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One-to-one Japanese tuition

Find a Japanese tutor for your next step

Start learning Japanese, build confidence in conversation or prepare for a named qualification. Compare tutor profiles for your goal, or tell Latimer what you want to work towards with one-to-one online lessons.

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  • One-to-one tuition
  • Pay as you go
  • Direct tutor contact
Tell us what you can already understand, say, read and write, even if those skills are at different levels. Add your reason for learning, any course or exam, and the time you can make for lessons and practice.

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Japanese tuition enquiry

Tell us what you know, skip anything you’re unsure about, and add a short description if you skip both subject and level.

  1. Tutoring brief
  2. Contact details

2 questions remaining

Tutoring brief

What level is the tuition for?

Choose a level

Choose a suggestion or type your own answer. You can skip this if you’re unsure.

This form works best for one learner at one level and up to six subjects. If your circumstances are more complicated, email us at Contact@LatimerTuition.com so you can explain everything properly.

How one-to-one tuition can help

  • Connect Japanese sounds and script with words you can use
  • Understand particles and verb endings through short, corrected examples
  • Work towards everyday conversations or the tasks in your named exam

Available tutors

Compare Japanese tutors

Look for teaching experience that matches your age, starting point and goal. Use the introductory meeting to discuss how the tutor would approach your Japanese learning.

Portrait of Chaitrali Panse

Chaitrali Panse

Japanese Specialist

Slough, United Kingdom

£35.00 per hourDBS checkediAccepting enquiries
Japanese
  • Holds over 15 years' of experience teaching Japanese.
  • Holds a First-Class Masters Degree (MCM Masters in Computer management) from the University of Pune.
  • Holds a First-Class Bachelors Degree in Commerce from the University of Pune.
  • Currently teaching students for JLPT exams (N5 to N2), GCSE Japanese students, and primary and secondary school students.
  • Holds JLPT Nikyu level (2003).

Chaitrali Panse is a Japanese tutor with 15+ years’ experience, teaching GCSE Japanese and JLPT prep (N5–N2). JLPT Nikyu qualified, she provides tailored 1:1 or group lessons with session reports and optional homework.

Send a quick enquiry from here and the Latimer Tuition team will pass it on to Chaitrali.

View Chaitrali’s profile
Portrait of Christian Walter

Christian Walter

★ 5.0

English, Humanities, and MFL Specialist

Greater London, United Kingdom

£38.00 per hourDBS checkediAccepting enquiries
Ancient HistoryEnglish as a foreign LanguageEnglish LanguageEnglish Literature+9 more
  • Over 8 years' of experience working as an online tutor.
  • Holds a Bachelors of Arts in English Language and Linguistics from the University of the West of England.
  • Certifications in TEFL (Distinction), ESOL, TOEFL, Teaching IELTS (Grade A), and Teaching Business English.
  • Holds A-Levels in English Language and Literature, and Psychology.
  • Christian has studied German syntax up to QLS Level 5, and he can support students’ understanding of complex German grammar.
  • Christian is a native English speaker from London.

Christian is an English tutor with over eight years of one-to-one teaching experience, supporting learners from KS2 to GCSE as well as adults developing practical communication skills.

Send a quick enquiry from here and the Latimer Tuition team will pass it on to Christian.

View Christian’s profile
Browse Japanese tutor profilesStart my tutor search

Choose what you want to do in Japanese

A useful starting goal describes something you want to do: introduce yourself, understand a reply, read a short message or write about an experience. The Japan Foundation uses this practical approach in its Can-do learning goals. Your lessons can be planned around the skills you need for your own situation.

  • Starting from the beginning

    Build a small exchange alongside the sounds and script it uses. For example, practise a greeting and introduction, listen for the other person's name, then read those familiar words. Ask for a pace that leaves time to try an answer and understand a correction.

  • Travel and everyday conversation

    Choose situations you expect to meet, such as ordering food or asking about a journey. Practise understanding the reply as well as delivering your question. A changed item or unexpected follow-up gives you something more useful to practise than repeating one memorised exchange.

  • Japanese used at home

    If you understand family conversation but find reading or writing harder, make that difference part of the plan. You might work from a familiar spoken phrase to a short written message, with help on script and sentence endings. For a child, discuss age, interests and how a parent will be involved.

  • Adult, work or further-study goals

    Bring a concrete task: introducing your work, following a discussion or drafting an email. Explain who you will speak or write to, so you can discuss the appropriate level of formality. For specialised vocabulary or academic writing, check the tutor's experience with that particular use of Japanese.

A small correction that changes the meaning

Here is an illustrative beginner exercise. You want to say ‘Yesterday I ate sushi’, but write きのう、すしをたべます。 (kinō, sushi o tabemasu).

The word きのう means ‘yesterday’. The ending ます in たべます can describe a habit or intention; it does not give the completed past meaning wanted here. Change the verb to たべました (tabemashita):

きのう、すしをたべました。 Kinō, sushi o tabemashita — Yesterday I ate sushi.

The small word を, pronounced ‘o’, marks what was eaten and follows the food. It stays in place when you change the food: きのう、パンをたべました。 (Kinō, pan o tabemashita) means ‘Yesterday I ate bread’. The verb ending still tells us about the past action.

This gives a tutor something specific to check: can you explain the change, say the corrected sentence, then make a new sentence without copying? The exercise combines a useful meaning, a grammar decision and a sign of understanding. It draws on the Japan Foundation’s explanations of object marking and the polite verb form and past-tense forms.

GCSE, A level and JLPT need different preparation

Give the tutor the qualification name and code, your exam year and a recent piece of work. The Pearson Edexcel routes below are specific qualifications; they do not describe every Japanese course taken by learners in the UK.

