YUKA.U Tutor Interview

Q. Tutor YUKA.U, hello! Can you introduce yourself briefly to the Cafetalk community?: A. Hello everyone! I'm YUKA.U, a Japanese Tutor here on Cafetalk. I was born and raised in Tokyo, and at the moment I am part of the management team of a law-related consulting company. In 2011 I passed the Japanese Language Teaching Competency Test and I'm now approaching my 5th year as a Japanese tutor.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about where you are currently living?: A. After getting married I am now living in Chiba city in Chiba prefecture. The city is lively and has great public transport access, which is so convenient. The central part of the city is full of buildings and people, but just a bit further outside the scenery changes and becomes very rural and green. It's also close to the sea, so it's full of nature. Compared to Tokyo it may be a little lonely, but one plus point are all the golf courses (laughs).
Q. What was it that got you interested in becoming a teacher?: A. During my student days I worked part-time in a youth center. The work consisted mostly of taking care of children whose parents came back late from work. But as childen are, brimming with curiosity, they used to pile up the "Whys" and "Hows" like mountains in front of us. Answering their questions and seeing them grow taught me the importance of education.
Q. How are you spending your free time? What are your hobbies and interests?: A. Having my own business and a son who is currently preparing for his exams, I don't actually have much free time, but I'm always trying to put aside some time in my schedule for leisure time. Be it golf or climbing, I'm up for moslty anything that sounds fun. Ever since my student days I've liked quizzes, so I've actually appeared in some quiz shows (I have even won some!). I'm still having a good time participating in quiz tournaments from time to time.
Q. Do you have any recommendations for study methods for Japanese language learners?: A. For beginners and intermediate students, input should have priority. Because it costs time and money, studying efficently is key. Instead of merely learning just the words "Job" or "Hobbies", it is more important to first remember whole sentence patterns, as in: "My job is ○○". And then the students can expand their vocabulary by filling in words like "Teacher", "Doctor", or "Engineer". For the next stage, you can exchange the word "Job" for "Name", "Hobbies", "Country", and just by doing that the students will almost be ready to introduce themselves. For intermediate and advances students, it is all about output. After the student is done studying with a textbook, they should start using Japanese as it is actually used by Japanese people. Do you know the expression "うんともすんとも"? Once you have studied the meaning and the way to use it, you should use it as much as possible. From the intermediate level onwards is when tenacity becomes necessary. If you make the words your own, every day, even if it's just little by little, you will increase your vocabulary before you even notice.
Q. You offer a variety of lessons! Which one do you recommend?: A. To be completely honest, the lessons aren't that different from each other (laughs). Basically, I just listen to what each student wants to do. What kind of materials they would like to use, what kind of lesson they would like to have, checking what their ultimate goal is. Then I just try to offer a lesson tailored to each student. Learning a language takes time. Not giving up, offering lesson content that is interesting to the students, making sure students can learn Japanese they can actually put to use in each lesson, and providing lesson content that matches the points the student paid... these are the things I always try to be aware of and incorporate into each lesson.
Q. Lastly, do you have a message for your students?: A. When I was studying Chinese, I was taught the following by my teacher: "Learning a language is paying respect to that country's culture". Therefore, first of all I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who intends to study the Japanese language. Thank you for wanting to know Japan. I think everyone has their own reason for starting to learn Japanese. I think in the world of learning, the lead role is taken by the "Learner", while we, the tutors, are the ones with the supporting role, supporting the learner from the shadows. I truly hope that everyone's goals and dreams can be achieved through words! And if I can be the one supporting you on that journey, that's the happiest place I can imagine. Thank you so much for reading until the end.