Alexander

Alexander Tutor Interview

Q. Hi Alex! Why don’t you start with a quick introduction.

A.Hi! It’s great to have this interview! Some essential things to start off knowing about myself is that I live in California, I’m married with a Japanese wife and am very passionate about learning language. I am a native English speaker, fluent in Spanish and consider myself to have a decent knowledge of Japanese to use in daily life.Cafealk has been a great experience so far because I love meeting new people and sharing unique cultural perspectives on language.

I have worked in many Business Sales jobs and have a Bachelors degree in Communications with an emphasis in Marketing. That means I have a strong knowledge in how to teach key vocabulary used in a professional work environment in the United States. This also means I am very outgoing and not shy when it comes to public speaking. I really enjoy sharing knowledge of the business world to my students who are interested but I also just really enjoy talking about daily life and travel. Movie’s, book’s, news, politics are great discussions to have.

Q. I heard you’re familiar with Japan! Please tell us about your impressions of Japan.

A. Yes! In fact I lived in Japan from the age of 20 to 23. I moved there with my father when he was transferred in the Navy. We lived in Sasebo-shi, Nagasaki. During that time I was able to continue University courses on the base, have a job in a Café working with Japanese people and travel all over Japan. It was the best experience of my life living there. I even ended up getting married to my wife in a Shinto Shrine. Living in Sasebo was a unique experience that opened my eyes to how connected we are in the world. Seeing the American Navy working together with the Japanese Navy gave me much pride. It gave me a great sense of responsibility our countries have to each other. Since then I have always considered Japan my second home.

Q. According to your profile, you’ll move back to Japan soon for your job! What are you going to do first in Japan?

A.Yes that’s right!
I’ll be moving back to Japan as an ALT (Assisted Language Teacher) in the Japanese school system. That means will be in English classes in public schools from Elementary, Junior High and High School. I’m extremely excited to start this job as I know it will help me in my future career path in Japan. I’m also excited because I’ll be able to continue teaching on Cafetalk with the Japanese time zone! When I get back to Japan the first thing I want to do is eat a “Sasebo Burger” again! The combination of Egg and Bacon with a huge patty make it a real special treat everyone should enjoy when visiting.

Q. I saw a picture with you and your wife at the Grand Canyon! Do you have any other recommended places to visit for sightseers?

A. Absolutely come to California! Especially come to San Diego and San Francisco! California is known for some of the best weather in the United States and we also have very nice people because of it.

Q. What are some of the main focus points of your lessons?

A. My main focus is always on pronunciation. Knowing how something is spelled or how it is used grammatically are very important, but in my opinion if you don’t know how to say it then you loose not only comprehension but you loose it’s meaning also.

All languages have personality in their words. Knowing how to say a word the proper way for what it is you’re trying to talk about can help you send the right message the first time without having to repeat yourself or use different vocabulary.

Q. Could you tell us a little bit about your lesson, “News Article Talk”?

A. Yes! This is really one of my favorite lessons. Watching and reading the news can sometimes be a frustrating thing to do when you cant share your opinion about it. This lesson lets us talk about the news freely and openly. I consider myself very open and love to hear all opinions on a subject.

When you pick this lesson we will focus on reading a news article to help in improving pronunciation, vocabulary and comprehension (understanding). Then we will discuss our opinions on what we just read.

Q. Finally, is there anything you would like to share with our students?

A.Over the years what I’ve always realized is that no matter how much you study language, the best way to learn is to live in the language. So make time to travel where you want to go and talk to people when you are there. Use your English as much as possible and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

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Alexander

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