The Vision and Preference of International Students Enrolled in a Japanese Language School Post-Pandemic

In 2022, Japan re-opened its border creating a new wave of students coming to Japan. In the summer of 2022, we investigated a group of 36 international students, coming from eight countries, who are currently enrolled in a Japanese language school in southern Japan. We conducted a rapid survey using a qualitative approach, asking the participants about the reason why they decided to come to Japan for studying Japanese, who were influencing the decision-making process, their priority goals while staying in Japan, their preferences for the place to live and study, as well as their intention for getting a job in Japan. The results showed that the students who came to Japan tend to have more long-term visions such as gaining a degree, specialty, job, or knowledge than short-term goals such as experiencing life in Japan. More students reported making the decision to come to Japan by themselves. Many of them reported a specific field or school that they want to enroll in after checking out from the Japanese language school. While a few of them wanted to enroll in higher education, more participants preferred to enter vocational school or just start job hunting. Most of the students showed hope to find a long-term job in Japan, while over a half seemed to prefer a quiet locality to live in. These results imply that the new wave of international students in Japan may show diversified needs and preferences, and it may need further research for effective recruiting strategies.

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