Ruri T

I really enjoyed my class with Ruri 先生, as usual! During our speaking practice section, we had a really fun exchange where we talked about Midnight Diner (深夜食堂). She asked me about my favorite episode and then followed up with asking me to give a short summary of it in Japanese. It was really challenging but I felt like I had a lot of fun trying and during my struggle Ruri 先生, was very encouraging helping me fill some gaps with vocabulary. Even though it was hard, I had a lot of fun and did recognize that over the last year with her I have improved. It's exchanges like this that remind me why I love learning with her.

I had a lot of fun in class today talking about お惣菜. I think that the topics that Ruri 先生 picks always give me room to talk. Sometimes I just get too excited and think too much about translating what I'm thinking in English into Japanese, but when I can using her advice of thinking in Japanese has always been really helpful (and something I should do more). The grammar that we covered today in Genki II, was the volitional form. I actually had come across some text on my own that used it, but I didn't understand why and for whatever reason had a lot of trouble finding good explanations. I'm really glad that I went over it today with Ruri 先生, as it helped clear up the questions I had about when or how it's used. I'm always really grateful for how patient Ruri 先生 can be when I have random questions.

Today Ruri 先生 and I went over a few different things that I think on my own I wouldn't have gotten the same amount out of. By doing some kanji study and reviewing counters, I feel like I really learned a lot that I didn't expect to. When we were going over some kanji, I learned the difference between 県 and 府. I thought it was really interesting because the regular translation both generally go to 'prefecture' in English, made it hard to understand the difference. I'm grateful that Ruri 先生 can provide the background for me that I wouldn't otherwise get.

First class with Ruri after taking the JLPT !!! 🤗 Had so much fun learning more about the normal life in Japan and practicing my speaking. So excited for the next lessons now that exam season is over ⭐️ Thank you Ruri先生 for preparing all the articles + photos to show me 🩵

Today's class was a really great example of why I like learning Japanese with Ruri 先生。After speaking practice we went over the last section of Chapter 14 in Genki II. I think that if I had been studying this section by myself, it's something I would have went through really quickly because it seems very simple. However there's some nuance that the book doesn't really cover and I think being able to ask Ruri 先生 about contextual usage really helped make it stick for me. We were also able to integrate some practice with counters in with it, which I really appreciate because conceptually I know what they are but I rarely think about using them.

Another great lesson with Ruri 先生. She used different teaching techniques during the lesson that were fun and interactive. I appreciate her encouragement with my speaking ability although I know I have a long way to go.