Online
Trig
Community TutorTeaches
English
Native
Speaks
Japanese
I am an American NCAT-certified public secondary education teacher with 31 years TOESL experience.
Teaches
English
Native
Speaks
Japanese
I am an American NCAT-certified public secondary education teacher with 31 years TOESL experience.
About Me
Me as a Teacher
My lessons & teaching style
Resume & Certificates
From United StatesLiving in Ashikaga, Japan (03:50 UTC+09:00)
About Me
italki teacher since May 3, 2016InterestsBusiness & FinanceTechScienceHistoryMusic
I am an American English teacher living and working in Japan. I have taught ESL (English as a Second Language) at companies, public schools, and universities in the Tokyo area for more than 30 years. I have held the job titles of Foreign Language Instructor, Head Teacher, Assistant Dean, Reading Researcher, Registrar, Writer, Editor, Materials Developer, College Instructor, and Seminar Presenter in English. I have written and published English materials in corporations and online.Me as a Teacher
I have taught English on italki for 5 years. This is a great platform on which to study. I have taught thousands of people from many countries over my teaching career. I have a teaching certificate from the State of Missouri, having graduated from one of the best teaching colleges in the Midwest. My lessons & teaching style
I am usually informal, relaxed, and cheerful. I help people prepare for many things in an English language environment. In addition, I have quite a variety of guides that we can use in our class: English dialogs, discussion topics, questions and answers, role plays, test preparation, job interview questions, conversation suggestion sheets, idiom studies, phrasal verb lists, colloquial expressions, homework assignments, videos, reference and activity web sites, classroom materials, short stories, ESL readings, etc. These I offer you free! I also like the simplicity of doing traditional conversation and chatting about subjects like life, hobbies, and travel!My teaching material
- PDF file
- Flashcards
- Test templates and examples
- Text Documents
- Image files
- Graphs and charts
- Articles and news
- Video files
- Homework Assignments
Certificates
Teaching License - UMC - 1985This is my lifetime public school teaching certificate and license from the State of Missouri, granted in 1983.
Degree Copy - Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois - 1976My Education Degree is from Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois. I was certified to teach in the State of Missouri as a teacher of junior high school and secondary students. My teaching license is considered lifetime and was offered while I was doing my Masters of Arts in Anthopology at Missouri University at Columbia - needing no renewal since it was at the Masters degree level.
Teaching experience
1999 - 2003
Head English Teacher, Asst. Dean of FacultyI started out as an English Conversational Teacher here. I was promoted to the position of Head Teacher at Shinjuku T.I.E. and rose to my highest position of Assistant Dean of Teachers corporate-wide. I hired teachers, wrote and developed materials, and developed new methods and approaches for students to reach business English proficiency and prepare for English proficiency test taking.
2004 - 2015
National Grammarian, Professor, Developer, EditorI performed in many roles in English education programs at the KUMON world headquarters and its school system. I was professor, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, materials editor, area administrator, professional teacher, teacher, and conference/seminar presenter.
Education
1983 - 2024
Master's - Social StudiesMy Masters Degree is in Anthropology from Missouri University-Columbia. My education degree is a B.S. in Education from Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois. My teaching certificate is lifetime and from the State of Missouri, U.S.A.
Work Experience
2004 - 2017
Grammarian of Japan, Teacher, & Content DeveloperI held numerous positions with KUMON night schools and at their world headquarters office. I quite a few things for them. I am a strong proponent of their programs and their English study network and materials. KUMON promote a self-study packet and worksheet approach with English conversation often included. It is an exciting approach.
1990 - 1995
College RegistrarI was Registrar for all college programs at the Central Texas College campuses of Camp Long, South Korea and Camp Zama, Japan.
5.0
Rating
1,048
Students
5,618
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
98%
Response rate
English Lessons
Trial Lesson
308 lessons completed
USD 7.00+
Informal Tutoring
A1 - C2Language Essentials5,233 lessons completed
USD 8.00+
IT PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH COURSE
A2 - C2Conversation61 lessons completed
USD 15.00+
USMLE Step 2 Physicians' Medical Exam in the U.S. Test Preparation
A1 - C2Language Essentials14 lessons completed
USD 10.00+
Availability
1,193 Reviews
Cris Souza
1 English lesson
Teacher’s pick
I loved the lesson, he is very good, prepared, knows how to teach in a fun way
Jul 9, 2019
Lucie
100 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
Trig gave me many suggestions for my resume. We talked a lot about jobs.
Aug 10, 2018
Roy Qiao
1 English lesson
The teacher is rude and unfriendly keep accusing me .If l have responsibility,just 10%,why the teacher keep accusing me?Because l use Facetime and cannot connect him,and he says he waited for 20minutes and called me for20minutes.That’s not true.Since he couldn’t connect me,l firstly contact him and try to find solution (move to Italkiclassrom)Oh why l contact him through Facetime is because l have Facetime account and internet connects to Facetime.And he calling me through SIM.And then he started keeping blaming me.Also said l was beating around the bush,And of course,as soon as he blamed me,l started defending myself.So we just wasted the time for accusations.That’s funny.
Mar 13, 2026
Chris
166 English lessons
Teacher’s pick
Trig is awesome!!!
Aug 15, 2018
ArtyomGorskii
1 English lesson
Nice conversation class with Trig (Richard) on AI and how to make a good AI business on billion dollars. He said a lot of good things about AI, Asian countries and how to make the ideal AI to earn enough money and to help my city and my country and the rest of the world. It was a nice discussion for an hour but it went fast with him that I didn't notice. He is nice, loves joking and he loves fun! I didn't feel nervous with him because he made me laugh, smile and he made me express my opinion on AI and AI business in English which is good because I wanted to express my point of view on more complex, abstract topics. I hope to see him again soon if I wish to continue. Trig is nice, engaging and he makes people smile, laugh and enjoy the lesson because he makes them interesting!
Mar 19, 2026
Lorenza
1 English lesson
Great first lesson
Mar 7, 2026
Trial Lesson
USD 7.00
Your final payment will be made in USD