Learning the Japanese language can certainly be intimidating to native English speakers. Getting the hang of some basic conversational Spanish in school was easy: the alphabet is the same and so is most of the pronunciation. Japanese is a lot tougher though, so additional help such as a tutor can be a big help.
How do you learn Japanese online with a tutor? Use one of these websites:
- Italki
- Verbling
- Varsity Tutors
- Preply
- Wyzant
Keep reading to comparison shop these services before you sign up. You’ll also gain some additional helpful tips on learning the Japanese language.
How to Find a Tutor
Everybody thinks they are an expert at the language they speak. However, just because you can speak a language does not mean you will be excellent at teaching it to others. While there are a ton of language tutors online, finding a good one is the hard part. That is especially true with Japanese. The following websites are each good for finding a Japanese language tutor.
Italki
Italki is pretty much exactly what you are looking for in a language tutor service. They boast over 10,000 tutors, 442 of them Japanese. Lessons are 1 on 1 so you can get 100% of the experience and have it catered towards you and your needs on a schedule that works for the both of you. Do not worry, you are not getting assigned a tutor at random either, as each tutor is listed with information such as:
- Photo
- Student reviews
- Introductory video
- Daily availability
- Hourly rate (including a trial rate for first timers)
- Background
- How many lessons they have taught
Another nice thing about Italki is that you pay per lesson, so you do not have to worry about recurring charges.
On the Japanese side of things, new teachers are being added everyday with a large variety of backgrounds. These include both native speakers and those who teach or study the language professionally and academically. Generally speaking, the more “professional” or technical of a tutor you get, the more expensive the hourly rate. All in all, they are rather affordable, with hourly rates ranging anywhere from around $6 to $25.
https://www.verbling.com/
Verbling is similar in its 1 on 1 approach via high definition accessible video chat. However, the site really strives to create a dynamic learning environment orbiting around that main experience. Additional features you may find helpful include:
- Text chat to practice written language education as well as sharing audio and video files
- Multi device support so you can bring your lesson on the road during travel or whenever else you cannot be in front of your home PC
- Other tools helpful to language education, such as collaborative textpads and vocabulary review
- Specific hourly breakdown of availability shown before hiring
While they do not offer a pay as your go experience, they do have a helpful trial program. Japanese teachers on the site are quite a bit more expensive than Italki, with the average being about $20 per hour. However, many will find the supplemental features will make this educational experience too good to pass up.
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors prides itself on the quality of its tutors and makes it known that these are mostly Ivy League talent. They also interview and check other background information on each tutor. While the background on some (though certainly not all) of the tutors on Italki and Verbling may essentially be “Yes I speak Japanese,” that would not fly at Varsity Tutors. Also, perhaps most important of all, they only focus on teaching Japanese and no other languages.
If virtual tutoring is not really your thing, they also offer in person tutoring options. While of course the number of educators in your local area will not be as many as on the world wide web, they still offer a decent variety where they can. All scheduling is still done on the Varsity Tutors platform for your convenience.
Finally, Varsity Tutors will not just give you a list and brief description and have you do the work of finding the best tutor if you do not want to. Instead, they will start out by giving you a brief questionnaire to find the tutor that is right for you. Questions will include:
- Are you getting the tutor for yourself or someone else?
- Why do you need to learn Japanese? (like business trips or as a hobby for example)
- Current knowledge of the language
- Which of the following is most important?
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking
- All of the above
- How soon do you need tutoring
- Basic contact information
Preply
Preply has the rare combination of offering tutors from all over the world (185 countries) while still maintaining affordability for its clients. They have hundreds of tutors in quite a few languages (although their label of “Chinese” instead of “Mandarin” and “Cantonese” may be a cause for concern). All tutors are certified and verified to make sure they are legitimate.
When it comes to Japanese especially, Preply puts a big focus on pronunciation so you can make sure you sound natural on that next business meeting in Tokyo. Also, like Varsity Tutors, they want to get to know a little bit about you before they start letting you shop around for a specific tutor. If you think about it, that helps you get your choice right the first time and hence saves you and their tutors time and money.
Wyzant
Wyzant has a combination of the attributes of its competition above, such as:
- Easy to find reviews for each tutor
- Varying but listed levels of experience
- Both online and in person options
- Pay as you go rather than subscription
All of the tutors on this site are marketed as professional, which makes them good for your brain but not necessarily good for your wallet. Prices average around $40 an hour. But their focus is only on teaching you Japanese in a simple, effective way. Another nice advantage of Wyzant is that you do not have to pay a dime for your lesson until after it is complete.
Getting the Most Out of the Tutor Experience
Here is the thing: you are not simply sitting in a classroom with 30 other students and falling asleep like when you were a kid. This is 1 on 1, so both you and the tutor are clearly here because you want to be. You want to learn Japanese and the tutor wants to help you to do that. To that end, here is some helpful advice to keep in mind when you start your Japanese language education:
- Build a repour
- If you do not know, ask
- Know your goals ahead of time
- Do not feel tied down
1. Build a Repour
If you keep the conversation 100 percent professional, it is going to be difficult for both of you to open up and ask questions. It will also be difficult for your tutor to know you are struggling. No one is saying you need to be best friends but keep it friendly and open so you can get the best possible education. Also, try to stick with the same tutor unless their style is really not working for you. It is generally a bad idea to switch tutors in the middle of learning a complicated language like Japanese and have to go back to square one.
