Native Japanese tutor|Genki1&2|JLPT|Clear, Structured&Practical Lesson

Masahide F.

1.5 Years Learning Japanese with Masa Sensei

I've had the pleasure of working with Masa Sensei for over a year, and I am really grateful for his tutoring and patience. Despite my busy schedule, he has remained flexible and encouraging, so much so that I decided to continue Japanese classes on a weekly basis, rather than biweekly. He is very serious about my learning Japanese in each way that I can: reading, writing, but most importantly - speaking. I remain dedicated because of his determined, serious nature. I would recommend Masa Sensei for anyone who appreciates a direct teaching approach. We complete work through textbooks, although at the beginning of class, we have open speaking practice (outside the textbook). I hope to continue learning in class with Sensei, and continue practicing on my own time.

Aaruba, 39 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Aaruba, Thank you for your feedback. I truly enjoy my lessons with you, who approach learning Japanese with great passion, and I find them very rewarding. I still remember the words you sent me at the very beginning: “I’d like to learn this beautiful language.” That made me very happy. You are not only working on improving conversational skills during our lessons, but are also making an effort to learn kanji little by little. Kanji allow us to form many compound words from a single character, and by understanding the meaning behind each kanji, you can gain deeper insight into the way Japanese people think and into Japanese culture itself. Please continue learning them at your own pace. The most important thing in learning a foreign language is consistency. Even though you started as a complete beginner, your conversational ability has been steadily improving. By learning more vocabulary and phrases, let’s aim even higher together. I will support you with all my heart. Keep up the great work!

Great teacher and learner focused

Masahide san is a great teacher! He focuses on what the student needs and customizes the lessons accordingly. I am an advanced learner and wanted to focus on conversation and kanji reading. Masahide san comes to each lesson prepared and full of energy to teach. He genuinely cares about the student and that can be felt when you meet with him. I would recommend him to any learner from beginner to advanced.

Steven, 8 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Steve, Thank you for your feedback. You can already handle most everyday conversations without much difficulty, but you’ve been aiming to further improve your conversational ability as well as expand your vocabulary and kanji knowledge. Because of that, lessons with you are very unique for me—still a bit of an exploration, but extremely enjoyable. For your Japanese improvement, I believe that free conversation on a variety of topics—while correcting your expressions as needed and expanding the discussion—is the most effective approach, and that’s how we’ve been practicing. At the same time, I’ve been placing special emphasis on kanji. Kanji is one of the wonderful aspects of Japanese culture. Learning even one character can help you infer the meanings of many related words and phrases, and it also gives you a deeper sense of Japanese culture. During lessons, I write down the kanji that come up naturally, and later add related compounds so that you can be exposed to as many kanji as possible. Let’s keep enjoying our studies together. Masa

Excellent tutelage

I've been studying under Masa-sensei since around late 2023, and with both structured and unstructured lessons during our classes, I've gone from barely knowing any hiragana to being able to read, write, and hold basic conversations. He personalises my lessons to make sure that I am progressing at a good pace and practises areas in which I am deficient with me. I hope that as of this post, I will continue to make good progress and that I will be able to pass my Japanese proficiency tests soon!

David, 116 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

David, Thank you for your feedback. Has it already been two years? You’ve really improved a lot. Your reading and writing are now at an intermediate level, so the next focus is on developing your conversational skills. Since you’ve already built such a solid foundation in reading comprehension, it would be a waste not to take your speaking ability further—you already have enough vocabulary and grammar understanding to do so. Let’s keep working hard together. I really enjoy our lessons, David!

Extremely Knowledgeable and Patient Teacher

Masahide is extremely knowledgeable and got right into work on our first lesson. He set's an aggressive pace but that's exactly what I needed. I haven't practiced speaking Japanese nearly as much as I did on our first session. Thank you Masahide-san.

