Online Japanese Lessons (Beginner to Advanced)

If you’re in a daylight saving timezone and your teacher’s not, your lesson time will move forward one hour. The teacher’s booking has not changed—but your local timezone has. For example, Thursday lesson before DST: Teacher in Japan: 20:00 Student in EST: 06:00 Thursday lesson after DST: Teacher in Japan: 20:00 Student in EST: 07:00 If you’d like to keep your local time the same, you’ll need to check with your teacher to see if they’re able to change their schedule, and cancel your Recurring reservation 2 weeks prior to the desired date of change and make a new Recurring reservation at the new time. Please note: Lessons with teachers who are located in daylight saving time zones will not experience this. If your teacher is in a daylight saving timezone, their schedule will also move forward one hour and match yours.

Q: Where can I read and learn more about Coto Online?

Read through our Online Help library at https://cotoacademy.com/onlinehelp/docs

 

Q: How can I access the chat?

Access the chat by clicking on the Coto speech bubble on the upper right of the home page.

 

Q: How long can I access the chat?

For one-time class bookings, you can access the chat from the time of reservation creation to 24 hours after the lesson concludes. If there is no next appointment, the chat will not be available until the next appointment is made. For recurring reservations, you can access the chat from the time of reservation creation to 2 weeks after the end of the last recurring lesson.

Q: Does Coto teach children?

Both our Group and Private lessons currently accept students aged 16 and older. We have a separate online course for Beginners kids from 7- to 15-years-old. Get in touch with us through Help if you’re interested in hearing more.

 

Q: Can I ask for things to be translated?

As a Japanese language school, Coto doesn’t currently offer translation services. Our teachers are not available to do translations for students.

 

Q: Can I book a lesson to learn specific terminology, such as legal and financial terms?

Our Japanese language instructors are able to teach and accommodate vocabulary within the scope of general Japanese. Currently, we don’t offer any lessons regarding the terminology of specialized fields.

 

Q: How do I get an attendance record?

Attendance records can be found on the My History page. Please go to My History and select Download History to download your attendance record as a CSV. For 3,000 yen, students can purchase a TK attendance record here.

Q: How do I get an official certificate?

Official certificates are available for a fee. You can purchase them using the following links:

• Certificate of Enrollment
• Certificate of Participation
• Certificate of Attendance

Q: Which payment methods are accepted?

We accept payment by credit card and bank transfer. However, payment by bank transfer is available only for the Points Package and is limited to domestic bank accounts. If you wish to make payments through bank transfer, please contact us through the Help page.

 

Q: How can I change my registered credit card?

Please go to My Profile under the profile icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Then, go to My Payment Methods to register new card information and delete the old information.

 

Q: Is there a registration fee?

Currently, there’s no registration fee for online lessons. However, if you wish to start taking in-person lessons at Coto schools in Japan, there will be a 10,000 yen registration fee.

 

Q: I signed up for a subscription plan. When is my next payment due or date?

You can see your payment schedule on the My Points Balance page. Click the number of points next to your profile picture.

 

Q: What happens if my payment fails to be processed?

First, please check and update your payment information and, if necessary, contact your credit card company. The system will retry your transaction up to 5 times, so please DO NOT create a new point subscription. If you do so, you will have duplicate subscription plans, and double amounts may be charged. If you have recurring bookings and the payment for your point subscription does not go through by the deadline, your recurring bookings may be automatically canceled due to lack of points. If they are canceled, please start new recurring bookings again.

Q: What’s the minimum contract term for a Subscription plan?

There’s currently no minimum contract term. However, cancelations take two weeks to process; they’ll be reflected two weeks after you make your cancelation request.

 

Q: Can I get a receipt or an invoice with the Coto company seal?

Please contact us well in advance through the Help page. It typically takes about 2 to 3 business days to issue an invoice. Year-end and New Year holidays are a particularly busy time, and your request around then may take even longer.

Q: What are lesson points?

Points are the currency that the Coto system uses to book lessons. Each lesson costs a set number of points. When you book a class, the system will deduct those points from your balance to pay for the lesson reservation.

 

Q: Where can I check my points? 

A: After logging into your account, your points will be displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

 

Q: How do I buy more points?

A: After logging in, click the point bubble displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to access the points purchase site.

 

Q: What are the different types of point plans?

Currently, we have two lesson plans: Subscriptions and Points Packages. Subscription

• Each point cycle is 28 days, and payment and point refills will be automatically processed
• Recommended for students who want to take a certain number of lessons each week
• Points purchased with a monthly subscription do not carry over to the next month and must be used to book lessons within the current 28-day cycle

Points Package

• Outright purchase of lesson points
• Each package you purchase has a set expiration date specific to that package. Packages can be used to book recurring lessons if you have enough points to cover the 28 days of lessons. You must buy a new package or replenish your point balance before the next recurring booking day, when our system charges you points and books you for the next round of lessons

 

Q: Do the points have an expiration date?

