Meet Tanuki, the premier Japanese teacher from Tokyo, who brings the joy of Japan to learners worldwide. Teaching at a university and online via Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube under “Crazy Japanese,” Tanuki specializes in making Japanese accessible and enjoyable, aiming to transform learning into a delightful journey towards fluency.
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Interview – Japanese Teacher in Japan
- WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
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Japan
- PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF!
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Hi! I am the best Japanese teacher in the world, my name is Tanuki from CrazyJapanese. I am a university teacher in Tokyo! Also I am a Live Streamer on Twitch, introducing Japan to the world as official job from Japan government. Thank you!
- TELL US ABOUT THE CHARM OF THE CITY YOU ARE CURRENTLY LIVING IN.
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Tokyo is one of the most popular place to visit for foreigners, I recommend you to visit Tokyo as your first time traveling in Japan. I recommend everyone to visit ASAKUSA, UENO area as they will find out how Japan look like.
- WHERE IS YOUR LOCAL RECOMMENDATION IN THIS CITY?
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AKIHABARA for Anime lovers obviously, also IKEBUKURO where I teach in is also known as Anime No Seichi(god place of Anime!) My recommended restaurant is ONNA DOJO in SHIBUYA, you can have amazing YAKITORI ! Also for Ramen lovers, I recommend MUSASHI group Tsukemen!!
- WHEN AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO TEACH JAPANESE?
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Originally, my passion was to share my knowledge not only of languages but also of cultures and history with those who were interested. When I first ventured into teaching, I was without a job and lacked skills from previous experiences. Seeking employment, I considered leveraging my status as a native Japanese speaker to become a Japanese teacher. However, reality proved more challenging than I anticipated. Despite the initial difficulties, I found that the more I taught, the more fulfilling it became. Teaching Japanese gradually evolved into a source of joy for me, prompting me to commit to this path for the rest of my life.
- HOW ARE YOU TEACHING JAPANESE NOW?
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University, Online, SNS live stream (TWITCH, IG, YOUTUBE)
- TWITCH: CrazyJapanese
- IG: teacher_tanuki
- YouTube: crazyjapanese
- WHAT DO YOU FIND ENJOYABLE ABOUT TEACHING JAPANESE?
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Teaching is my ultimate passion, and I pour my heart into it wholeheartedly! Moreover, I’ve developed my unique teaching approach, “Teach like natives,” whereas students, upon taking my lessons, can attain native-like fluency in speaking.
- WHAT DO YOU FIND DIFFICULT ABOUT TEACHING JAPANESE?
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Japanese language is easy to start, but difficult to master. Difficulties as below:
- Kanji characters: Learning enormous number of Kanji characters can be difficult due to their complexity and multiple readings. Majority students give up studying Japanese because of Kanji.
- Politeness levels(Honorific and humble expressions): Japanese has various levels of politeness like Honorific form, polite form. And humble form, which can be challenging for learners to grasp because they don’t have same culture in their countries.
- Grammar structure: Japanese grammar is totally different from English, with subject-object-verb word order and various sentence-ending particles.
- Cultural nuances: Teaching Japanese involves conveying cultural nuances and context, which are actually connected to understanding the language. Sometimes we don’t have any better words to say “it’s nuance” which Japanese natives will undertand.
- WHAT DO YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT WHEN LEARNING JAPANESE?
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Selecting the correct teacher is key. The issues I mentioned earlier can all be addressed with the right teacher. Now, the right teacher isn’t necessarily the one with extensive experience or superior explanations. To me, the right teacher is someone who comprehends why students lose motivation, where they get stuck, and what they find hard to grasp. Having fluency in four languages myself, I’ve encountered the same challenges as students, which helps me empathize and understand their perspective well.
- WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?
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Transform CrazyJapanese into one of the most renowned Japanese language schools globally. I’ve witnessed numerous students abandon learning Japanese due to its perceived difficulty. However, mastering Japanese shouldn’t be stressful; it should be enjoyable! Thus, I aim to cultivate a learning environment where students find joy and fulfillment in their Japanese language journey, ultimately leading to increased happiness and satisfaction.
- MESSAGE TO OUR FRIENDS WHO ARE STUDYING JAPANESE.
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Learning Japanese is so much fun! Keep going! If you have any questions, please ask teacher Tanuki directly on Live stream! She will answer to you directly while live is going on.
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