• Undergrad:

  Dickinson College

• Tutors Out Of:

  Concord, MA

• Travel Radius:

  20 miles

• Tutoring Certifications:

  Japanese

• Tutor's Fee Per Hour:

  $36.00 * with a 10% discount after purchasing $360

My name is Matt. I'm a 24 year old recent college graduate, and I've just returned from a year living/working in Japan with the JET Program. I taught English lessons to students at 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and I ran an English conversation class for adults that met once a week.
I have formally studied Japanese language and culture for 4 years at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. I have been to Japan as a tourist, and I spent a semester living in Buddhist temples all over Japan during my Junior year. My major at Dickinson was East Asian Studies, with a focus on Japan, and I have written two theses on Japanese political corruption.
I love everything about Japan, and will always seek out the opportunity to share my passion with others. Through study and experience, I have come to think of Japan as my second home. I watch anime, read manga, listen to Japanese music, and cook Japanese food as well.
If I had to describe my teaching style, I'd say I am a flexible teacher. Learning an Eastern language is difficult, and my own memories of college classes have helped me adapt my style to suit many levels of ability. I think having the confidence to try, ignoring the possibility of mistakes, is a crucial aspect of learning any language. I also think it is important to push students hard (not too hard though), so that they learn more of themselves and their abilities. Above all, learning a foreign language should be fun, and I'll make sure it is. I look forward to working with you.

Email this tutor in Concord, MA!

• Japanese

  My interest in Japan stems from a 3 week course on medieval Japanese history I took in 8th grade. I found Japanese history much more engaging and interesting than my other subjects, and resolved to study it further as soon as the chance presented itself. While there were no opportunities in high school, I began watching anime as a means of introducing myself to the sounds of the Japanese language before actually beginning to study it. My formal study of Japan began in college. Before I had decided my major, I had signed up for Japanese language classes. I took Japanese all 4 years of college, continuing to study when my class size dropped from 20 to 13, and eventually to 5 as a senior. When I studied abroad in Japan for 3 months, I lived in Buddhist temples. There, I was the only student in the program who spoke Japanese, and was often called on to act as interpreter between my friends and the monks we lived with. After returning from my semester abroad, I knew I wanted to go back to Japan as soon as I could. So I joined the JET Program, and have spent the last year living alone in Japan, working as an English teacher. I lived in a small fishing village, working at a local middle school and 4 elementary schools. There were no other English speakers at the elementary school, so I conducted all of those classes in both English and Japanese simultaneously. In my year there, I spoke Japanese about 60% of any given day. Though I am not attending language classes anymore, I continue to study Japanese on my own. I also want the chance to share this passion of mine with others. Tutoring will help me do just that, as well as allowing me to improve my own abilities through my role as tutor. I love Japanese, and will continue to pursue it for the rest of my life.