Karuna
About Me
Lessons
Availability
Reviews
Visited a day ago
Karuna
Community Tutor![]()
Teaches
Japanese
Native
Speaks
English
Native
Croatian
Serbian
Esperanto
Your bilingual cross-cultural specialist 🌊
Teaches
Japanese
Native
Speaks
English
Native
Croatian
Serbian
Esperanto
Your bilingual cross-cultural specialist 🌊
About Me
Me as a Teacher
My lessons & teaching style
Resume
From United StatesLiving in Los Angeles, United States (08:49 UTC-08:00)
About Me
italki teacher since Jul 24, 2024InterestsTravelHistoryWritingArtFilms & 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 trying to in study (I use the term loosely) basic linguistics and etymology. When I'm not teaching Japanese, I myself am (slowly, arduously) learning Serbo-Croatian!Me as a Teacher
Express yourself with 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 promptsMy 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, Film
2018 - 2020
Master's - Arts Studies & Curatorial Practices
Work Experience
2016 - Current
Freelance Travel & Culture Writer
2021 - 2023
Marketing Coordinator
2016 - 2017
Sr. Associate, Social Media
2018 - 2019
Gallery Associate
5.0
Rating
33
Students
126
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
100%
Response rate
Japanese Lessons
Trial Lesson
22 lessons completed
USD 7.00+
Japanese for N5, N4, N3 Learners 🕯️ Beginner to Pre-Intermediate
A1 - B2Language Essentials91 lessons completed
USD 28.00+
Package with 2% off
Japanese Conversation Session 🎋🏮 Pre-Intermediate and Above
A2 - C2Conversation13 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)
11 Reviews
Jay
2 Japanese lessons
Helpful tips and corrections. Very patient and understanding.
Nov 17, 2024
Mazarine Fernandez
2 Japanese lessons
She's very nice and super relatable! I found out we live in the same area and she recommended me all these great places to practice Japanese while getting great food. The materials she uses to teach are wonderful as well. 20/10
Nov 7, 2024
Evelyn Cheek
7 Japanese lessons
Karuna is very understanding and nice, she's easy to get along with and takes her time helping you understand.
Nov 4, 2024
Jeremy
11 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
Brett
18 Japanese lessons
she rocks
Oct 24, 2024
Jay
2 Japanese lessons
カルナ先生は本当にいいのです！
Oct 18, 2024
Trial Lesson
USD 7.00
Your final payment will be made in USD