Konnichiwa. My name is Kumiko Yatabe. I live in Saitama, just North of Tokyo.

The best way to learn to speak a foreign language is to talk with a person from that country.

Books and CD learning materials as well as movies and music from that country are good learning tools. But unfortunately they do not talk back to you or correct your mistakes.

Please pop into the classroom. If you are aiming to talk fluent Japanese just like a native, or are interested in enjoying to study in a leisurely manner, I am really looking forward to meeting you and many types of students and help you in your quest to master the language. If you don't understand something, please feel free to ask. I will try to make the lessons as easy to understand for everyone.

What kinds of activities do you include in your online Japanese classes?

In my Introductory, Beginner 1 and Beginner 2 classes, I always try to make my lessons effective and enjoyable. Please relax and enjoy learning, and feel free to ask any questions :)

In the Listening class for Beginner 2, we practice listening without using slides. Listening skills are very important because it is impossible to have a conversation if you don't understand what someone said. Let's see how much you can understand if a Nihonjin talks to you in a normal speed.

In my private lessons, I focus on speaking and listening. 

The more you use a language, the more you will improve. If your goal is to be able to communicate in Japanese, don't worry about small mistakes, just try to talk a lot. It will also be fun for you to see people in the classroom from other countries who are learning Japanese. Ganbatte :D