Horizons Magazine | July 2019

INSTructor
Spotlight
Taiyo
Japanese Language Instructor
Taketo Ippei Nishi
Taiyo Community Center’s Japanese Language Instructor, Taketo
Ippei Nishi, knows all too well what it’s like to move to a country
that doesn’t speak your native language. He moved to Southern
California on a whim when he was 20, knowing almost no English.
He recalled going to the store to replace his CD player battery, and
what would have been an easy chore in Japan became a complicated
experience in America because he didn’t know the word for battery.
But he wasn’t deterred by the experience and instead spent two years
learning English through classes at the University of California Los
Angeles and Orange Coast College. He lived in the States for eight
more years and received his Bachelors in Psychology before moving
back to Japan.
Years later, an old friend from California reached out to him. He had
just moved to Yokota Air Base and informed Ippei that the Taiyo was
looking for someone to teach Japanese. Ippei seized the opportunity
and has been teaching Japanese for over four years now. Most
language classes off base are intense as they use the direct method
(teaching in Japanese rather than English) and expect students to
memorize each kanji character. Ippei, however, understands that
most of his students are here for only a few years and don’t work for
a Japanese business. They’re not interested in learning all the 2,000
kanji characters; they just want to learn common phrases and words.
Ippei uses engaging worksheets, group work and class discussion to
teach his students greetings and introductions, common questions,
how to say time and more. Students can also expect to learn hiragana,
katakana and even some words in kanji. Those new to Japanese can
sign up for the 4-week Basic Japanese class and eventually progress
to Intermediate Japanese & Special Topics. He encourages everyone
on base to try and learn the local language so they can explore Japan
more easily and learn about the culture. And besides, you’re already
here, so why not give it a try?
For more information on Ippei’s classes, see page 18. See page 31 for
information on Taiyo’s other classes.
28 horizons
JUly 2019