【Name:S. Y/ Started:March 2022👤📷】
Occupation: Freelance Photographer
Start level: 0→Current level: N4
lessons: Group and Private

【Name: E. N/ Started:July 2023👤🥐】
Occupation: Bakery assistant/University student
Start level: 5→Current level: 5
lessons: Private

Q．What made you study Japanese?

👤📷：I plan go to Japan by Working holiday visa.

👤🥐：I really love the Japanese culture and lifestyle. Everything from the beautiful scenery, to the tasty cuisine. Hopefully I will be able to live there one day but learning the language is the first step in making that happen.

Q．Why did you choose BBIC?

👤📷：Good location, reasonable price and clean website.

👤🥐：Many Japanese tutoring companies in Sydney either had few non-flexible class times which didn’t work with my schedule or only offered classes over zoom which I personally don’t enjoy compared to learning in person. BBIC is within the main city hub and very accessible to university students studying in the city. Additionally, the pricing seemed very reasonable for the services you receive. Although I did consider going with in-person tutors not from companies, I do enjoy that learning is done within a set office space, rather than paying a call-out fee to study at my own home or studying in a public cafe or park where there are multiple distractions.

👤📷：All the staff and teachers are very friendly and the atmosphere of the classes is relaxed and enjoyable. So, when there are any learning problems it is easy to talk to the teachers and ask for help. Teachers will adjust the pace of learning according to the student’s learning situation.

👤🥐：One thing I really like about BBIC private lessons is it is tailored to your own working style. Personally, I like trying to learn the content on my own and then using my time there to revise and practice what I’ve learnt. Obviously there are times when I’m confused by the content but then I just bring in my questions and my teacher is happy to answer. When starting out I was nervous that I would get a strict/harsh teacher but instead I got the opposite and absolutely love coming to classes. Learning a new language is hard and you make a lot of mistakes along the way but the atmosphere is so calm that you are willing to try out speaking even if it doesn’t sound perfect. Content progression is tailored to your own ability but overall you pick up new things fast. Homework can feel like a lot but it’s the right amount if you’re serious about learning Japanese. Besides, sometimes I myself have other life events going on and I’m unable to complete all of it, then my teacher is fine with adjusting the homework load to fit my schedule.

Q．Please let us know what do you do in your lesson? (Please describe in details )

👤📷：Whether it is a private lesson or a group lesson, the learning from the previous lesson is reviewed and homework is checked during the lesson. A lot of Japanese conversations will be held to practice the newly learned Japanese grammar and to practice the student’s Japanese listening and speaking skills.

👤🥐：In preparation for my lessons, I go over all the content in this week’s chapter, memorize the week’s vocabulary and complete the homework sheets.In our lessons, my teacher marks the previous homework and for any mistakes we go through the problems together. We go over pronunciation, sentence structure and when to apply certain phrases to scenarios. Then, we either complete a listening task, do conversation practice or do reading/speaking practice.

Q．Does BBIC experience helped you gain confidence for Japanese？   If yes, may I ask why?

👤📷：Yes, because I feel that my Japanese has been improving through my studies at BBIC, and I also have the opportunity to meet Japanese friends and learn more about Japanese culture, all of which will boost my self-confidence.

👤🥐：Personally, I can be very shy when it comes to speaking in Japanese but the BBIC experience has 100% helped me gain confidence in speaking Japanese. Being able to practice your Japanese with someone who understands your learning and can fix your mistakes can make you feel much more confident to try out phrases outside the classroom setting.

Please rate your satisfaction about BBIC’s lesson (full point is 10) The reason why?

👤📷：10/10
I don’t think there are any points to be deducted, everything is satisfactory.

👤🥐：10/10
Highly satisfied with the BBIC’s lesson, I have even recently increased my learning to twice a week even though they fit so much into just an hour slot.

Q．What do you want to do with Japanese language in the future? / What are your future goals?

👤📷：I plan to be able to get a Japanese N3 certificate when I go to Japan in the next year. I will continue to study Japanese in Japan.

👤🥐：I would love to live in Japan in the future, especially near the countryside where I can enjoy cherry blossoms in spring and go north in winter to ski. Other than wanting to live there, other benefits include it being great for your brain health as knowing/learning another language correlates with lower rates of certain brain diseases such as dementia. Additionally, stating that you know another language on your resume can be seen as a benefit to employers.

Q．Please give me some advise for people who wants to start study Japanese !

👤📷：If you want to learn Japanese, the best time to start is now.

👤🥐：Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn in the world (especially translating from English) so overall don’t feel bogged down if you’re not progressing at the rate you’re expecting to. It does take dedication but being able to practice with someone who not only knows Japanese but is able to teach it from English can help you learn Japanese at a much much faster rate than if you decide to learn through audio files, textbooks and Duolingo (don’t get me wrong, I use those myself but they are not as effective if you can’t practice what you have learnt on a real human being)

＞Big Bridge International College Japanese Language School