who wish to study in Japan don't have to pass a language proficiency test such as the TOEFL test required for studying in the U.S., so many of them apply for a student visa even though they have no foundation in the language at all.

Also, universities in Japan base admission on tests rather than applications, and many students prefer to go to the country a year or six months in advance to improve their language skills before taking the tests.

And--inevitably--some people under the guise of their student status are actually in Japan for tourism or travel, another factor that increases the proportion enrolled in language schools.

As Professor Tsai points out, ever since 1983, when then-Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, following calls for greater internationalization, announced his intention to increase the number of foreign students in Japan to 100,000 over the next ten years, Japanese language schools have sprouted up in Tokyo like mushrooms after a long rain. According to the Asahi Times, there are already around 500 in the Tokyo area.

Given such a large quantity, their quality is hard to control. Some of the schools are so large that they occupy several high-rises, while others consist simply of a couple of teachers and classrooms.

To compete for business, the schools fight it out tooth and nail. The Japanese government requires foreign students to have a local guarantor, and some of the schools are said to "buy" students from guarantors for the price of 20,000 to 30,000 yen (US$130 to US$170) apiece.

Another concern is the problem of students working illegally. The law permits full-time foreign students to work up to 20 hours a week, but not students at language schools. Yet with the cost of living in Japan so high, many students find they have to work on the side in order to make ends meet.

Does working have an adverse effect on studies? Many people would say that is does, but others maintain that a job also provides a learning environment. If you can make money and practice the language at the same time, why not?

Yoshiko Egawa, a lecturer in Japanese at Soochow University, says that because environment is so important in learning a language, many people believe that by going to Japan and staying there long enough they will be able to speak Japanese as a matter of course. But that's not necessarily so.

"If you don't open your mouth, you'll never learn to talk," she says. How could that happen in a place filled with stimuli to use the language?

"It could happen," another teacher confirms. According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, fully half of the total number of foreign students in Japan come from mainland China, Taiwan, or Korea.

"There are so many Chinese in Tokyo that you sometimes think it's weird when you hear somebody next to you speaking Japanese," adds Chung Fang-chen, another lecturer in Japanese at Soochow University. Because so many Chinese students have gone to Japan in the past few years, added to the fact that many schools deliberately place students who read Chinese characters in the same class, it's quite possible that a single class will have six or seven Chinese students.

That's the wrong kind of environment to learn a foreign language. Except for speaking with the teacher in class, many students almost never use Japanese at all. "You speak in Mandarin with your friends after class, you use Taiwanese with your roommate, you eat Chinese food, you play mahjong . . . you can wind up living in Tokyo like it was Taipei," as one student puts it.

The learning environment consists of the school itself and the environment outside.

In choosing a school, the only right way to do it is to ask around and to carefully follow the proper channels. . . . "First you've got to be sure about your goals," says a person who's been through it. Japanese language schools are set up with different purposes, for people on short-term visits, for businessmen learning conversation, for students hoping to enter college, and for Westerners who can't read Chinese characters, so the selection must be done with care.

"It's best to ask somebody you know to go see for themselves," she says. With so many Chinese people there, it's usually possible to find someone like the sister of a friend of a friend who'll do it for you. "Don't leave your course of study in the hands of a cram school for fear of bothering somebody," she warns.

Outside of class, the environment you create for yourself is up to you. Chatting with the landlady, shopping, asking directions, visiting your teacher, watching TV . . . each is a precious language opportunity waiting for you to make use of it.

"I'm always reminding myself not to be just a student of the language, pure and simple," she says, speaking from experience.

For students who are already in Japan or who are planning to make the trip, her thoughts are worth pondering.

[Picture Caption]

(Left) Learning the language and gaining an understanding of the culture are what make studying overseas worthwhile. Shown here are some newly graduated Japanese students observing their custom of inviting one of their elders to drink a celebratory toast. (photo by Arthur Cheng)

(Right) Who can say how lonely an overseas student may be? (photo by Yang Chia-shun)

Finding affordable housing is one of an overseas student's greatest difficulties. Shown here is the notice board at a real estate company in Japan.

It's best to get some advice about the types of schools available before going to Japan to study.

"We're all good friends!" Can you tell who's Japanese and who's Chinese?

Japan has many guidance centers to assist foreign students in solving their problems.

Finding affordable housing is one of an overseas student's greatest difficulties. Shown here is the notice board at a real estate company in Japan.

"We're all good friends!" Can you tell who's Japanese and who's Chinese?

Japan has many guidance centers to assist foreign students in solving their problems.