KAKIN Tutor Interview

Q. Hello KAKIN! Please introduce yourself.: A. Hello, my name is KAKIN. I’m from the city of Taichung in Taiwan. My major in university was Japanese Studies. My minor was Korean Studies. Since I studied Japanese myself, I’m good at explaining the difference between Japanese and Chinese. I have so far taught Chinese to Japanese and Vietnamese students. I’m looking forward to meet you at my lesson! I have been interested in foreign cultures since childhood. I’m from the countryside, so I didn’t have the chance to meet foreigners growing up. In high school I spent a lot of time watching Korean TV series and studied Korean by myself. When I enrolled in university I first wanted to major in Korean Studies but my father convinced me to to pick Japanese instead. At first I wasn’t really motivated and my grades weren’t good. My university was in a rural area and I didn’t have the chance to use my Japanese. After I got the opportunity to spend some time in Kyushu, Japan, as an exchange student, I fell in love with the sound of the Japanese language. Compared to Chinese, Japanese has a soft and beautiful sound, I think!
Q. Please tell us more about the city you currently live in.: A. Taichung is the third biggest city in Taiwan. My parents’ house is outside the city in the countryside. Our house is close to the ocean. I can get to the beach in about 20 minutes by bike.
Q. What motivated you to start teaching Chinese?: A. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to become a teacher. After graduating with a degree in Japanese Studies I worked as a Japanese language home tutor. Teaching others also allows me to constantly learn new things. I have the chance to talk to many different people for a living, which I really enjoy.
Q. What do you do on your days off?: A. I like going for a drive with my bike. When I have a day off, I usually make plans to go somehwere. If I have some more free time I travel together with my family. On a recent holiday we went to visit the Zhushan Sky Ladder, a suspension bridge that is very popular with tourists from overseas.
Q. I’m interested in your lesson “Picture Description in Chinese”! Do you teach dictation techniques in this lesson?: A. I had lesson where I would ask the student “How was your day?” and all they said was “I’m good.”. I thought that short answer was a bit sad. Even if they just talk about the news or their friends, that would be fine. Talking about every day topics is a good way to exercise your Chinese! The lesson topic is just as the title suggests. The student describes an image in Chinese. “This is a book. There is water on the table.” Anything is ok! As long as the students describes the image in Chinese. Before each lesson I inform the student about the lesson topic and send them questions. I begin the lesson by talking about the student’s answers. For example: “Where is the place shown on the photo? What do the people think?” I try to motivate my students to talk as much as possible. Every lesson has a different topic (Sports, Vacation, Elections, etc). After the lesson the student receives an audio file and the lesson material. If they use these to review the lesson the new information will be easier to remember.
Q. What are things that you pay attention to during a lesson?: A. I start by asking the student about their study goal, language level and interests, then I create the lesson based on it. Currently, the level of most of my students is intermediate and above. I motivate my students who are intermediate and above to talk as much as possible during the lesson. With them I try to speak as much Chinese as possible when I explain something. I create my own teaching material that I share with the student during the lesson.
Q. Please tell us your tips for students interested in studying Chinese!: A. ①Pronunciation: When speaking Japanese one doesn’t open their mouth very wide. Compared to that, when speaking Chinese the student has to open their mouth wider. For example the pronunciation of “u” in Chinese is similar to the “u” in Japanese, but your mouth has to move differently. The “u” in Chinese looks more like you are trying to kiss someone. Haha ;) ② I encourage you to watch TV shows in Chinese! That’s where you can hear and learn natural sounding Chinese! ③ Decide on a goal! It’s important that you know why you are studying Chinese before you start studying the language. For example: for travel, to pass a test… First, you should decide this for yourself and then start with your studies.
Q.Finally, would you like to leave a message for our students?: A. Thank you to everyone who is taking my lessons. If you decide to study Chinese, I recommend that you integrate your studies in your daily life. My advise to the students is: Please try to talk about what you did today in Chinese. Even if the sentence is very simple. “Today it is hot. Today was a good day.” If you keep doing that you will improve your Chinese. Furthermore I recommend to watch videos. Watch a video in Chinese every day and you will see the effects on your studies.