Naz

Naz Tutor Interview

Q. Hi, Nazra! please introduce yourself!

A. Myname is Nazra and I’m from Malaysia. I’ve been living in Japan since 1998. I came here to study engineering at Okayama University. I ended up marrying a Japanese man so here I am still living in this lovely city. We don’t have children but we have two adorable Munchkin cats, Lou and Elisa.

Q. I want to know where you live. Could you please tell us about your current city?

A. I currently live in Okayama City. It’s in west Japan, somewhere between Hiroshima and Kobe. We have a lovely Japanese garden called Korakuen which is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Besides the legend of Momotaro and white peaches, Okayama is famous for having plenty of sunshine all year, even in winter.

Q. How do you spend your days off ? Is there anything you’ve gotten into lately?

A. Photography has been my passion since high school so I’m practically taking photos every single day – photos of my cats, food, and some interesting views that I see while I’m running. I’ve been jogging a lot for the past three years with my husband simply to stay fit. Lately, we’ve been playing Pokemon Go too so that’s another fun activity that my husband and I can do together. Don’t worry, we’re very careful about our surroundings when we go out to play :D

Q. Have you studied a foreign language before? Do you think it’s hard to adapt to a different culture without learning its language?

A. I studied Japanese before I came to Japan. It was an intensive 18-month course that we had to take six days a week! Honestly speaking, it would be very difficult to even live in Japan without understanding the language here.At least this was what I experienced when I first came here more than 18 years ago. Although it’s not impossible to make friends and interact with the people here, there will be a time when we can’t seem to have a more thorough discussion. Besides, not many people can speak English here so learning Japanese is definitely a must.

Q. Please tell us about the main feature of your lessons.

A. I teach English and Malay. My lessons are mainly 30 minutes, short and sweet. I also have a 15-minutes Breakfast English lesson which would be great for students to do in the morning before heading off to work or school. For my English lessons, I will speak only in English during the lessons unless it’s really necessary for me to explain in Japanese.

Q. What are you most careful of when you teach your students?

A. For advanced students, the lessons have to be challenging enough. For beginners, I make sure that they can understand the lesson easily without having to look up the dictionary or explaining in Japanese. And for all lessons, it’s got to be a fun learning experience for the students.

Q. Finally, would you like to leave a message for our students?

A. Yes, of course! Here goes:Hello everyone :) It’s been just three months since I started teaching at Cafetalk and I’m blessed to have met such great students so far. Regarding my availability, I’m free on most mornings and evenings but I update my schedule daily so there could be some additional hours in the afternoon. I accept lesson requests up to 6 hours before the lesson begins so to all the other students who have yet to try my lessons out, feel free to make a reservation! See you soon ;)

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Naz

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