Misao

Misao-sensei strikes the perfect balance between structure and spontaneity to make learning both effective and fun. With my uneven Japanese foundation from years in Japan and self-study, finding the right curriculum was difficult. Misao-sensei has been of great help in addressing this challenge: she crafted two custom study plans (aggressive vs. relaxed pacing) to address my gaps and support my part-time studies. In class, she deftly senses when I’ve missed a word and smoothly repeats it in English, uses visual tools like whiteboards to clarify concepts (e.g. kanji radicals), and checks comprehension with spot questions to solidify retention. And yet, lessons flow naturally, touching on everything from hobbies to Japanese culture. If you’ve struggled to find a class that suits your unconventional learning path, I suspect you’ll benefit greatly from studying with Misao-sensei too!

I enjoyed learning some new kanji today and seeing how they are used on Japanese products based on the season. Misao-san demonstrates beautiful Kanji with stroke order and count.

We spent time writing sentences and learning how to talk about houses. Misao has always had great book recommendations and as a result I can write in hiragana quickly! Cannot recommend her enough to someone who wants to learn Japanese.

The lesson with Misao-sensei was awesome. We started off class with basic conversation and I showed her a book I have of Japanese music arranged for Jazz piano. We then studied how to use modifiers to describe the book. Afterwards, we sang the song Furusato because it was the first song in it. She explained the lyrics and cultural significance. It was a really good way to learn vocabulary, pronunciation, cultural information, and hopefully connect with people musically in the future :) We also talked about art. I appreciate how she customized the lesson based on my interests and uses music. I recommend her classes! ありがとうございます

Misao Sensei's classes are highly immersive and very rewarding. She is very adaptive to her students needs, and I really enjoy her method for teaching kanji. It is fun to learn about each character like a little story or a puzzle. Her passion for this subject is contagious, and I am looking forward to continuing my language journey with Misao Sensei!

Misao is a wonderful and friendly teacher, very well prepared and able to tailor the lesson to your interests and level of Japanese. She is very encouraging and uses interesting materials.