Khawar Malik
welcome to the somos community spotlight! 🔦
in this series, we profile the incredible online language teachers from our community.
a huge thank you and welcome to tatsuki uotani for taking part this month!
let’s find out more about him, his teaching style and his super podcast…!
fast facts 🎉
⭐️ tatsuki lives in cagliari, italy 🇮🇹 and teaches japanese online 🎉
⭐️ along with japanese, tatsuki speaks italian, english and a little danish! 🌏
⭐️ tatsuki is the creator behind tatsuki's japanese - an awesome podcast supporting students learning japanese!🎙️
⭐️ when he's not teaching japanese, tatsuki loves playing soccer, visiting new countries, watching movies, reading manga & trying vegan restaurants!
from part-time teaching to students all over the world! 🌍
tatsuki began teaching japanese online whilst looking for a part-time job. like many other language teachers, he started teaching 1:1 japanese classes on italki.
as he progressed, the more interested he became in teaching and the japanese language itself!
now, tatsuki has students from all over the world! they range from 17 to 72 years old! he takes a fun approach to teaching which very much fits the needs of his students!
so what are tatsuki’s students interested in? many of them are learning for fun or to support better understanding of specific interests. for example, to watch anime, visit japan and of course, chat with local people when they get there!
this type of student profile fits tatsuki’s teaching style as he loves to incorporate slang, famous sayings and jokes into his classes!
a fun, speaking focussed approach to teaching japanese 🗣️
tatsuki includes a lot of speaking practice in his classes! he finds it helpful (especially when teaching a new grammar point) to give lots of examples.
this gives his students a chance to get a good grasp of the point and then use it themselves.
after working through a simple exercise, tatsuki will emphasize the new grammar point or learning by asking related questions.
I chose this style after I had noticed many of my students want to learn Japanese to have some conversations in Japan with local people.
what tatsuki's students have to say...
but what do tatsuki's students think? we asked eric & natalia for their thoughts...
I have really enjoyed learning with たつきさん. He has taught concepts in a way that makes sense to me. Somehow, he always remembers what we worked on, and he continues to expand on that, which really says a lot about how much he cares that I am learning. He follows Genki, but then also sprinkles in real world scenarios that builds upon what Genki is trying to teach. He is patient as well! Even though I make plenty of errors, I never feel embarrassed as he is always encouraging. eric, student
I have learned new grammar and vocabulary, although it was just 30 minutes. Tatsuki san is very observant, he realised that I was repeating a lot in English one sentence structure and gave me extra grammar to learn so I could become more natural I can't wait to increase my speaking skills with him and start having 1 hour lessons :) I would highly recommend him to anyone. natalia, student
this process isn't just rewarding for tatsuki's students though! it's very obvious from interacting with him, just how passionate he is about his students and their development!
I really love to see my students’ progress. Many of my students are complete beginners, so when they become able to talk about what they did in a day in Japanese, I feel very satisfied. Some students sometimes ask me things about Japanese, which I’ve never even thought of and that is also very stimulating.
from the classroom to the recording studio, a podcast for every level! 🎙️
one of the most fascinating aspects of tatsuki's approach to teaching japanese is his unique podcast.
many podcast channels cover a wide range of topics, but they almost always choose one specific style and don’t really change difficulties. so, even if you find a podcast that seems good, sometimes it’s too difficult for your current level, or when you get better in Japanese, that podcast is not good enough because it’s too easy. then, you need to look for another one
so what is special about tatsuki's approach? he picks a topic and records not one, but four episodes to cater for different types of learner!
he records "Beginner", "Intermediate", "Advanced" and "Casual Native" episodes.
In my podcast, it is easy to make a transition from your current level to the next because you can find an episode about the same topic. So, first you listen to the episode of your level to understand what I’m talking about, and if you want to challenge your listening skills, you take the next step. You already have a general idea of that topic, so you can focus on the details to improve your comprehension.
we love tatsuki’s dedication to crafting the perfect episodes for his students, regardless of their level.
he does recognise though that this super thorough approach comes with challenges.
The biggest challenge of making my podcast is the choice of words and grammar points. Sometimes, I don’t want to use certain words because they are too difficult for that difficulty and I need to rephrase it. I pay attention to make it as easy and natural as possible. There are many ways to say something easily, but if it sounds weird, it is not helpful for my listeners, is it?
but what about the content itself? tastuki takes inspiration from japanese food, festivals and holidays!
his latest episodes explore halloween in japan and we’d recommend checking them out!
as the podcast develops and his audience grows, tatsuki is excited about the prospect of giving his listeners the opportunity to make topic requests!
interested in learning japanese with tatsuki?
if you'd like to find out more, feel free to get in touch with tatsuki:
- via his somos profile: tatsuki is one of the first teachers trialling our new profiles for online language teachers! check his out here 😊 it shares links to his socials, patreon and of course, podcast!
- you can also contact him by email: uotanitatsuki@gmail.com
what is somos? 🤔
somos is a creator platform that helps language teachers build an online storefront in a matter of minutes! 🚀
host your community, 1:1 classes, digital products, group language clubs, and even external links - all in one place for one affordable fee.
we don't charge commission so you can launch & grow your business without giving away your earnings. 💚
why should i switch to somos? 🧐
our mantra at somos is to help you teach, earn & live well. this means:
- helping you keep your earnings: as a teacher-first platform, we don’t charge commission. your only charges are: payment processing fees to stripe + a 1% donation to our impact fund. somos charges 0% on transactions.
- giving you the tools to teach creatively:
- online marketplaces have pushed 1:1 classes as the primary way of teaching.
- we want you to have the ability to offer private coaching but as part of a rounded product suite that allows you to not only diversify your income streams but engage students creatively in a range of ways!
- treating you like co-owners, not customers: somos offers language teachers co-ownership opportunities and has a community ownership programme for grassroots organisations along with a unique entry-level hiring programme in place for refugees living in limbo.
why shouldn’t i switch to somos? 🙀
if you prefer to focus solely on teaching without worrying about marketing, a marketplace model like italki, preply or verbling might suit you better.
- these platforms often promote teachers based on algorithms, which can mean less control over how you're discovered but also less effort required on your part to attract students.
- somos is not a traditional marketplace - we don't directly find students for you but do support your growth by providing strategies to effectively share your somos profile across various social media platforms.
if you're just starting out, a commission only model might work better than a pay monthly - but do get in touch when you find your feet!
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