Testimonials from Students

Received a few touching testimonials from students and would like to share with all.

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To become a Japanese teacher while you are a true blue Singaporean and staying in Singapore is no easy feat. When I first come across Can-sensei’s post on HWZ forum while looking for a Japanese school, I was a little sceptical about how well can a Singaporean teach Japanese. Given that the other Japanese language school in Singapore are well-established, with structure and curriculum in place, with all native Japanese teacher and lots supporting reviews and websites. So I did not immediately notice him, but while looking through the forum for reviews and tips with regards to Japanese language school, it did not take me long to notice that his presence was constant throughout the forum posts. And sometimes he also gives out advice about other well-known language schools, so I decided to visit his website and I felt that maybe I could give it a try.

So after contacting him through Whatsapp, I could tell that he treats the whole learning Japanese business very seriously and commits to it full time. My thoughts about private language teachers are more along the line of part time or ad-hoc basis, so again that left some strong impression. On the day of the trial class he was not feeling well, but he tries to teach and was very detailed about ensuring the pronunciation for the Hiragana characters must be correct. Although I did not had any experience with other Japanese language school, I felt that I could feel his sincerity as well as his passion towards Japanese language, as such my friend and I decided to embark on learning Japanese language with Can-sensei.

I appreciate how he put effort to develop foundation material which is like a “bridging” before moving on the first chapter of Minna no Nihongo I. Other schools may also be doing that, I am not sure, but my experience with another language school was not as great for their trial, given that they are too popular, they do not respond to my request until much later and only given that one specific slot within one month, the next one would be far away.

To add on, from the trial I can tell that Can-sensei’s knowledge about Japanese culture is very rich, he covers the nuances of Japanese well beyond the context of textbook and is able to further explain based on the context of the lesson.

I feel that being a Singaporean, he understands the difficulty of learning Japanese and thus he is able to share useful tips on how to tackle the lessons. He will first give an introduction to the chapter, follow by explaining the main points before going through examples. I personally felt that the lessons are to the point and the class size is very cosy. Although the class is not conducted in classroom setting, the trade-off of not having actual classroom complete with projectors and screen, the size made up for this. And aside from events like open house, majority of the time there would be no difference from being in a classroom.

Can-sensei always emphasize on the basics and the importance of having time to do self-revision, he tries to make it interesting by introducing drama and games to the class as well as encouraging conversation in Japanese. I do think that this type of style is not for the faint-hearted, be really sure to commit to Japanese as part of daily regime if you do want to join his class. He also spends time to do detailed analysis of the sentence pattern and question types and always willing to explain and brainstorm with you, especially so if he had not come across that word before.

Sensei always teach with the future chapters in mind as he hopes that students can benefit more from his teaching as well as believing in the potential of the students. Instead of teaching at the level equivalent to the lesson, which may bore you in the beginning and stresses you later, he will push a little more by teaching something more advance earlier on, so that when we reach the future chapters, we will be prepared to take on the more advanced material. As learning a language will only get tougher as we move towards the advanced level.

The way the classes are taught is very efficient and straight to the point as he expects that you also take ownership in your own learning. Thus the time spend in class would be learning new things as well as to clarify doubts. This is also done to reduce the time spent in class and so that you can progress efficiently without spending more money because by reducing “minimum number of classes” you need before JLPT. So instead of having a 3 hour class to go through examples by examples he conduct his classes with shorter hours to keep the cost lower for his class.

He is willing to help you to grow and learn in the area of interest and is flexible in learning beyond the textbooks. When you ask him for recommendation, he always have good recommendations and he will share tips with us outside of class. He is also concerned about the balance between study and play, he will inform us of any upcoming Japanese events so that we can appreciate Japanese culture outside of class and textbooks.

I am grateful to have met Can-sensei in my Japanese language learning journey and fulfilled my long time desire to learn Japanese.

-Eileen
Former student from Intermediate class
Stopped classes due to heavy workload in university and work
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I have been studying with Can-sensei for about half a year. Can-sensei is very passionate about Japan. He always is ready to tell us about the different things in Japan, like the many regions and what they are famous for. Sometimes I wonder if he is already Japanese! 

He also wants the best for his students. He accommodated for my situation when I was looking for a job, by helping me with resumes and job offers. Can-sensei is not all work and no play, he is very friendly and engaging. The small group sizes also helps with this friendly atmosphere. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

I am only at the beginner level, but Can-sensei really motivates me to improve. I have seen glimpses of how proficient and natural sounding Can-sensei is with more difficult Japanese language and it is really inspiring. Can-sensei, looking forward to learning more from you!

-Benjamin S
From Beginner class
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Japanese can be a very difficult language to learn and it can get daunting when going to class after class does not yield any significant improvement in proficiency. I have a friend whom I know have only been learning Japanese for a very short time and yet he was able to put words together so when I asked him who his teacher was, I was introduced to Can-sensei. After going for a trial lesson, I decided to enrol full-time and since then I have been enriched. Can-sensei inspires because being a non-native user, he has already mastered the language at a relatively young age. I am also very impressed that he made his own textbooks. Can-sensei’s knowledge allows him to answer questions that are beyond the confinement of the learning material. For all the people out there who have a genuine desire to learn Japanese, I hope you will get to know him and embark on a fulfilling learning journey.

-Eden F
From Beginner class