Customer Testimonials

First, could you tell us about yourself? (Your name, age, occupation, etc., as much as you are comfortable sharing)

My name is DJ and I’m in my early thirties. I’m currently working at a local university as a member of its testing staff.

How long have you been taking classes at Oku Sensei’s Japanese?

I’ve been taking Oku Sensei’s classes since 2021. I’d been wanting to brush up on my Japanese and one of my friends was a former student of hers and recommended her to me.

What was your situation before you started Oku Sensei's Japanese?

My Japanese skills were incredibly rusty, and I hated feeling that I couldn’t move forward on my own.

What results were you expecting before signing up? And what results did you actually achieve?

I was expecting to brush up on my Japanese skills, and maybe gain the confidence to take the JLPT sometime in the future. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to have found a love of reading Japanese texts and translating them for fun, as well as feeling the confidence to try and push myself to a higher level of mastery by doing things outside my linguistic comfort zone.

Why do you think you were able to achieve the results mentioned in Q4?

Oku Sensei’s skill at teaching and her love of her students really motivated me to try my hardest, whether it was in the homework or studying in my free time or answering questions in class. Her enthusiasm for us to learn and her patience when there’s questions encourage me.

What was the most memorable aspect of learning at Oku Sensei's Japanese?

Learning with Oku Sensei is always memorable, anytime there’s a question she answers it with the same enthusiasm as when we get a question correct or translate a passage we just read.

Have you studied Japanese anywhere else? What differences did you notice compared to other Japanese language schools?

I studied Japanese for a couple years during college, but the main problem was that the professors were hampered by the need to grade and test all the time as well as keeping to a strict schedule of classes. Oku Sensei’s flexibility makes it much easier to manage now as a working adult.

Did you find the price to be expensive? (Did you feel that what you gained was worth more than what you paid?)

Not at all, I feel that pricing is very reasonable and that her skill and professionalism are worth the price.

Who would you recommend Oku Sensei's Japanese to? On the other hand, if there is someone you wouldn't recommend it to, what kind of person would that be?

If you are uninterested in Japanese, don’t take this class. Otherwise, I have influenced at least one or two people to go ahead and take her classes and they have loved it.

What content attracted you to sign up for Oku Sensei's Japanese? Did you have any hesitations when signing up?

The fact that I’d never met Oku Sensei before was the biggest hesitation, but once I met her, I knew I’d want to take her classes no matter what.

If you hadn’t signed up for Oku Sensei's Japanese, what do you think your situation would be now? Also, when do you think is the best time to sign up?

My skills would probably be very atrophied and I’d still be very unconfident that I could ever polish them up and improve them.

As someone who has studied Japanese at Oku Sensei's Japanese, could you give a message to those who will start learning in the future?

My best advice: Enjoy the class and don’t be afraid to ask questions. The lessons that have stuck with me the most have been ones where me or my classmates ask something that Oku Sensei helps clear up and makes it much easier to understand. Be prepared to fall in love with the language, it’s beautiful and Oku Sensei makes it worth the effort to try.