Yes, points have expiration dates, as follows:

• Subscription: 28 days from purchase. Points will be invalid after the expiration date, which cannot be extended
• Points Package: The expiration date depends on the package. Please check the Points Purchase page for more information. Points will be invalid after the expiration date, which cannot be extended

Lessons reserved before the expiration date can still be taken after the expiration date. If you cancel after the expiration date, the points will be invalid

Q: I have more than one point plan. Can I combine them and have the expiration date extended by that amount?

No, this is currently not possible. But your points will be deducted first from the package with the earlier expiration date.

 

Q: Can I give my points to family or friends?

A: No, points cannot be given away to others.

 

Q: I can't use up my points before the expiration date. Is it possible to get an extension?

Currently, we’re unable to extend the validity of points. All remaining points can be used for both Group and Private lessons, so we recommend trying different kinds of lessons. Please contact us through the problem report help function if you can’t find available teachers or appropriate group classes.

Q: Why do the points have expiration dates?

A: We set expiration dates for class points to help our students study at a steady, continuous pace. As you all know, learning a foreign language is not something that can be done overnight. Although learning speeds differ, depending on the individual, Coto instructors know that continuous learning leads to progress. We also don’t want students to fall behind after making the decision to start, and a points system helps reduce cancelations. If you get stuck with your studies, we’re happy to offer some guidance. Contact us anytime using the Help page.

Q: What are the rules regarding recurring class cancellations? 

In the case of recurring Private lessons, cancelations up to 24 hours before the start time will return points to your account—but only twice per calendar month (between the first and last day of the current month. For example, January 1-31) per weekly lesson. After that, points will not be refunded, even if the recurring Private lesson is canceled within 24 hours of the lesson start time. This limitation applies only to recurring bookings. Once points are returned, you can make a new reservation. We recommend one-time reservations for those whose schedules change frequently. For recurring Group classes, you can't cancel and get the points back. However, if there is at least one student attending the class, you can watch the video of the class for two weeks after it takes place. If there are no participants in the lesson, there will be no class recordings for the lesson. If you want to watch the class recording later, you can keep your booking even if you know that you are not able to attend in advance.

Q: What’s the deadline for canceling/rescheduling one-time lessons?

For one-time lessons, cancelations up to 24 hours before the lesson start time are free, and you’ll get your points back. For cancelations within 24 hours of the start time, there will be a 100% cancelation fee and no point refunds. Once points are returned, you can make a new reservation.

Q: I was not able to have my lesson because I couldn't connect to my internet. Can I get back the points?

If the connection is lost due to a problem on the part of the student, the points will be digested. Please refer to our lesson policy regarding the Internet Connection Disruption below: If the connection is lost during a lesson, the following actions will be taken

1. If the connection is lost due to a problem on the part of the instructor, points will be returned to your account.
2. If the connection is lost due to a problem on the part of the student, the points will be digested. If the connection is lost, the instructor will take all possible measures to reconnect.

Please be sure to test your connection in advance. We do not recommend taking courses in public Wi-Fi environments such as cafes and restaurants. Also, if you encounter any connection problems, please make sure to report them using the Problem Report Form. We will review the report function and use it to verify the issue.

Q: What happens if I cancel a class booking after my points have expired?

If you book a lesson held after the expiration date of points used to book, and then cancel it, the points will be invalid. For example: Your points expire on February 1. On January 28, you book a lesson for February 4. If you cancel on January 30, the points will be returned, and you can reschedule for a future date. If you cancel on February 2, the points will be returned but will expire immediately.

Q. I have a recurring lesson for a group class. I cancelled one of my bookings more than 24 hours before the lesson start time, but the points were not returned to my account. Why?

For group recurring reservations, you can't cancel and get the points back. However, if there is at least one student attending the class, you can watch the video of the class for two weeks after it takes place. If there are not participants in the lesson, there will be no class recordings for the lesson.

Q: Where can I find the Coto Terms & Conditions?

Coto Terms & Conditions are…. in the menu in the upper right corner.

 

Q: Is it possible to take a month off from recurring Private lessons?

It’s not possible to put a recurring Private lesson reservation on hold, so please cancel your recurring lessons and reserve them again when you’re ready. If you have a point subscription, your booking reservation and your point subscription are separate and must be canceled separately. Please note that cancellations of your recurring lessons take two weeks to process; cancellations take effect two weeks after the date of your cancellation request. Once you cancel a recurring reservation, there’s always the chance your teacher or timeslot may not be available when you resume. If you’d like to keep taking lessons with the same teacher and on the same schedule, keep your recurring reservation and cancel the individual classes you won’t be attending. But please note: Free cancellations up to 24 hours before the start time of the lesson are only available twice a month.