Practice for Teachers of Japanese: Keeping Your Own Japanese Sharp
If you teach Japanese at a school or university outside Japan and Japanese isn’t your first language, regular practice with a native speaker is the simplest way to keep your own Japanese sharp. Teachers usually want three things: natural, up-to-date spoken Japanese (including the casual speech students hear in anime and social media), confidence with pitch accent and keigo, and a native check on the materials, letters and emails they write. Many also work towards JLPT N1, or need support for a school trip or exchange with a sister school in Japan.
What teachers of Japanese typically work on
| Area | Why it matters in the classroom |
|---|---|
| Natural speech | Students ask “do people really say that?” Keeping up with how Japanese people speak today helps you answer. |
| Pronunciation and pitch | Students copy your model. See Japanese pitch accent. |
| Explaining grammar simply | Talking through tricky points (は vs が, transitive pairs) with a native speaker gives you better examples. |
| Keigo | Needed for letters to partner schools and for senior students preparing for work. See keigo basics. |
| JLPT N1 | Some schools and employers ask for it, and it keeps your reading strong. See JLPT N1 study plan. |
A native check on what you write
- Worksheets, tests and slides: a quick check for unnatural phrasing or outdated expressions. See Japanese proofreading.
- Letters and emails to a sister school, host families or a Japanese principal, in the right register. See how to write a letter in Japanese.
- Speech contest scripts for your students. See speech contest preparation.
School trips and exchanges
Taking students to Japan or hosting a Japanese school group involves a lot of communication: planning emails, welcome speeches, school visits and host family meetings. A native speaker can help you prepare, and an interpreter can support the visit itself. See interpreters for school and university delegations and hosting a Japanese exchange student.
Fitting practice into a teacher’s week
- One or two short lessons a week during term, more in the holidays.
- Bring real material: the lesson you’re teaching next week, a student question you couldn’t answer, a letter you need to send.
- Use Japanese only in your lessons, so you get the practice you give your students.
How Hanabuddies can help
Our native tutors teach one-to-one online and can shape lessons around what you teach: natural conversation, pitch and keigo, JLPT N1, and a native check on your materials and letters. For school trips and exchanges we can also translate documents and provide English–Japanese interpreters in person or online.