From United StatesLiving in Los Angeles, United States (07:45 UTC-07:00)
About Me
italki teacher since Jul 24, 2024
Interest topicTravelHistoryWritingArtFilms & TV Series
Hi! I'm Karuna, a bilingual Tokyo-born educator. I received my B.A. from Cornell University and my Master's from Tokyo University of the Arts, where I also worked as a TA/Research Assistant. I’ve also worked as a Curatorial Assistant to a Japanese museum director and as a Japanese-to-English translator. 📍 Currently I split my time between California, Japan, and various other destinations.
🍥 MORE ABOUT ME 🍥
I enjoy architecture, design, history, cooking, and most things “Showa retro.” Also currently dabbling in studying basic linguistics and etymology. When I'm not teaching Japanese, I myself am (slowly, arduously) learning Serbo-Croatian!
My creations
Me as a Teacher
Express yourself with nuanced cultural cognizance while staying true to your authentic self 🎋🏮 I focus on facilitating your voice, i.e. student-generated output. This will include journaling/writing assignments and structured speaking challenges, as well as more free-form conversations for upper-beginner+ students who so desire.
Above all, our lessons together will be compassionate to both the cultural and linguistic standpoints of a non-native learner.
Japanese is a complex but also incredibly flexible language: I can equip you with the most efficient conversational “tricks” that natives use in everyday communication — but won’t skimp on important foundational grammar, either.
My lessons & teaching style
My lessons are best for adult students ranging from beginners to intermediate learners (Levels N5, N4, N3). I'll default to Genki I and Genki II for grammar homework — but by no means exclusively, if you prefer another resource.
Some of my customized resources for students include:
🕯 Effective self-study tools, quizzes, and flashcard optimization strategies, so that our one-on-one time can focus on the things you *can't* so easily teach yourself
🕯 Analyzing brief excerpts from a range of colloquial native Japanese content, e.g. blogs, restaurant reviews, real estate listings, artist Q&A interviews, or your favorite anime/manga
🕯 Journaling & writing prompts
My teaching material
Text Documents
Image files
Video files
Flashcards
Articles and news
Quizzes
Test templates and examples
Homework Assignments
Education
2012 - 2016
Bachelor’s - Government, FilmCornell University
2018 - 2020
Master's - Arts Studies & Curatorial PracticesTokyo University of the Arts (東京芸術大学)
Work Experience
2016 - Current
Freelance Travel & Culture Writer--
2021 - 2023
Marketing CoordinatorEYRC Architects
2016 - 2017
Sr. Associate, Social MediaPBS - Arlington, VA, United States
2018 - 2019
Gallery AssociateClear Gallery Tokyo
5.0
Rating
21
Students
74
Lessons
100%
Attendance
100%
Response
5.0
Rating
21
Students
74
Lessons
100%
Attendance
100%
Response
Japanese Lessons
Trial Lesson
14 lessons completed
USD 7.00+
Japanese for N5, N4, N3 Learners 🕯️ Beginner to Pre-Intermediate
A1 - B2Language Essentials53 lessons completed
USD 28.00+
Package with 2% off
Japanese Conversation Session 🎋🏮 Pre-Intermediate and Above
A2 - C2Conversation8 lessons completed
USD 28.00+
Package with 2% off
Japanese for Young Learners 🍥 age 14 & under
A1 - B2Language Essentials0 lessons completed
USD 70.00
Availability
Based on your timezone (UTC+00:00)
My creations
Quiz (5)
8 Reviews
Jeremy
8 Japanese lessons
Lessons with Karuna are always a pleasure. She is calm, patient, and looks for ways to draw out your strengths so you pay less attention to your flaws. She has a wealth of resources to help you study and assigns homework that gets you thinking outside of the regular book work.
Karuna engages with you in a very casual conversational manner that helps you relax and she actively listens to try to understand what you are saying. I never feel like she is distracted or inattentive during my lessons with her. Since I am very nervous when it comes to speaking, there are often awkward pauses that Karuna adeptly fills in with questions or her own insights to keep the conversation going.
I highly recommend Karuna if you are beginning Japanese or if you just need somebody to help you with speaking practice. She gives good travel suggestions too!
Oct 24, 2024
It's Pick'n Time!
13 Japanese lessons
she rocks
Oct 24, 2024
Jay
1 Japanese lesson
カルナ先生は本当にいいのです!
Oct 18, 2024
Antonio Reyes
3 Japanese lessons
Karuna was very down to earth and exactly the kind of language enthusiast I was looking for in a teacher. I’m excited to continue working with her as I work towards N3!
Oct 1, 2024
Martin Lim
1 Japanese lesson
So I've taken a good amount of lessons in the past. In learning any language I would highly recommend to pick someone with the same native language as you.
If you're in the United States or in English Speaking country I would highly recommend Karuna as a teacher. She is very knowledge about the language, culture, sub-culture, and also American-sub-japanese culture. I know that's a lot of cultures lol, but having someone you can connect with makes all the differences.
If you're one of the lucky few if you get the opportunity to have her as your Japanese coach.
Good luck fellow students and have fun!
Sep 18, 2024
Jeremy
8 Japanese lessons
Trial lesson- Karuna is seems very prepared and professional, with interesting lesson plans and homework ideas. Looking forward to continued lessons.