What makes shared house life so interesting… 3) Improving language skills!
There are many restrictions in Japan on foreigners wanting to rent places to live. Subsequently there are many foreigners living in shared housing due to the relative ease of getting a contract. Some have come to Japan for business, some are working for foreign companies within Japan, others are foreign students and some are spending a short time in Japan sight-seeing. By spending time alongside these people, you will be able to learn “real” English at home and for free!
You might feel a little insecure about living with people of different nationalities, but all prospective residents are thoroughly checked by the corporate management company and anyone who is deemed suspicious, whether they are Japanese or a foreign national, would not be accepted into shared housing. Not all people are native English speakers, but most are normally able to communicate in either broken English or Japanese - so you don’t have to worry too much if you can’t speak any English.
Some language schools advertise learning “communicative” English from native English speakers. This kind of English comes naturally through daily conversation in a shared house. You’ll not only be learning a language, but also differences in culture and customs - so it’s almost like a home-based study trip! Although, to begin with, you might mix with foreign residents viewing them only as “foreigners”, the more time you spend with them and get to know them as people, the closer you’ll become, probably developing close relationships with them.
As has been discussed above, living in a shared house is a very good way to improve your foreign language skills. However, there are some shared houses that will only allow Japanese residents or?residents are mainly foreigners, they came from no-English speaking country. So it is important to do your research beforehand so as to establish which shared houses have your desired nationalities living in them.
