FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Tell me about the JISHIN experience.

The goal is to make you bilingual and bicultural. You will be doing a LOT of speaking and a LOT of listening. We will highlight the cultural and linguistic differences between English and Japanese. Culture is a very big part of my lessons, and you will learn a lot about American culture. You will also learn a lot about your own culture.

During the lessons, we will focus on pronunciation and speaking. Outside of the lessons, we will have assigned homework and activities that will keep you moving forward.

Learning a language is always hard work, but we try to have fun at every step.

Are the lessons conducted in English or Japanese?

The end goal is total confidence in English. If you cannot speak English at all, we can use Japanese to facilitate your early lessons until you are comfortable using English. Eventually we will get to a point to where we only need English!

Where did you learn Japanese?

In the late nineties, I traveled to Japan for a year to teach at the Nova Intercultural Network in Aomori, Japan. Prior to that experience, the only Japanese I knew was the Japanese that I had learned from judo (Hajime! Ippon! Hansoku Make!). My original intent was to study judo in Japan, but I fell in love with the language and studied Japanese instead. Fast forward eighteen years. When my daughter entered kindergarten at Jacob Wismer, she became friends with the Japanese children in her class. I started studying Japanese again with her friends’ parents.

What about Zoom lessons?

Yes. I work with some of my students exclusively through Zoom. Please contact me to make arrangements.