The Japanese language is spoken by around 128 million people, but the main place it's spoken is Japan.
Not only is the language fascinating, but it's also one of the best ways to learn more about Japanese culture and whether you have an interest in going to Japan or consuming Japanese-language media, it can help a lot to learn the language.
Today, we're going to look at why you should learn Japanese and everything you need to know about Japanese tutoring in New Zealand.
Why Should You Learn Japanese?
While you can definitely just learn Japanese because you feel like it, you'll find that your language-learning journey will be much more successful if you have a good reason and motivation for learning the language.
These are just some of the most popular reasons to learn Japanese and if you have a better reason, then that's great. Use it because you'll need it to help keep you motivated when you get to the tricky parts of the language.
Develop Communication Skills
Learning any language comes with a whole host of benefits and improved communication skills are just one of them. By learning Japanese, you'll naturally improve your communication skills in Japanese and your mother tongue.
Even if you're a native English speaker, you'll see that by studying and comparing the grammar, you'll gain a better understanding of how languages work, including your mother tongue.
Discover New Food
Learning a language will teach you more about the food of the people who speak your target language. By learning Japanese, you'll learn more about the cuisine in Japan.
Whether you're going to Tokyo, Kyoto, or anywhere else in Japan, you'll be able to discover new dishes in your classes and then try them when you get to Japan!
Enjoy Anime and Manga
For many Japanese students, they want to learn the language because they already enjoy anime and/or manga.
Knowing the language will allow them to read or watch manga and anime in the language they were produced in complete with the cultural references and context that sometimes need to be removed when these are translated and adapted for international audiences.
Enjoy Japanese Art and Literature
Though anime and manga are a big part and one of the most appealing parts of Japanese culture for many aspiring Japanese speakers, there's also a whole world of Japanese art and literature beyond them that can also be accessed by learning the language.
In addition to anime and manga, you can enjoy Japanese literature, art, cinema, and music more comprehensively by learning the language.
Find Work Using Japanese
If you want to work in Japan or for a Japanese company, it can help to speak the language. Linguistically speaking, Japan is very monolingual with over 99% of the country speaking Japanese. Only around 13% of Japanese people are learning English.
An even lower percentage of them will speak the language proficiently or even well so if you learn the language, you'll definitely be an asset in almost any Japanese company.
Of course, if you're learning Japanese for your career, it can help to learn business Japanese. While the foundational skills are the same, it can help to know how to hold an appropriate conversation in business settings, for example.
Japanese is a Challenging Language
Some people choose to learn Japanese because of how difficult the language is. If you've already learned another foreign language and are looking for a challenge, you should choose Japanese.
If you've never studied a foreign language but relish a challenge, then there's no reason why Japanese can't be your first, just make sure that you're fully aware of how difficult it is.
Learn More about Japanese Culture
We've already mentioned Japanese cultural products like cinema, literature, anime, and manga, but learning a language can also teach you about the culture.
You can learn about Japanese life, traditions, and beliefs through the language in a way that's far more fulfilling than through your own language.
Make Friends
You can make much more meaningful friendships with people when you speak their language and by speaking Japanese, it'll be much easier to make friends with Japanese speakers.
These friends could also help you through a language exchange where they teach you Japanese and you teach them some English in return without having to pay for classes or private tutoring.
On a romantic note, it's much easier to find love if you speak the language, too!
Personal Development
Foreign language skills are useful but they can also teach you a lot about yourself and come with useful transferrable skills, too.
Many people choose to learn a foreign language as a way to develop skills, become better and more well-rounded people, and learn more about the world.
Study in Japan
You might study in Japan to learn Japanese, but to avoid being completely lost when you get there, you could learn some of the language beforehand.
Students will also learn Japanese while in the country even if they're not studying Japanese. After all, immersion is one of the best ways to learn a language, but you do need to know some of the basics to get started.
Travel to Japan
Before you go to Japan as a tourist, it can help a lot to learn the language. As we mentioned, English isn't widely spoken in the country and as with anywhere else in the world, locals tend to appreciate it when tourists make the effort to speak their language.
Find out more about Japanese tutoring in Auckland.
How Much Should a Japanese Tutor Cost?
Now that you know why you should learn Japanese, let's consider how much a Japanese tutor should cost you.
Different tutors charge different amounts so consider why you're learning Japanese, how quickly you need to learn it, what your level is, and the budget you can allocate to studying the language.
The average rate of Japanese tutoring in New Zealand on the Superprof website is around $30, but this is just the average and you'll find that tutors with more experience tend to charge more.
If you consider this amount the rate to pay for the average tutor, you can start working out how much Japanese tuition will cost you. Don't forget that learning a language takes a long time so you may be paying potentially paying for tuition for years.
You're not just paying for hours of teaching, you're paying for the tutor's experience, expertise, and all the hours they spend preparing each session.
Is It Worth Getting a Japanese Tutor?
We believe tuition is one of the best ways to learn any foreign language, not just Japanese. Tutoring isn't the only way to learn Japanese, but there are lots of advantages to learning a language with a tutor.
For one, the lessons will be tailored to you and what you want to learn. As you've seen, there are lots of different reasons to learn Japanese so you need a tutor who can teach you with those in mind.
In a class with several other students, the teacher won't be able to adapt their teaching approach or materials to every individual student, but a tutor can, especially if you're getting one-on-one tutoring.
Find out how to learn Japanese in Wellington.
How Do I Find a Good Japanese Tutor?
Before you pick a Japanese tutor, you need to consider why you're learning Japanese, how quickly you want to learn it, how committed you are to learning it, and how much you can afford to pay.
After that, you can look for tutors that meet all of your requirements and shortlist them. On the Superprof website, many tutors offer the first lesson for free so you can try out multiple potential tutors before choosing the one that's right for you.
If you're on a budget, you'll find that online Japanese tutoring is usually cheaper than face-to-face tutoring since they don't have travel costs to worry about.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Japanese with a Tutor?
How long it takes to get somewhere will depend on how quickly you're going and learning languages is the same.
However, Japanese is a tricky language and many suggest that it can take up to half a year of dedicated study just to reach a foundational level in the language.
A rough estimate is that it'll take over 2,000 hours of study to become fluent in Japanese. This would equate to over 5 hours of study a day for a year, which most people don't have the time for.
If you do, that's great and you'll be able to learn Japanese within a year. If you could spend even more time studying and practising Japanese, then you'd likely learn more quickly, but the average student is likely going to have to spend at least a year or two to attain a decent level in Japanese with regular tuition.
Find out about Japanese tutoring in Christchurch.
How Do I Become a Japanese Tutor?
If you already speak Japanese and would like to become a Japanese tutor, it's not really that difficult to become a private tutor.
With sites like Superprof and other tutoring sites online, you can create a tutoring profile and start advertising your Japanese classes and tutoring to many students around New Zealand and the world.
There are very few barriers to entry to become a tutor and while you don't necessarily need any formal qualifications to become one, you'll find that your tutoring will be much more successful if you're an expert in what you're teaching, know how to teach, and provide a valuable service to your students.
We recommend that you study both Japanese and teaching because you can't really become an effective tutor without both of them. You should also consider the going rates for tutoring and set rates that will be affordable and fair for your students while also providing you with a living wage.
Consider the economics of what you're offering, what the competition is offering, and the best and most effective ways you can find and retain students. Every student will eventually reach a stage where they no longer need your tuition or decide to move on, but as you'll have discovered when you learned Japanese, your typical Japanese student could potentially work with you for some time so make sure your tutoring is worth it!
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