I’m back! A few weeks ago I was finally able to submit my dissertation, and although I’m still waiting on the results from the review committee, I’m done for the time being. Thank you all for bearing with me during my absence. It was delightful to see the community’s continued growth over the past few months (4,5k now!) even when I wasn’t able to post.
So what’s next? For now, I’m planning on dividing the bulk of my time and energy between three activities, all geared towards creating Japanese language content.
Teaching
I’ve been tutoring 1-on-1 online for a while now, but because the demand always exceeded the supply, I never publicly announced anything about my teaching activities. Now that I have more time, I’m opening up 10 more slots from September for intermediate and advanced learners.
Sessions are 55 minutes each and focus mainly on reading fiction and non-fiction in the Japanese original, but can also cover a wide range of other topics or skills, such as conversation or how one uses a Japanese dictionary. Sessions are available in batches of 12 (think of it as a semester), with fixed dates that we agree upon before the first session. Depending on the demand, I can also accommodate small groups of up to 5 people.
My sessions are never very formal or rigid, but are more about exploring and getting lost in the Japanese materials together. My goal is to help people become independent learners and readers by presenting the tools and methods that have worked for me over the years. In these sessions, big efforts will lead to great rewards, making mistakes is encouraged, and having fun while doing it is a must. If you’re interested in taking lessons with me and want to know more about availability and pricing, please reply to this email.
YouTube
I started a YouTube channel a while back and plan on posting more frequently in the weeks and months to come. Many of you liked my video on how I learn kanji, so I’ll link to it below (I’ve since added links to all the books I mention in the description of the video). Please subscribe and share, and let me know in the comments (here or on YouTube) what kind of content you would like me to make. Anything from Q&As, practical tips on tackling specific aspects of Japanese language learning, my own personal background, how to read long sentences, etc. Anything goes and I need your input to make this an amazing channel. Many thanks in advance!
Oh, by the way, I also made an appearance on Joshua Thomson’s channel ジョシュアinロンドン the other day. Joshua is a really interesting creator who interviews mostly people who, like himself, grew up in Japan but do not look Japanese and asks them about their experiences. His channel has been growing fast over the past few weeks. Please check out our collaboration and the rest of his channel by clicking on the video below (best enjoyed on the YouTube website).
Substack
As you may have noticed this morning, I started posting the snippets again. I’ll continue posting them once a week on Saturday mornings. I’ll also use the newsletter to keep you posted on my activities on other platforms. Hope you enjoy!
That’s it from me for now. If you’d like to support the platform and my other endeavors, please keep liking and sharing my content. If you’d like to support the platform in the form of a donation, please click here. Thank you for your consideration.
Yay, my congratulations! As a fellow PhD student (don't know how I ended up here), I'd love to hear a story about your dissertation experience if you don't mind sharing ^_^ How was it? What was the most difficult part in your opinion?
I wasn't sure if I should put my Japanese studies on hold but since you're back to posting weekly newsletters, I think I'll continue my Japanese studies using each newsletter as my study guide! Congrats on completing your dissertation!
Congrats on completing your dissertation! That's a major accomplishment!
I am looking forward to continuing to struggle with the snippets you send, as my level in Japanese is still way too low to be able to read full books, but I hope to get there some day.
Yay, my congratulations! As a fellow PhD student (don't know how I ended up here), I'd love to hear a story about your dissertation experience if you don't mind sharing ^_^ How was it? What was the most difficult part in your opinion?
Hahah I think none of us know how we ended up here...I'd love to share my experiences, thanks for the suggestion!
I'd be interested in the Japanese lessons for sure, specially now that I'm done with university for now.
Hi Jill! Excellent! Could you send me an email by replying to the one you got through the newsletter so we can discuss details?
I wasn't sure if I should put my Japanese studies on hold but since you're back to posting weekly newsletters, I think I'll continue my Japanese studies using each newsletter as my study guide! Congrats on completing your dissertation!
I'm glad I was able to keep you studying, just in the nick of time! Thanks so much for your congratulatory words :)
Welcome back! Looking forward to see Japanese readingmaterials and posts from you.
Thanks so much!
Glad to see that you're back! Looking forward to seeing more from you! 😁
Thank you Kali, stay tuned ;)
Congrats on completing your dissertation! That's a major accomplishment!
I am looking forward to continuing to struggle with the snippets you send, as my level in Japanese is still way too low to be able to read full books, but I hope to get there some day.
Thanks for your work and your help!