If you're interested in learning Japanese, one of the best ways to learn is with a private tutor. Here, we're looking at the pros and cons of private Japanese tutoring, how much you should pay for tutors, and how to find the best tutors.
However, before we get to all that, here's why you should learn Japanese in the first place!
Reasons to Learn Japanese
The Japanese language is predominantly spoken in Japan and unlike other languages like English which are spoken across many languages natively and in an official capacity, Japanese is only really spoken outside of Japan by the Japanese diaspora.
That doesn't mean that Japanese isn't worth learning, though. Japanese is not only a fascinating and challenging language (one of the more difficult languages for native English speakers, at least), but it's a gateway to the fascinating Japanese culture.
Whether you want to travel to Japan for business or pleasure, speaking the language is a huge plus. A very low percentage of Japanese people are learning English and even fewer speak it well so speaking the language will go a long way.
Speaking a foreign language also looks great on your CV, can help you find work, and teaches you transferrable communication skills that will help you both in your professional and personal lives.
Fans of anime and manga can also learn Japanese to enjoy their favourite series and shows in Japanese without relying on translations, subtitles, or dubs that are often adapted to English-speaking audiences.
Japanese is also a great way to meet people. By learning Japanese, you'll become part of a community of around 128 million Japanese speakers.
The Advantages of Learning Japanese with a Private Tutor
For learning foreign languages, a private tutor can come with a lot of advantages. For one, you can learn exactly what you want in a way that works for you.
Tailored Japanese Lessons
The very best private Japanese tutors will ensure that your learning plan is adapted to you, your goals, and your preferred learning style. Every student is different and when learning languages, tailoring every class to the student can ensure that they learn much more quickly and effectively.
Learn Japanese More Quickly
Students who work with a private language tutor will likely learn more quickly than those in larger group classes. Since every minute of every class is spent with just one student (at least in one-on-one tutoring), they can enjoy far more opportunities to practise their new language.
Find out about private Japanese tutoring in Christchurch.
Personalised Feedback
After every activity, your private Japanese tutor can offer you feedback. When learning languages, we actually learn more from what we get wrong than what we get right.
Your tutor can tell you where you're going wrong, show you what you can do to fix any errors and provide you with more opportunities to work on the aspects of the Japanese language that you find the most difficult.
Tutors are Motivators
Tutors have a much closer working relationship with their students than teachers with many different students. This means that they're far more invested in your success and while this isn't to say that teachers don't care about their students, tutors aren't as often pressured to just ensure their students get a particular result on an exam.
Working this closely with their students allows tutors to better motivate their students, which is really important when learning a language, especially one as challenging as Japanese.
Learning any language can be frustrating, especially at the beginning when you need to do so much work just to become remotely conversational in the language. With a private Japanese tutor, you'll have someone to have your back when learning Japanese inevitably gets difficult or demoralising.
The Disadvantages of Learning Japanese with a Private Tutor
As you've just seen, there are plenty of advantages to learning Japanese with a private tutor, but that doesn't mean there aren't any downsides.
The Cost
This is often the biggest downside for anyone considering learning a foreign language with a private tutor.
Private Japanese tutors tend to offer a premium service and they can't really reduce the cost of their classes by taking on more students at a time.
You can save money by opting for group tutoring, but this will mean that you lose a lot of the benefits that come with being the only student in your class.
No Opportunities for Peer Learning
When teaching languages, it can be really useful for students to work with one another to practice their new language skills and learn from one another.
Some students can feel shy about practising, especially speaking, the target language with their teacher, especially given the fact that their teacher or tutor's level is far beyond their own.
Find out about private Japanese tutoring in Auckland.
Limited Exposure to Different Accents
Learning a language from just one person means that you'll only really get to speak with one person. This means that you won't get to hear or experience different accents and become familiar with them.
Students who've learned Japanese from just one private tutor are likely to be in for a shock when they start speaking with other Japanese speakers.
A good tutor will mitigate this effect, though, by giving their students experience with different accents and using a wide variety of Japanese language resources that show them the differing accents and dialects used by speakers of the language.
Unstructured Learning
While tutors can tailor their lessons and courses to their students, in some cases, the lessons and overall learning may be less structured than what you get with a curriculum or syllabus.
For some students, this can work, but when a student isn't sure of what they want from their lessons, it can be difficult for private tutors to offer an obvious path for students to progress along.
This is why it's so important that you work out why you want to learn Japanese and what for before you start looking for and contacting private tutors.
Is It Worth Getting a Japanese Tutor in Wellington?
For us, we believe the benefits of private Japanese tutoring far outweigh the downsides, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be aware of them.
Learning a language like Japanese is complicated and while there's no single solution that works for every student, working with a private tutor is one of the better ways to achieve your language learning goals.
You should still use other resources alongside your tutoring and since it can take thousands of hours of study and practice to gain a decent level in Japanese, you need to do everything you can to progress.
How Much Should a Japanese Tutor Cost in Wellington?
No two tutors are alike so you can never really say how much a tutor will cost. While the average cost for Japanese tutors in Wellington on the Superprof site is $33 an hour, you need to take several factors into account.
Generally, the lower the level, the less you'll need to pay for Japanese tutoring. Absolute beginners won't usually pay as much for their lessons as advanced speakers.
You'll also pay a premium for experience and the tutors who've been teaching Japanese the longest will often have higher rates than those new to tutoring.
Qualifications will also affect the price. Qualified tutors have invested time and money into their education and this can be seen in their rates.
Local supply and demand also affect the costs of tutors and different cities around New Zealand will experience different fluctuations in the prices for tutors depending on how many tutors are available, how many students are interested in learning Japanese, and how much the cost of living is in a particular place.
Online Japanese tutoring is usually cheaper than face-to-face tutoring since the tutors don't have to travel as much and can schedule more sessions in a week.
How Do I Find a Good Japanese Tutor in Wellington?
The best way to find a good Japanese tutor in Wellington is by doing your research. Start by asking yourself some important questions.
You'll need to think about why you want to learn Japanese, how quickly you want to learn, how much time and money you can commit to learning the language, and how you like to learn.
Only once you've answered these questions can you really begin your search for potential tutors. Start by browsing tutors' profiles on sites like Superprof and other tutoring sites and shortlist the tutors that you believe would be suitable.
Don't just pick the first tutor that looks like they'd be a good fit. Once you have a few tutors to contact, get in touch with them, discuss what you're looking for in a tutor and make sure they have the right answers to your questions.
Many of the tutors on Superprof offer the first lesson for free so when you've chatted with a few tutors that you believe would be right for you, try their free lessons to help you decide.
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