Ootake Sensei
Online Japanese Teacher
Branch: Online Japanese Lessons
Lessons: Group [Online] and Private Lessons [Online]
"In my lessons, it is important for me to first understand the needs and learning styles of my Japanese language students."
Why did you become a Japanese teacher?
Before I became a Japanese language teacher at Japan Switch, I had been working for American software and video game companies as a member of the English to Japanese localization staff. My responsibility was verifying if the Japanese translation and nuance was correct for software menus, subtitles, voice scripts, marketing materials and more.
Through these experiences, I became very familiar with how different the English and Japanese languages are, and it made me realize what areas of Japanese are easy and challenging to understand for those learning Japanese. I think my past experiences in the language localization and experience as a Japanese teacher will be beneficial in supporting your Japanese studies and hope to see you soon at the Japan Switch Shinjuku Language School.
What do you like about teaching Japanese?
Basically, I like meeting people from all over the world and getting to know them in their native language. Wouldn’t you agree that the most exciting moment when you learn a new language is talking with native speakers in your newly learned language. I would really like to help you practice your Japanese in our lessons and you can start using it with other native Japanese speakers. I also think that your day to day from work to your private life will become more enjoyable as your Japanese language abilities improve.
I became a Japanese language teacher because I wanted to see more foreigners to enjoy their time in Japan and I would be really glad to see foreigners fall in love with Japan. In my lessons, we are not limited to just the lesson and the language, so I highly welcome and encourage you to ask questions about Japanese society, people, and culture. There may be times where I have trouble with the question and explanation, but I will research more into it and think of various ways to explain it until you get a good grasp of the answer. For me, helping a student understand something they have been dying to know is the epitome of being a teacher.
How are your lessons?
In my lessons, it is important for me to first understand the needs and learning style of my Japanese language students. I know learning a new language is not easy, so I aim to help my students set up and plan the shortest path to achieving their learning goals for the situation they need Japanese for. I have also worked for foreign owned companies in Japan for a long time, so I feel I know the difference between Japanese and foreign business manners and how to write internal and external business emails. Additionally, I helped many former foreign co-workers with understanding the nuances of what was said by and the actions of our fellow Japanese co-workers.
Based on my experiences learning and using English, I have found pronunciation to be very important. Understanding pronunciation not only affects your speech, but also your ability to hear sounds and for students who want to master nature Japanese or improve their pronunciation, we could spend more of our private lesson time together focusing on this.
What are your hobbies?
I have been watching Hollywood movies since my student days and watching it in English has been an irreplaceable component for me to learn English. I also enjoy playing the piano with my lovely children and have been playing since I was a child. Playing the piano has been a profound experience for me because I discovered how powerful doing something continuously every day can be and how much you can improve your skills with dedication.
Learn Japanese. Make friends. Enjoy Japan.
Save up to 30 - 60% on your Japanese lessons while learning online or in the heart of Tokyo
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