Shizuoka Speaks

Conversations about language learning & culture in Shizuoka City, Japan

The People

Jyouji

Top

Jyouji is a half Japanese, half Chinese student in Shizuoka. One of his favorite hobbies is beatboxing, which he taught himself by watching videos on YouTube. He is now starting his second year of high school in Shizuoka City. At the time of the interview, he was 15 years old.

Natsumi

Top

Natsumi is a half Japanese half Filipino student. She was 15 years old at the time of the interview. She is now starting her second year of high school in Shizuoka City. Natsumi loves singing and wants to be a singer someday. Her favorite song is “Vision of Love,” by Mariah Carey. In the future, though, she wants to sing rock.

Kotomi

Top

Kotomi is a young Japanese woman who graduated with a degree in International Relations from Shizuoka University in Shizuoka City. While she was in university, she spent a year studying and volunteering in the Philippines. She also has experience teaching foreign junior high school students Japanese. At the time of the interview, she was 24 years old.

Susan

Top

Susan is a Japanese junior high school English teacher in Shizuoka City. She loves traveling and is a big fan of Shimizu S-Pulse, a famous soccer team in Shizuoka City.

Hakamada Sensei

Top

Hakamada Sensei is the principal of Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin, a Japanese language institute in Shizuoka City. She really enjoys watching foreign films. In her opinion, independent movies are better than Hollywood blockbusters.

Nishigai Sensei

Top

Nishigai Sensei is a teacher at a secondary language institute affiliated with Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin. She teaches both the Japanese language and training courses for students who want to teach Japanese back in their home countries. She loves using songs for teaching and has a good singing voice.

Kobayashi Sensei

Top

Kobayashi Sensei is an English teacher at a secondary language institute affiliated with Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin. Before teaching English language courses at the institute, she taught TOEIC training courses. Her major in university was education, with an emphasis on educational methods.

Ria

Top

Ria is a young Indonesian woman who graduated from Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin, a Japanese language institute in Shizuoka City, in March 2010. At the time of the interview, she was 28 years old. She is currently working on her master’s degree at Shizuoka University, studying sustainable environmental awareness programs between Japan and Indonesia. She loves listening to all kinds of music.

Phan

Top

Phan graduated from Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin in March 2011 and is now starting university in Nagoya, Japan. At the time of the interview, he was 19 years old. He is a big anime fan, with Doraemon and Naruto being two of his favorite animations. He also likes playing video games. Phan hails from Ho Chih Minh City, Vietnam.

Manasi

Top

Manasi is a native of Delhi, India. She studied English literature at the University of Delhi and enjoys acting, especially performing for theatre. She studied at Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin for about a year and a half after studying Japanese in India for a few years. At the time of the interview, she was 22 years old and living in Shizuoka City. She has since returned to India.