Student Voices
My family had a wonderful year of learning Japanese with Yayoi-sensei. She was encouraging and fun with my teenage children, and patient and kind with me - learning a new language at 44! We all developed enough skill to have basic conversations with our neighbors, as well as manage things like shopping without translation. I was so proud the first time I successfully read and understood a sign that included kanji, hiragana, AND katakana! Yayoi-sensei also helped when we needed emergency Japanese support a few times, such as calling our rental management company when our heater stopped working in January! I highly recommend CHABASHILA for Japanese learners of all ages!
Lindsey, Charlotte, and Knox, Seattle, USA, Kids are 14 and 17, Mom is 44
CHABASHILA and Nobuko-sensei have helped me improve my Japanese for work. It is enormously beneficial to have someone to review my presentation and practice before I have to give it. I also feel more comfortable with the formal speech used in professional situations and keep recognizing words and patterns that we studied together.
Roger Smith, United States
I enjoyed my lessons hugely, and my progress was only ever limited by my own abilities. Amy-sensei quickly and accurately assessed my needs, and identified the ideal teacher in Harumi-sensei, who was never less than entirely professional, endlessly patient, and totally flexible in fitting her availability to my schedule. With a bespoke curriculum, tailored to your own timeline and learning goals, I would happily recommend CHABASHILA to anyone, regardless of their starting level of Japanese.
Alistair
I have enjoyed re-connecting with Japanese through Nobuko-sensei’s lessons. Nobuko-sensei was able to highlight key business phrases and grammar points necessary to help me in my job here in Tokyo. I would recommend Chabashila to anyone looking to start, improve or revise their Japanese language skills. The teachers provide a professional yet personal service that leads to real improvement in a very short time.
Brendan
I had been looking for an option to support my eldest's NCEA Japanese in Aotearoa, Amy was recommended by a friend and I wouldn't hesitate to do so also - Kaori-sensei quickly identified a path based on the local curriculum and challenges they were facing, they looked forward to the tuition sessions and the results in a short time frame spoke for themselves.
Dale Anderson, Aotearoa New Zealand
Learning business Japanese with Nozomi sensei was a wonderful experience! I could now only understand phrases in Japanese business email and also communication. The flexibility of the lesson plan and schedule was also very helpful for someone who working full-time. Looking forward to learning again with Nozomi sensei!
Thank you sensei!!
Jeremia N, Indonesia, age 28
Amy sensei is a very professional and approachable person and her Japanese lessons have been a great help for me who knew only very basic Japanese at first.
If you need a person with a business background Amy sensei is perfect for you because you can not only talk to her about the language but about how business works in Japan. Every lesson I felt like I got something new about Japan that I did not know and had productive fun.
Thank you sensei!!
Telos Lee, CEO, Anemone Fashion, Brazil, age 34
I started learning Japanese with Amy-sensei a year after living in Japan and so I had been hearing many phrases spoken in Japanese without a clear understanding of what they meant. As I
continued to study with Amy-sensei, her teaching allows me to develop an understanding of the language structure in Japanese, thereby allowing me to understand and breakdown what other people are
saying. It also helps as she reminds me some of the language structure that I might have forgotten over
time. 日本に住み始めてから一年後に日本語の授業を始めました。習う前までは短い単語しか聞き取ることができませんでしたから、会話全体の意味がわかりませんでした。
Alex Chan, Riken Yamamoto&Field Shop 山本理顕設計工場, Hong Kong, age 29
I miss my Japanese lessons with Amy-sensei. She is incredibly professional, down to earth, and supportive. Over 2 years with her help and mentorship, I was able to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test(JLPT)N3 and N2 levels while working full time. She helped me with a custom designed lesson plan based on my goal and timeline. Each lesson was tailored to helping me meet both my short-and long-term language goals. Amy-sensei's patience was unshakable. Japanese is very difficult to learn, but no matter how difficult the concept or how disappointed I may have been in my own performance Amy-sensei was always calm, patient, and supportive while providing honest, direct feedback. I have recommended several friends to her and am praying that someday I might get a spot in her schedule again. Thank you Amy-sensei!
