Choose a Teacher
There are three steps to scheduling your first interaction with a Japanese speaker.
It doesn't really matter what platform you choose.
Step #2: Choose a teacher.
Second, pick out a handful of teachers that seem like they might be a good match for you.
If you want a female teacher, pick only females. If you are afraid of having your Japanese sound feminine and you want a male teacher, pick only males. Old people. Young people. Whatever you like. Oh, and if you're a beginner, getting a teacher who is at least conversational level in English will probably make things a lot easier.
Step #3: Schedule.
Third, check which of these teachers have lesson slots at a time that is convenient for you. Ideally, this will be a time that you can take lessons every week. Taking lessons at the same time multiple days per week is ideal, but that could start getting expensive if you have a limited budget.
That's it!
I wouldn't over think this stuff. You can always go back and switch platforms, teachers, or lesson times if something isn't to your liking initially.
Step #1: Choose a platform.
First, you need to decide which platform you will use to find this amazing person. Here are a few good options for finding teachers:
- Cafetalk (use our link for 500 free points)
- italki
- Preply
- A NihongoShark staff instructor (we've just started offering face to face lessons with Chie)
And here are some places you can find language exchange partners:
Just browse around the sites, see what you do or don't like about them, then pick one. It doesn't matter which one you go with. I've personally only used Cafetalk (a Japanese company), which I used to teach English on, as well. Ken-sensei, who has been a guest on some of our podcast episodes, prefers to use Preply, and he says that he gets more students on there, too. italki is nice for people that are looking to study a bunch of different languages other than just Japanese.It doesn't really matter what platform you choose.
Step #2: Choose a teacher.
Second, pick out a handful of teachers that seem like they might be a good match for you.
If you want a female teacher, pick only females. If you are afraid of having your Japanese sound feminine and you want a male teacher, pick only males. Old people. Young people. Whatever you like. Oh, and if you're a beginner, getting a teacher who is at least conversational level in English will probably make things a lot easier.
Step #3: Schedule.
Third, check which of these teachers have lesson slots at a time that is convenient for you. Ideally, this will be a time that you can take lessons every week. Taking lessons at the same time multiple days per week is ideal, but that could start getting expensive if you have a limited budget.
That's it!
I wouldn't over think this stuff. You can always go back and switch platforms, teachers, or lesson times if something isn't to your liking initially.
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