Clara
Japanese Tutor
I am Asian-American, fluent in Japanese. I am a high school Japanese teacher working in Muncie, IN. I lived and worked as a translator in Tokyo, Japan for eight years, working at Japan's largest banking companies. I have over ten years of experience working as a translator at Japanese companies. I passed Level 1 (N1) of the Japanese Proficiency Exam twice, once in 2005 and the second in 2013. I also have a master's in Japanese education at DePaul University in Chicago. As a tutor, I always tr...
ESL/ESOL
Japanese
Makalani A. from Chicago, IL
I'd consider Clara an instant choice for anyone needing Japanese tutoring! She's got the educational background and language tools to make your skills increase while giving you enough space to influence lesson content. She contacted me by phone very soon after my registration was complete, where she inquired as to what my goals were. The following day, she surprisingly integrated my interests and history in Japan directly into the face-to-face lesson! Clara also showed a level of dynamism that challenged as well as entertained, using an array of bilingual color maps, workbooks, and special aides. She challenged me to get back to explaining and therefore "thinking" in another language, which undoubtedly is a mainstay of fluency. Her 4-pronged approach greatly contributed to my competency level!
Nishay B. from Chicago, IL
Learning yukata was lots of fun! As with the onigiri activity, hands-on learning is definitely the way to go; things just seen to click. I look forward to our next lesson!
Noah A. from Chicago, IL
I am writing this review from Japan, where I am right now making my way around with my newly acquired Japanese language skills, courtesy of Clara's tutoring! I contacted Clara for some fairly last-minute language tutoring before my trip this summer. I was starting from absolute scratch, with no experience in the language. One month later, and I am genuinely able to carry out basic interactions with native Japanese speakers, and navigate myself around Japan. You can't ask for much more of a tutor than that! Clara works at a measured pace, but as you work through the material, and especially if you are willing to put in a moderate study effort reviewing on your own, you will find your own knowledge of the language begin to sneak up on you! She seems to have quite a solid grasp of contemporary conversational Japanese language usage and culture, as I've found the tips she gives that aren't in the text book hold up very well while traveling around the country. Scheduling tutoring sessions with Clara has been painless, and she has been consistently friendly and punctual. Highly recommended!