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Japanese (1JA0)
GCSE assesses listening, speaking, reading and writing. Speaking includes a role play, a picture task and conversation. Preparation should cover the learner's Foundation or Higher tier. A useful practice task is to read a role-play prompt, spot where you must ask a question, and form that question rather than give another statement. Review both what you communicated and the grammar that made it clear.
Pearson Edexcel A level Japanese (9JA0)
This qualification assesses listening, reading and writing; speaking is developed during study but is not assessed. Work includes translation, essays on prescribed works and a written research response. For essay practice, move from recounting an event in a studied work to selecting a detail and explaining how it supports your answer. For the research component, a tutor can explain research methods, but Pearson requires students to conduct the research independently and prohibits teachers from providing its sources or teaching its content.
Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
JLPT has five levels, from N5 to N1, with N1 the most demanding. It tests language knowledge, reading and listening, without a speaking or written-composition test. Use official sample questions to identify whether vocabulary, sentence structure, reading or listening needs attention. For a listening error, compare your chosen answer with the recording and locate the detail that changes the answer. If conversation is also a goal, include separate speaking practice.

Next step

Turn your starting point into a practical plan

Use the free introductory meeting to discuss goals, teaching approach and arrangements; it is not normally a full teaching lesson. The following is a suggested way to plan the learning with your tutor, rather than a fixed Latimer course.

  1. Find the gap with a small task

    Bring a short piece of Japanese you have tried to read, write or understand. Explain where you got stuck. A beginner could attempt a short introduction; an exam learner could bring a marked answer. Agree which skill needs attention first instead of treating one weak area as your level in everything.

  2. Agree how lessons and practice will work

    Choose a task you want to manage independently and the practice time you can realistically protect. Agree a small amount of work tied to that task, and how you will bring questions back to the lesson. Decide how much correction you want while speaking and what you want explained afterwards.

  3. Review what you can now do

    Return to a similar task with a different detail. Can you understand the new reply, read without the same prompt, or use the corrected verb form in a fresh sentence? Keep a short record of useful corrections and revisit those that recur. Use the result to adjust the next lesson and the amount of independent practice.

Make script and listening practice manageable

Japanese uses hiragana, katakana and kanji. Hiragana is used for Japanese words and grammatical endings; katakana is commonly used for borrowed words. Kanji carry meaning and can have several readings. You do not have to treat every new character as a separate memorisation project: work with words and short messages that connect reading to meaning. The Japan Foundation’s Irodori materials focus on everyday communication in Japan, with audio, scripts and language notes; choose material at an appropriate level with your tutor. For younger children, select age-appropriate activities instead of following it as a course.

For example, listen to a short exchange once for its purpose, then listen with the text to find the phrase you missed. After checking it, try the audio again without reading. For script, return to a familiar word in a new short sentence and check whether you can still recognise it. These are practice suggestions to adapt, not required lesson routines.

Tell the tutor what makes learning easier or harder: following fast audio, reading dense text, remembering characters or speaking while being corrected. Discuss concrete adjustments such as shorter recordings, larger script, written prompts or time to rehearse a reply, and confirm that the tutor can provide what you need.

Next step

Online lessons, costs and arrangements

Latimer’s service is online first and one to one. Each tutor sets their own hourly rate, shown on their profile, and lessons are billed on a pay-as-you-go basis. Compare the rate with the length and frequency of lessons you are considering before booking.

Set up for Japanese reading and writing
Microsoft Teams is the default platform, with alternatives by agreement. Check that you can hear the audio clearly and show written work, for example by sharing a document or a clear photo of handwriting. Agree whether you will need Japanese typing for the tasks you plan to practise.
Agree the schedule and total cost
Discuss lesson length, frequency and any materials you would need to buy. Choose a schedule that leaves room for the agreed practice, then review it as your needs change. A near exam or trip date is useful planning information, without being a promise of a particular result.
If you want lessons in person
In-person lessons require an individual arrangement. Include your location, travel limits and preferred setting in your enquiry so that the practical requirements are clear.

Next step

Tell us about your Japanese learning goal

Include your starting point, the task or qualification you are working towards, your schedule and budget. A matching request is free. If you are unsure of your level, describe something you can already do and something you find difficult.

Request a free tutor match

Support and clarity

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers to the questions people ask most often.

Do I need to know Japanese before looking for a tutor?

No. State that you are a complete beginner and look for experience teaching beginners of your age. You can discuss a first goal without knowing a formal level: greeting someone, understanding a simple reply or reading a few familiar words. Bring any materials you have already tried so the tutor can see where you are starting.

Do I need a native Japanese speaker as my tutor?

Choose on relevant teaching experience and how clearly the tutor can help you understand Japanese. A native-language label alone does not tell you how someone explains grammar, adapts material for a child or prepares a particular exam. Discuss the language you want explanations in and the kind of correction you find useful.

How many lessons will I need to become fluent?

There is no reliable fixed total for every learner. Agree a specific first milestone, such as sustaining a short exchange or reading a message without help. Your starting point, intended use and practice time should shape the plan. Review progress on the agreed task before committing to a longer timetable.

Can Japanese lessons focus on anime or manga?

Bring the scene, passage or expression that interests you and explain what you want to understand. Ask the tutor to distinguish language that suits that character and situation from wording you could use in your own conversations. For a child, agree suitable material with the parent; for exam work, keep the required tasks and prescribed works central.

What should I check before arranging Japanese exam preparation?

Confirm entry arrangements with the school or exam centre, or the relevant JLPT organiser. Check whether you can enter your chosen qualification and level, how its assessments will be run, and the registration dates and fees. Give your tutor those details so the preparation plan fits the exam you intend to take.

Further information

Useful links and resources

Related tutor pages

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