Hello!
My name is Mamiko. I am currently living in Germany and have been teaching Japanese to children from kindergarteners to junior high/middle school children, as well as to adults for 8 years now.
I studied Japanese literature and became a certified school teacher at a university in Japan.
In addition to Japanese, I also taught yoga and macrobiotics (a traditional Japanese food and drink system).
In Germany, I met many students and enjoyed teaching Japanese very much. I am also interested to know more about my prospective students, just as you are interested to know about Japan!
Why are you studying Japanese?
What do you like about Japan and the Japanese language?
What do you find hard when studying Japanese?
Since I started living in Germany, I've discovered many good things about Japan that I hadn't noticed before, as well as some strange things peculiar to Japan.
During our lessons I would love to talk a lot with you about things such as Japan and your country, study alongside you, and it would also be nice if you share your feelings with me.
Let's speak a lot of Japanese!
Please feel free to make a request!
☆About my Japanese Lessons☆
My lessons are designed to meet the needs of each student's level and goals.
For beginners:
By having conversational lessons, I will help you learn natural expressions and words in the Japanese language. This will help you improve your conversational Japanese skills.
For intermediate to advanced students:
In order for students to be able to speak natural Japanese while using correct Japanese terms and phrases, I will correct grammatical errors and pronunciation errors during our lessons, while teaching students accurate expressions and sentences for conversational Japanese and written Japanese.
My Experiences
・Graduated from a university in Japan with a Bachelor's degree in Japanese literature (majoring in Japanese classical literature, contemporary Japanese literature, Japanese language, and psychology) and received a qualification to teach Japanese at junior high/middle schools and high schools.
・Worked for four years as a teacher at a supplementary school for kindergarteners to junior high/middle school students in Germany.
・Worked for four years as a Japanese language tutor at a language school for adults, teaching private and group classes.
I can teach a wide range of students from children to adults, and from beginners to advanced and business level Japanese.
☆I am also interested in, and can teach the following topics!☆
・I love tasty and healthy food! (I studied macrobiotics over 20 years ago and hold workshops on dieting, improving physical health, food education, vegetarian cooking, and self-care. (I can check your physical health by looking at your face and palms.)
※See below for more lessons descriptions on macrobiotics, improving physical health, and dieting!
・Yoga (I've been teaching yoga for over 10 years)
・Marathon (I’ve only been doing this for 2 year, but…)
・Kimono (I'm a certified kimono consultant, I can teach you to wear a kimono in 5 minutes!)
・Traveling (I've traveled to many countries in Asia and Europe)
・Fashion (I used to work in the fashion business as well.)
《 Do you know about macrobiotics? 》
Originally, Macrobiotics was based on the traditional Japanese way of eating and living. Although there is a lot of focus on the aspects of eating and food nowadays, the original meaning is the following; “macro” means “large”, while “bio” means “life”, and “tic” means “the way of”. In other words, it means a “healthy way of life”.
In Japan, it used to be called "brown rice diet" or "dietary nutrition", and people used to have an image of “only being allowed to eat brown-colored foods”, or a “stoic and hard-to-follow diet”.
However, it has become more widely accepted in Europe and the United States, therefor its recognition in Japan has increased by being reimported.
The influence of Ms. Mayumi Nishimura, who worked as a private chef for Madonna for nearly 10 years, was immense.
(When I first started learning about macrobiotics, the terms “organic” and “vegetarian” were not well-known in Japan, and it was a very difficult time for me…)
Mayumi's modern macrobiotic approach has been accepted by Hollywood stars and politicians, which has helped Japanese to rediscover the magnificence of traditional Japanese foods.
I have also given Mayumi's workshop in Germany, where it was well received by Germans who are very interested in health and organic foods!
In Germany, which is also a cultural that is very conscious of environmental issues, the macrobiotic cuisine based on local production and consumption seemed to have been accepted as a very reasonable way of cooking.
Apparently, Madonna became interested in macrobiotics because of her child's allergies, but she has continued on the method for many years because she experienced her own body had changed through her diet.
I myself have been living my life based on a macrobiotic method for more than 20 years (sometimes I give it a rest for a period of time) since I hardly get sick when I follow this diet, and it feels that my body has clearly changed since I shifted to this dietary method.
Macrobiotics is a practical philosophy that pursues how to live a healthy and fulfilling life by first getting to know about yourself, and then learning about the diet to keep a good balance of your mind and body.
Macrobiotic is not a dietary method where you are only allowed to eat brown foods for the sake of your health even though they aren’t tasty lol
Everyone has a different body type, personality, and preferences. Therefor, why don’t we try to find a method together that works best with you, and experiences how its like to be comfortable with your body and mind?
If you are interested, please take a look at the lesson page below!
For students who are new to macrobiotics:
I recommended “Introduction to Macrobiotics: You're made of what you eat”
For students who are interested in improving their health and dieting:
I recommend "Consultation on diet and improving your physical health based on your body type”
For students who want to know about their body types and a healthier way of eating:
I recommended “Diagnosis of mental and physical health by checking your face and hands (a macrobiotic health method)”
For students who are interested in palmistry and physiognomy:
I recommended “Your face never lies! Let's find out what you don't know about yourself through descriptive diagnosis!”
About Myself
1998: Graduated from a macrobiotic cooking course.
I learnt how to check my health based on oriental medicine in these macrobiotic cooking courses.
After taking this course, I’ve been holding workshops on dieting, vegan and vegetarian diets, along with food education for 24 years.
From my experience as being a yoga instructor for 10 years, I’ve also been teaching easy exercises and breathing methods based on each students mental and physical health.
I received a teacher’s certificate at university. I minored in psychology, so I’ve learnt about basic counseling.
Based on my experience as a teacher at a kindergarten and at a junior high/middle school-level supplementary school, as well as hosting yoga classes for a total of 500 mothers during these past seven years, I am also available for consultations on parenting and food education.
【 Cafetalk Translation / April 2020 】
Please note that this profile has been translated by Cafetalk for easier understanding.
***mi_Y.