English Classes for Adults

YUKI

Background

Lived in Bangkok, Thailand for 8 years. After working as a Japanese language teacher at a British international school (Bangkok Patana School) in Bangkok, Yuki achieved a postgraduate diploma in drama and musical theatre at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in the UK, where she went on to live as a resident for almost 20 years.

After obtaining her postgraduate diploma, Yuki then began working as a Japanese teacher at Chatham Grammar School for Boys (a secondary school and sixth form now called Holcombe Grammar school) in Medway, Kent. It was in this role that Yuki began to coordinate and accompany Japan trips for students at the school from 2004, and continues to do so to this day. Furthermore, she devoted herself to international relations as a member of the UK-Japan Friendship Society, connecting Medway with its sister cities of Ito city and Yokosuka city in Japan. Throughout her time in the UK, Yuki assisted with Japan-related events in Medway as well as other events which connected the UK and Japan.

In addition to her teaching career, Yuki also worked as an actress on stage (including the Off-West End production “King & I”), on TV (appeared in the “Little Britain” series in the role of Gita), and several commercials.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Drama/Musical Theatre from the University of East Anglia, UK.
• British Teaching License (Secondary School/Sixth Form)
• Certificate: Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language
• Diploma: Acting and Musical Theatre course from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, UK

Japanese online lessons

HISAKO

Background

Hisako first experienced being a Japanese teacher when she studied abroad in Australia. After that, she became further interested in teaching Japanese through her relationship with Ms. Kushida. After completing a minor in Japanese language education at university, she went to the UK on a working holiday to gain experience living abroad. While teaching Japanese privately, she took a Japanese language teacher training course at a language school in London to learn more professionally. After graduating, she took charge of private and small classes at the same school. Upon returning to Japan in 2013, she joined a Japanese language school in Tokyo where she took on a wide range of tasks, such as teaching Japanese to foreigners, training aspiring Japanese language teachers, developing teaching materials, and working as a project manager for corporate projects, teaching in the Philippines, Vietnam, and on a passenger ship. She began teaching online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and opened an online school in April 2024. Her school has a wide range of times available so that people in time zones across the world can take part in courses and learn natural Japanese. Hisako mainly adopts direct methods in her teaching, aiming to encourage students to think in Japanese and give them the confidence they need to communicate in Japanese effectively.

Qualifications

• Japanese Language Education Course (Minor) at Showa Women’s University
• A 420-hour Comprehensive Japanese Teacher Training Course

English classes for elementary school students

YURI

Background

Yuri teaches English to children, from preschoolers to high school students, at a major children’s English conversation school.

In order to deepen her knowledge of teaching English to children, she obtained a J-SHINE (Japan *Shogakko Instructors of English) qualification.

Interested in not only languages but also other cultures, Yuri studied abroad in Canada and has since visited 40 other countries.

It is Yuri’s philosophy that English teachers should not teach English one-sidedly, but rather teach children to learn English spontaneously via topics that they are familiar with and interested in. The theme of her lessons is not just language, but also learning about differences through intercultural understanding, learning while enjoying those differences, and acquiring the foundations for accepting diversity.

Qualifications

• Graduated from the Mejiro University Department of English Language Studies
• J-SHINE (Japan Shogakko Instructors of English)

*Shogakko – elementary school

Open conversation class – “George’s Day”

(Third Saturday of every month @Anjin English Café)

George Walker

Background

Born in London, England, George moved to Medway at the age of 10 and studied Japanese under Yuki Kushida at secondary school.

As a student of the University of Leeds, he studied abroad at Kumamoto University for one year from 2009.

After graduation, he lived in Japan as a research student at the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (specialized in Second Language Acquisition and Japanese language education), and then worked for a major Japanese company, but decided to resign. George then travelled around the world before returning to Japan in 2018, where he continues to live to this day.

Qualifications

• University of Leeds — [Japanese Studies] (Sept 2008 – June 2012) Graduated with a 2:1 BA in Japanese Studies with a distinction in Japanese language.
• Japanese Language Proficiency Test N1
• Information Technology Passport Examination-Pass
• Japanese-to-English Media Translation Comprehensive Course Completed

Anjin English Kitchen (British home cooking)

Ryoko Kalde

Background

Ryoko has been in charge of the Anjin English Kitchen since 2018.

Born in Tokyo, she married a German photographer in 1981 and currently lives in Kent, England.　After obtaining a British teaching license, she taught Japanese at secondary schools in London and Hertfordshire.　After retiring, she founded the Saku Say Club, which works to combine English education with “monozukuri (making things)”, and also plans to promote the concept of monozukuri in the UK. She frequently travels back and forth between Japan and the UK.　

Considering cooking to be a part of monozukuri, Ryoko also learned the basics of professional cooking at the Leiths School of Food and Wine in the UK.

Ryoko is the London branch manager of the Saku Say Club, APM (Association for the Promotion of Monozukuri) and the Manufacturing Culture Promotion Association. She is also a member of the London branch steering committee of the ICBA (International Children Bunko Association), which conducts library activities for Japanese children living in the UK.

Qualifications

• British Teaching License (Secondary School/Sixth Form)
• Certificate: Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language
• Leiths Essential Cooking Certificate

National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter (English)

Keiko Akiyoshi

Qualifications

• B.A. in English Literature from Ochanomizu University
• Ferris University Master’s Degree in International Exchange
• Japanese Teaching License (junior high school and senior high school)