Greg Hahn
I studied one year of Japanese eight years ago and have forgotten much of it since then (proper grammar and many words). On this fourth trip to Japan, I was looking to take Japanese lessons alongside my 1-month ramen-making course to brush up on the language. I looked into a few places that offered private lessons and Amy came up in my search. I ultimately decided to take a chance with Amy given her flexibility and I'm sure glad I did! She gauges your ability in the first lesson and asks you about your goals. Then she caters each lesson to help you attain your goal. I had one-hour lessons three days a week and it was always something I looked forward to. We'd have fun and interesting conversations and I'd get to use and hear words and grammar that I previously learned. We typically went over new grammar structures with the help of worksheets and plenty of examples. I was also happy to get homework to do to further practice and review what I had learned. Overall, Amy was very kind and patient and you can tell she really cares about you both as a student and as a person. If you're looking for Japanese lessons, I'd recommend you do them with Amy without any reservations.
Mike
I started Japanese Lessons very quickly with Amy soon after my arrival in Japan. Thanks to her, I could really quickly use the bases of Japanese Language and keep improving over a year. Amy
sensei is a wonderful teacher, she is very kind and flexible. Lessons have always been fun and instructive. She has a lot to give, as a person and as a teacher. So the choice is obvious, Amy is
the teacher you are looking for !
Coline Mauroy
I highly recommend Amy as a Japanese language teacher. She will first understand the student's level and works to prepare materials around that. In this case, no matter which level you are at the moment, Amy can always help you to get better. She is also a very fun person to have conversation with. I really enjoyed her class and my Japanese improved since I started to take her class. Not to mention that the class schedule is very flexible.
Christine Yeh
Being a novice at learning any language (never-mind Japanese) I was slightly apprehensive in starting the language lessons with Amy. However, I needn't have worried as Amy was very patient, professional and friendly in introducing me to the language. Lessons were carried out at my pace with helpful suggestions on learning materials, practical examples and constant reinforcement of previously learned module vocabulary. Unfortunately I had to leave Japan due to work, although should I return I will again continue my Japanese studies with Amy.
Glen
I was recruited by my company to work in Japan for 10 months. During the second month of my stay I embarked on a journey to find a Japanese teacher! I found Amy sensei's website and decided to meet Amy for my first lesson. Amy's teaching style is fantastic, for 8 months having 3 lessons a week Amy was always punctual, never missed any lessons and really made an effort to share the Japanese culture!
My friends and family were really impressed that I learned to read hiragana and katakana so quickly and was able to converse in basic Japanese. This made my stay so much better!
If you are looking for a fantastic Japanese teacher, give Amy sensei a try - it's the best investment you can make!!
Robert Dziubdziela
Amy is such a nice person. I personally had a lesson mainly based on Keigo and grammar, but we also read together some newspaper articles she would have selected before. This was really interesting for reading kanji and acquire new vocabulary. During a lesson we also had few minutes to talk about some random Japanese facts which were funny and interesting. I quit the lessons because of personal matters but I sincerely recommend her if you wish to have quality Japanese lessons.
I had been living in Japan almost 7 years before finding Amy-sensei
as my Japanese teacher. Actually, I had been looking for a suitable teacher on the net over the years, but just typed a wrong key word on the net, I guess.
Before taking the lesson with Amy-sensei, my Japanese was just about good enough to survive in Japan. But still far away from business level, since I worked as a Sales Manager, Japanese is quite
essential.
Unfortunately, I was informed to transfer to US office right before the first lesson with Amy-sensei. As a result, Amy-sensei had taught me total of 3 full months only, September to
December, 2015. The content was about what I need at work. It's easy to tell that Amy-sensei has a good experience of teaching and be able to pick the right content for different levels and
needs. I do feel that my Japanese has been improved significantly after short 3 months. I wish I had studied Japanese with Amy-sensei a lot more than 3 months, my Japanese will be definitely
pera-pera (fluent).
Wayne Chiang
Amy sensei is a great teacher and provides fun and interesting Japanese lessons for students of all levels. She has significant international experience gained from traveling to countries all over the world and therefore understands the subtle cultural differences that often cause difficulties and misunderstandings when learning a new language. As a result she is able to personalize her lessons to suit the learning style and cultural background of her students whilst creating an enjoyable studying environment.
Starting at a beginner level I was eventually able to pass JLPT N2 all thanks to Amy sensei!
Alexander Bishop
Amy has always been professional and challenging, while also understanding my work schedule being flexible when needed.
I would recommend Amy to anyone who wants to improve his or her Japanese but is unable to attend a traditional Japanese language school. The quality has been nothing less than exceptional and I can definitely see my skills improve with confident natural Japanese.
Amy's warm personality with lessons tailored specifically for me, are the key success in my busy Tokyo work schedule. Highly recommend!
Alon
