I studied with Natsuko-san for about 2 years. I think very highly of her as a teacher, and as a Christian woman trying to impact her country for Jesus. She is motivated by the desire to see Christian missionaries learn Japanese well, so that they can communicate about Jesus effectively. Additionally, she is a widow with one daughter, so I am very motivated to encourage new students to study with her as a way of providing her with income for her and her daughter.

 

At the same time, I consider her an excellent teacher of the Japanese language, even without regard to her motivation and her family situation. She has many years of professional training and experience, so she can teach with the traditional teacher-directed approach found in traditional schools. Yet, unlike many Japanese school teachers, she is flexible and open to suggestions, very willing to make the class-time to be a combination of teacher-directed and student-directed. When I was studying with her, she was willing on several occasions throughout the 2 years to change class time-usage, textbooks, and her teaching/interaction methods to suit my desires and needs. I really appreciated that, since I wanted specifically to learn how to communicate biblical concepts, personal feelings and opinions, and things that would help me succeed in communication as a missionary.

 

Bottom line, I think she's a great teacher. She also became a good friend of our family during that time. I really hope you consider studying Japanese with Natsuko-san.

 

 

When I think of Natusko-san, I think of two descriptors--a seasoned, highly skilled teacher who works well with foreigners and a mature, humble believer who loves Jesus and people. Her servant-leader teaching style is contrasted with the traditional top-down Japanese educational style--where what the teacher says and how he/she leads always goes. This is not to say that she is unable to direct and teach in the traditional sense. On the contrary, she is a highly capable, skilled and trained teacher, well able to direct students in excellent Japanese instruction, given that this suits the student's learning style and helps meet their language learning goals. Her humility is displayed in that one of her highest values is helping a student meet their own personal language goals, even if this involves making adjustments to different teaching methods!

 

When I entered part-time language training, I had limited motivation to learn Japanese as a new mom recovering from depression and limited time with the care of our 7-month old infant. My learning style was less traditional and more aligned with the LAMP method (individualized student-lead learning based on the practical language needs of the learner, with a focus on repetition and relevance). I went from a few months of traditional class to one-on-one training where she was willing to learn a completely new teaching style to help me meet my educational goals. She is constantly striving to improve her service to the Lord and people by developing her teaching skills. At the beginning of our classes with her, she emphasized pronunciation and intonation training for both the beginner and intermediate classes, knowing that early-on accuracy in pronunciation is key in communicating to the Japanese. Later, I learned that this part of her training came as a direct result of feedback from previous foreign students requesting this skill development, which illustrates her humility and unique desire to internalize students' feedback to better her instruction.

 

Natsuko-san was one of the stongest supports for me when our daughter died part-way during language school in many ways. Her love for Jesus and life of extreme faith in Japan was evident when she responded in obedience to God when He lead her to serve Him as a teacher to missionaries, with a particular heart for missionary wives. I was incredibly blessed to be her student. And over the years, she has become a very dear sister and friend to me.