Jeff, 8 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Jeff, Thank you very much for your feedback. It was fun working with you last week.I absolutely love and warmly welcome people like you who approach learning Japanese with such passion. Let's keep working hard together to study. Looking forward to seeing you this week again! Masa

Incredibly Patient and Knowledgeable Tutor

I started with Masa-san a couple of years ago with barely any understanding of Japanese beyond some basic Hiragana and Katakana. After working with him through Genki I and reviewing the vocabulary and grammar in-depth, I was able to pass the N5 exam and am currently working towards passing the N4 exam. In general, Masa-san is an incredible teacher who does a fantastic job of explaining different grammar structures in a clear and engaging way. He is patient, thorough, and always willing to review vocabulary until you fully understand it. His structured yet flexible teaching approach ensures that every lesson is productive, and he always tailors his lessons and explanations to suit your learning style. For example, when I expressed interest in developing my reading comprehension, he tailors lessons specifically focused on that section. If your looking for a knowledgeable and dedicated tutor, I highly recommend Masa-san as he is kind and genuinely invested in his students' progress!

Alexander, 202 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Alex, Thank you very much for your feedback. You are one of the longest standing students I've ever had. I've really enjoyed my lessons with you. It's hard to keep studying, but you've continued your Japanese studies this far while studying and working. That's admirable. Let's keep working together to pass the N4 test! Masa

My first lesson with Mashide

Masahide sensei is a very patient teacher who seems to have a great sense of just the right pace for individual students. He explains things extremely well. I'm looking forward to more lessons from Masahide. So far, it has been a pleasure learning from him. Thank you

Sentwali, 5 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Sentwali, Thank you very much for your feedback. Your Japanese is pretty good. I've really enjoyed teaching you Japanese. I know you are working hard to improve your Japanese skills as quickly as possible. You told me that you wanted to be able to speak Japanese as close to fluent as possible by the beginning of next year. I replied that the hurdle is quite high. But let's work together toward that goal! I am rooting for you. Masa

Great Teacher and Instructor

Masa San provides clear instruction, explanation, and moves at a speed comfortable for the student. He follows up with a summary of the lesson so students can review and practice the material afterwards. Definitely will continue japanese lessons with him.

David, 4 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

David, Thank you very much for your feedback. It was fun working with you.I love students like you who try to learn Japanese with passion. You are looking to move to Japan to work in the future. Therefore I know you will work hard to learn Japanese. Let me help you with your goal. I will be responsible for tutoring you to improve your conversational skills so that you can work in Japan in the future. Let's work hard together! Masa

Patient tutor and native speaker

I met with Masa san to brush up on Japanese prior to a visit. We met weekly for several months in free-flowing sessions. We discussed many topics and during that time he would use the chat window to clarify words and phrases I didn't know in kanji and furigana. Very helpful

Adam, 5 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Adam, Thank you very much for your feedback. It was really fun working with you. We discussed a wide variety of topics from family to politics including food preference, travels, economy, global environment and so on. I was very happy to realize that your Japanese was coming back to you very quickly. Have fun in Japan! Masa

Great tutor

Just starting out with Intro to Japanese as a college course. Felt I needed some extra help before the first exam. Masahide is great to work with and very thorough. I did very well on my first exam and plan on continuing to work with him through the semester.

Robert, 14 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Shay, You did well on the test? I am so so glad to heat that😁 But I was pretty sure that you would get a good grade on the test, because I realized during the first lesson that you worked hard to learn Japanese. Anyway, let's work and enjoy Japanese together going forward👍 Thank you very much for your feedback. Masa

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Masahide is working with me using the Genki 1 workbook. I am a beginner and he is very easy to work with and very patient. He is very helpful and is very careful to make sure I am pronouncing the words correctly. I highly recommend Masahide as a tutor.

Sara, 13 lessons with Masahide

Tutor responded:

Sara, Thank you very much for your feedback. You are also patient and I realize you are a hard worker. It may take time to master a foreign language, but don't worry. I will be with you as long as you have passion to learn Japanese together with me! I am looking forward to seeing you at the next lesson. Masa