Japanese Tutors | JLPT | Japanese courses & Lessons

Japanese Tutors & Japanese Lessons

An Ancient tongue, also known to the Japanese as “日本語 – Nihongo” is spoken by over 125 million people living across the Japanese archipelago and in immigrant communities abroad, notably Brazil. Although it has a relatively simple grammar system, and what has been regarded as a typically ‘pure’ pronunciation (i.e. no dipthongs), the language is distinguished by a complex level system. In this system, the interlocutors’ forms of speech may vary – including verb forms and vocabulary – depending upon the status of the speakers and of any other persons mentioned. Our Japanese Tutors can help build your Japanese speaking and reading skills and work towards the proficiency exams.

Traditional “Kanji” characters are derived from the Chinese alphabet of which up to three thousand kanji are regularly used to convey meanings in sentences. Kanji are often combined with “Kana”, the modern Japanese characters which have two syllabaries (Hiragana and Katakana), which are used to denote grammar. They contain 46 basic characters that represent one sound. In addition, these scripts are used with “Romanji” for Romanised words that are incorporated into modern Japanese. Most Japanese sentences contain kanji and hiragana, while some also use katakana, sometimes all in the same line. This mixing of scripts and the large number of traditional kanji characters makes Japanese fairly difficult to learn and therefore requires an ongoing commitment.

When engaging with Japanese people, it is essential to understand the culture’s manners and politeness, which range from respecting family hierarchies and privacy, to refraining from pointing and learning how to bow. Japan is also a world leader in pop culture through its famous anime movies and TV shows and J-Pop music artists. Listening to Japanese music or watching anime is a fun and effective way to grasp the language and its structure outside of language lessons.

Japanese Tutors & Lessons in London

Non-native speakers can take the official Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), which is the largest of its kind in the world. Companies and schools can use it to ascertain your Japanese language ability, and it can also assist with preferential immigration to Japan through the government’s points-based system. This test contains five levels: N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5, with the difficulty in ascending order. It covers vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening, with a focus on day-to-day communication. The JLPT also offers a Can-do Self-Evaluation List that can be used to determine your own level of Japanese.

Japanese Courses and Tuition Online

Mayfair Consultants offers fully-qualified Japanese tutors for private tuition across London. Our tutors are either native or fluent Japanese speakers who use interactive and immersive approaches, focussing on extending clients’ vocabularies while perfecting their pronunciation and writing. Many of our tutors use literary materials, as well as online, journalistic and other non-fiction sources, as part of their instruction tools. We work with learners of all ages and abilities, including those preparing for Japanese GCSE, A-Level and IB exams, and those acquiring the language for research, travel or business purposes.

If you would like to arrange Japanese lessons or have any questions about our courses or tuition services, please call us on Tel: +44 (0) 207 665 6606 or you can send us an email via our contact form.

Useful Japanese Language Resources

https://www.jlpt.jp/e/ – The Japanese Language Proficiency Test

https://www.yesjapan.com/ – Japanese Books and Online Courses

https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/japanese/ – BBC Japanese

https://www.ajalt.org/english/ – The Association for Japanese Language Teaching

https://www.jpf.org.uk/language/ – The Japan Foundation

https://dajf.org.uk/japan-house/background?lang=en – The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan/japanworkbook/language/lsp.htm – Contemporary Japan Workbook

https://www.japansociety.org.uk/rsn/ – Primary Japanese Language Project

https://www.tofugu.com/ – Japanese Language Resources

https://www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/languages/japanese/ – SOAS University of London Japanese Language Centre

https://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/japanese – University of Oxford Japanese Language Centre