*Video thumbnail: my hometown
🗣 Language: standard Japanese🇯🇵 / native-level English🇺🇸 (C2) / conversational German🇩🇪
✏️ Also learning: Korean🇰🇷 / ancient Greek🇬🇷
🌍 Overseas experience: 1 year in the U.S. (Colorado) / 1 year in Germany (Berlin, HU)
🎓 Master's degree in philosophy from Tokyo University
👨🏫 English teacher (in-class/online) for 3 years → Japanese teacher on italki from 2022
❤️ Hobbies: singing, playing the piano, reading and learning languages
🌟 Special interests: Performing Noh theater (Japanese traditional opera)
Instagram: @pitchaccentdojo
My creations
Me as a Teacher
As a teacher, I try to
✔︎ be academically well-informed / flexible / patient / honest / friendly
✔︎ have my students talk as much as possible (instead of me talking)
✔︎ use flipped classroom strategies (input at home, output in class)
✔︎ use Japanese as much as possible
✔︎ always review the previous lesson
✔︎ be (very) strict with pronunciation (らりるれろ, devoicing of vowels, mora lengths and pitch-accent)
and most importantly:
✔︎ give meaningful feedback
✔︎ translate what the students want to say into easy & simple Japanese sentences - so that they can use it the next time!
I also teach English to local students in my hometown in Ibaraki prefecture (an hour away from Tokyo by train).
My lessons & teaching style
I try to use flipped classroom strategies - input as homework, output and feedback in lessons.
*Of course, I also introduce new things during lessons when necessary.
Examples of 🏠 input 👉 output:
🏠 vocabulary practice 👉 mini test and feedback
🏠 repeat / shadowing practice 👉 pronunciation check and feedback
🏠 grammar exercises in a workbook 👉 comprehension check and interactive practice
🏠 watch a Japanese show online 👉 talk about the story and characters in Japanese
🏠 read graded readers 👉 Q&A about the difficult parts
*The amount of homework depends on how much time the student currently has outside the lesson.
I'm flexible, so let me know how you would like me to help you!
My teaching material
PDF file
Presentation slides/PPT
Audio files
Image files
Video files
Flashcards
Articles and news
Quizzes
Homework Assignments
Certificates
Eiken Grade 1 - Eiken Foundation of Japan - 2023Eiken Test in Practical English Proficiency
Grade 1 : the highest level
Certificate verified
日本語教育能力検定試験 - 日本国際教育支援協会 - 2021Japanese Language Teaching Competency Test
Certificate verified
TOEIC Listening & Reading Score 990 - IIBC - 2020IIBC: The Institute for International Business Communication
Trial lesson for those who have already used up the initial three provided by italki
A1 - C2Language Essentials1 lessons completed
USD 10.00+
Availability
Based on your timezone (UTC+00:00)
My creations
Quiz (4)
100 Reviews
Alex Feskoff
87 Japanese lessons
Teacher’s pick
I'm really happy about my first real class with 山口先生.
The class was very well balanced. For everything we covered, we did some practice. We also did some revision, which is very important.
Also, 山口先生 answered all the questions that I had before class and that I got during the class. She was able to explain more complex things in several different ways when I was struggling a bit.
For an hour long class, I'm very happy with the amount of material that we were able to cover.
The last but not least, I think 山口先生 has a great personality, which helps a lot. She's very cheerful, positive and supportive. She created a friendly and productive atmosphere in the class.
ありがとうございました for the class ))
May 31, 2023
Veronika
133 Japanese lessons
Teacher’s pick
I have been taking Japanese lessons with Saeko-sensei for over a year now and I highly recommend her lessons. I have to admit that Saeko-sensei is always better prepared for our lessons than I am. Her tailor-made approach makes lessons highly relevant to my own personal situation. I've chosen the Genki path as a backbone for my learning and Saeko-sensei always complements it by the necessary additional material. Saeko-sensei is always very responsive to any additional requests and questions modifying the learning path to suit my needs. Lessons have a clear structure and moreover there is a bridge from one lesson to another through a review of the main points covered in the previous lesson. Thank you!
May 14, 2023
mirkob
56 Japanese lessons
Teacher’s pick
About half a year ago I started taking lessons with Yamaguchi Sensei to improve my speaking skills and increase the efficiency of my Japanese learning in general.
Yamaguchi Sensei is a professional, competent, and very welcoming person who manages to create a comfortable atmosphere. She adapts to my learning rhythm and my individual language strengths and weaknesses, so that every lesson is tailored to my needs. Lesson content is dynamic and evolves over time so that each lesson has a similar structure, but the content adapts to the needs of the student. She is fun to talk to and is always well prepared for each class.
Now, after taking a few lessons, I can say that I feel a lot more confident when speaking Japanese, and my ability to speak has generally developed well.
Personally, I don't have to look around for another teacher and can really recommend Yamaguchi Sensei to everyone.
今までありがとうございます!次のレッスンが楽しみです。
May 1, 2023
Isaac Zakaria
25 Japanese lessons
I've been taking lessons with Yamaguchi-sensei for almost a year now and she has had a great impact on my confidence in understanding Japanese. I deeply appreciate how flexible Yamaguchi-sensei has been in adapting to what my goals are. While I started on the Marugoto curriculum, she was happy to switch to Q&A- and free conversation-based sessions, and even helped me learn keigo for a business trip.
Yamaguchi-sensei is knowledgeable about the nuances of Japanese vocabulary and grammar and has always been able to clearly answer everything I've asked her in ways that a dictionary can't (What's the difference between にしては and とはいえ? When do you say 精神 and when do you use 性格?).
I also appreciate that Yamaguchi-sensei quickly and gently corrects my mistakes in pronunciation and speaking. It's been extremely valuable to be able to count on Yamaguchi-sensei to help me avoid developing bad habits.
I'd recommend Yamaguchi-sensei to anyone who's looking for a thoughtful and reliable teacher!
Nov 21, 2024
Miriam K.
5 Japanese lessons
As always, it was a very good lesson in which I learned a lot. I'm already looking forward to the next lesson with Saeko san.
Nov 17, 2024
WinterSebastian
11 Japanese lessons
Ich finde, die Lehrerin hat super Arbeit geleistet. Der Unterricht hat mir sehr gefallen, und ich habe viel gelernt. Es ist echt motivierend, dass wir heute unser erstes Buch abgeschlossen haben. Ich freue mich schon auf die Hausaufgaben und kann es kaum erwarten, mit dem neuen Buch zu starten. Vielen Dank für den tollen Unterricht!