We are a Japanese school, so treat this as an interested party explaining how to evaluate people like us. The questions below are the ones we would want a member of our own family to ask.
The questions that matter
1. What is the class size?
The most important single number. A class of thirty is a lecture; you will not speak, and nobody will notice if you stop attending. Ask for the maximum, not the average.
2. Who teaches, and what are their qualifications?
Names, qualifications, and experience — specifically experience with the exam you are taking. JFT-Basic preparation is not general Japanese teaching; it has a defined syllabus and specific exam mechanics.
3. Is the course built for my exam?
JFT-Basic, JLPT N4 and JLPT N3 are different targets. A general course that “covers everything” often covers your exam badly. Ask what the course is built around.
4. What is the honest timeline for someone at my level?
A school that says “three months” without asking about your current level is guessing or selling. The right answer starts with a question about you.
5. How is progress measured?
Full-length timed tests, scored by section, at intervals. If the answer is vague, there is no feedback loop — and feedback is the thing you are paying for.
6. What happens if I fall behind?
Everybody does, at some point. A school with an answer has thought about retention; one without has thought about enrolment.
7. What is the total cost?
Including materials, exam fees if bundled, and anything else. Itemised.
Warning signs
Guaranteed passes. Nobody can guarantee an exam result. This is the clearest single signal.
Pressure to enrol today. Discounts expiring this evening are a sales technique, not an offer.
Pass rates with no basis. A school advertising “98% pass rate” should be able to say out of how many students, over what period, on which exam. Most cannot, because the number was invented. Ask.
Bundling with a job placement or a visa. A language school teaches Japanese. If the same organisation is also promising you an employer in Japan, ask a lot of questions — see agency red flags.
Large up-front payment for a long course. Especially financed as a loan. Pay in stages where you can.
Requiring you to book your exam through them. You register for JFT-Basic yourself, directly, on Prometric. Anyone saying otherwise is misinforming you.
No trial class. Any school confident in its teaching will let you see it.
Before you enrol anywhere
Establish your actual level. Sit a full-length timed test first. Our free practice test reports by section in about fifteen minutes.
That does two things: it tells you whether you need a course at all, and it means the school’s recommendation can be checked against evidence rather than accepted on trust.
Take the trial class, and pay attention to how much you spoke in it.
Ask to speak to a current student. Not a testimonial on the website — a person.
And consider whether you need one
Plenty of people pass JFT-Basic alone. If you can read kana comfortably, have studied a language before, and can hold a daily habit, a structured plan and a practice test may be all you need. See can you pass by self-study and free resources.
The honest case for a school is narrower than schools usually admit: you have tried alone and stopped, you cannot yet read kana, you have a hard deadline, or you have failed once and do not know why.
If one of those is you, a class is worth the money. If none of them is, save it for the exam fee.