2. If You Do Not Know, Ask
One on one tutors, after all, are here to help you. Keeping you satisfied in your Japanese language education ensures that they have good reviews and keep earning income. Therefore, if you are not 100 percent sure on something like a verb conjugation or particular character explanation, just ask. Not knowing something basic almost certainly will hinder your ability to learn something more complex later on.
3. Know Your Goals Ahead of Time
Before you hire a Japanese tutor, you should figure out what you are hoping to get out of this before you begin. For some of these sites you will need to answer a questionnaire, so you need to know these things ahead of time. Ask yourself:
- How deep do I want to go in my knowledge of Japanese? Do I just want to learn it from a basic conversational standpoint? Or do I want to be able to read and write fluently as well?
- Do I want to learn from a native speaker or from someone who has studied the language academically?
- Do I want a tutor with advanced knowledge in a particular field? For example, if you work for an aeronautics company with a factory in Tokyo, you may want to consider a tutor with at least some additional aeronautics or physics background.
- How long do I want to do this? Do I want a couple months of basic skills? Or do I want years of true mastery?
- What is my availability? If a tutor you like does not have matching availability with you, it does not really matter how qualified they are.
4. Do Not Feel Tied Down
Even though it is not a great idea to change horses midstream, if you really do not care for a tutor and are not learning anything, it is even worse. Although these courses are 1 on 1 and therefore it might feel awkward to end your sessions with your current tutor, it does not make sense to keep paying your hard-earned money for something that is not delivering. Respectfully end your meetings and leave an honest review. Then find someone else. Ideally, you will not even have to leave the platform.
Non-Tutor Based Online Courses
If you have read this far and explored the above sites but none of them feels right to you, it may be that using a tutor to learn Japanese is not a good fit. It is not for everybody. If that is so, there are still plenty of other programs and resources available to teach yourself Japanese.
Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone is a program that has been teaching people foreign languages like Japanese since we were still installing CD-ROMs into our Windows 95 equipped computers. Nowadays they offer highly affordable plans like the $8 per month for 12-month option. Or there is the one-time payment of $200 for a lifetime of unlimited languages.
Rosetta Stone online is able to dynamically tailor lessons to your abilities using things like:
- Accent instant feedback
- Optional learning plans
- Small lessons to do at your own pace
In addition, if you still want a human touch once in a while, they give you the option to have a coach check in every so often to make sure you are progressing in the right direction.
FluentU
If you do not feel like spending all that money on Rosetta Stone, there are alternatives. FluentU is a bit cheaper and has a rather different approach. While both try to immerse you in the language of Japanese with very little English, FluentU does it with real content as examples. For instance, you will be given videos such as:
Then FluentU will provide supplementary lessons and explanations so you can learn while being entertained. Learning is a lot easier when it is made to be a fun activity rather than into a sometimes-boring lesson plan. It even includes a 14-day free trial so you can test it out.
Rocket Languages
Rocket Language is another neat alternative program to learn Japanese. Here you will be tested along the way to make sure that you are actually retaining knowledge that you will need for future lessons. That way you will not be confused later on. There is also an emphasis on taking what you learn and articulating it out loud during your session to make sure it is sounding right to you compared to the provided audio.
Another point that Rocket Languages strives to teach is culture. It is not enough, after all, to know how to speak Japanese before traveling to Japan. It also a good idea to read up on the local cultures and customs to make sure you can make your way around and do not risk embarrassing yourself. Luckily Rocket Languages has done that for you by incorporating these skills into its lesson plans.
Other Alternatives to Learn Japanese
If you just want to learn enough Japanese to get by on your next vacation, you probably are not in the mood to pay for all these potentially costly services. In that case, there are a few more laid-back ways to learn some common conversational Japanese.
Ask A Friend
If you have a friend that is already a native Japanese speaker, ask them to give you some pointers. If anything, you can bounce questions off of them especially concerning respectful language and cultural specifics.
Read Children’s Books
This may sound silly but think about it: children’s books always contain the most basic form of a language. Yet they tell a complete story and are designed to help a beginner start learning they language. They also feature pictures which give context as to what is going on. If you are not sure of a noun, for instance, that picture might give you a fairly good idea.
Use Subtitles and Dubbing
Modern cable boxes and streaming services have rather dynamic language options. Following up on FluentU’s game plan, you can always change subtitles on Netflix to Japanese when available. That way you are getting instant translations while having fun.
Similarly, try watching a show you have already seen in Japanese. For example, if you already seen a show like Dragon Ball Z with the English dub, go ahead and watch it in its original Japanese. You already have an idea what is going on and what they are discussing, which in turn will give you major hints as to what they are saying in their native tongue.
Podcasts
Learning Japanese podcasts are available for free download, as their revenue comes from advertising. Podcasters simply offer lessons in stages for you to learn Japanese with varying levels of difficulty. Beware with this method though:
- Free does not always mean better: the quality of these lessons may or may not be up to par.
- Make sure the credentials of these teachers are legitimate. Free often means little background research done.
- It is a one-way experience. There are usually no opportunities for you to be able to ask follow-up questions so things you really need to know may get glossed over.
It depends on the source though. Podcasts like JapanesePod101 actually house information and follow up questions on their website that you can use to track your progress. They also offer premium study tools, like audio comparison and flashcards, as adequate supplementary study material.
Just Go There
The fastest way to learn any new language is the sink or swim method of just going to that country with no training at all. You will have no choice but to use your surroundings and other clues to figure out conversational Japanese to get by and survive. This is a pretty frightening proposition for most people and is not recommended. But for others it is simply the best way to learn Japanese.