Thank you for visiting this page.
First, let me introduce myself.
My name is SATO Shingo.
I am a native speaker with more than 10 years of experience teaching Japanese.
My hobbies include thinking about the Japanese language and writing blogs about it.
I run a Japanese language school in Indonesia and teach there.
I am in the process of getting my visa, so I am currently teaching online from Japan.
Before becoming a Japanese teacher, I obtained the following certifications:
- Completed the Japanese Language Teacher Training Course (accredited by the Agency for Cultural Affairs) in 2003
- Passed the Japanese Language Teaching Proficiency Test in 2003
- Obtained a postgraduate certificate in teaching Japanese as a second language in 2008
In this blog, I hope to provide useful information about learning Japanese from the unique perspective of a Japanese language teacher.
My Background
How did I end up teaching Japanese in Indonesia?
To answer this question, I would like to introduce my background.
Before entering university
When I was a junior high school student, I loved English classes at school (at that time, English classes started in the first year of junior high school in Japan).
I continued to enjoy them even after entering high school, and I planned to major in English at university. Therefore, my first choice was a foreign language university.
However, a teacher I respected told me, “If you want to enter a foreign language university, you should select a language other than English.”
It is true that there are plenty of opportunities to learn English. On the other hand, at the university I applied to, I could choose from 24 different languages as my major.
After much consideration, I chose Indonesian. The reason for this was that it seemed easy to learn. I chose it purely because of my interest in the language. Looking back on it now, I feel a little sorry that I didn’t think about it. However, I believe that this decision was correct in the end, as it has led me to where I am today.
After entering university
After entering university, I studied Indonesian very hard and even studied abroad in Indonesia for about a year. At that time, I felt that Indonesia was a comfortable place to live. The people are relaxed and generous, and they accepted me immediately. I decided that I wanted to live in Indonesia and make a contribution to the country in the future.
After graduating from university
After graduating from university, I started working for a company like other Japanese people do. The company had an office in Indonesia, and I had opportunities to go there on business trips, but I did not really feel that I was making a contribution to Indonesia. My daily tasks consisted of a lot of administrative work. Also, the term “work-life balance” was not common at that time (at least not in my company), and I continued to go to work on the first train in the morning and work until late at night.
I worked for that company for about six years, but quit for the reason I mention above and started working as a Japanese teacher in Indonesia.
It was a big decision for me to quit my job in Japan, but I think it was the right one. It has led me to where I am today.
I finally got an ideal job
In Indonesia, I taught Japanese at universities and other institutions, and in 2011 I established a Japanese language school.
Now I spend my days feeling that I am making a contribution to Indonesia, and I am grateful to my Indonesian friends for accepting me. I will continue to do my best to contribute to Indonesia!