Online Japanese FAQs

Nihongo-Pro classrooms are custom built for online Japanese classes, with learning features that Skype cannot match:

• Built-in Japanese-English dictionary
• Large whiteboard for presenting lesson materials
• Teacher-directed audio playback (great for listening comprehension)
• KakikataPad™ (coming soon!)—practice writing Japanese in real time (learn to write hiragana, katakana, and Kanji)
• Easy to use, nothing to install. Log in from your browser (Flash Player required).
• One classroom = one teacher. No classroom sharing between teachers means no worries if your lesson runs a few minutes long.

Test drive our classroom here.

See all Nihongo-Pro teachers here.

Online private lessons at Nihongo-Pro are fully customized to each student's needs and goals, ensuring that you will learn Japanese as quickly and efficiently as possible. Whether you are studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), learning business Japanese, focusing on written Japanese, or learning Japanese for fun, Nihongo-Pro teachers tailor your private lessons to make your learning fast, efficient, and fun.

Customizing a lesson is much more than choosing a textbook. Based on a detailed questionnaire we ask you to fill out when you enroll, your Nihongo-Pro teacher may recommend a particular textbook, and use the textbook as the foundation for your online Japanese lessons. But Nihongo-Pro teachers go farther, adding customized learning materials that you won't find in the textbook.

Typical Skype Lesson The student or teacher reads from the textbook. With no whiteboard for lesson materials, the teacher relies on verbal instruction to direct the student. Limited learning environment means slower learning.

Nihongo-Pro Lesson Your Nihongo-Pro teacher presents textbook and custom lesson materials on the whiteboard, guiding you just as if you were in a real classroom. Custom lessons in a custom classroom make your Japanese learning fast and efficient.

Enrollment is free. Enroll for online Japanese lesons.

Nihongo-Pro accepts PayPal payments, electronic transfers, checks drawn on a U.S. bank, and money orders.

For quickest service, we recommend PayPal, where a variety of payment options are available:

• Credit card (no PayPal account is required)
• Electronic transfer from your bank account (verified PayPal account is required)
• E-check (verified PayPal account is required, and takes up to 5 business days to clear)

In the case of electronic transfers outside of PayPal, you are responsible for transaction fees. To pay by check, checks must be drawn on a U.S. bank. Money orders must be in U.S. dollars.

For electronic transfer, checks, or money orders, please contact Nihongo-Pro.com support for payment details.

The Nihongo-Pro classroom works on any Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computer, with these requirements:

• Broadband Internet connection (0.5 Mb/s download, 0.3 Mb/s upload)

  Check your Internet speed (see note) Check your connection quality (ping test) (see note) Note: Choose the server located in Dallas, TX (south central U.S.) for the speed and ping tests.

• Flash Player plugin in your browser (detecting Flash Player... you may need to install Flash Player)
• Headset is recommended
• Webcam is optional

No, web cams are optional for students. All Nihongo-Pro teachers use a web cam.

Our teachers use a variety of textbooks, depending on each student's goals and study plan.

During your free trial lesson, you and your teacher will discuss textbooks and choose the best one(s) for your lessons. In some cases, you and your teacher may decide no textbook is needed.

If a textbook or textbooks are used in your lessons, please buy the textbook(s), if you don't already own them. (Your teacher will give you textbook details during your free trial lesson.) To find stores selling your textbook, search for the exact title or ISBN number. Be sure to verify shipment times, as some sites take several weeks to deliver Japanese texts.

If you need help finding a particular textbook, please contact Nihongo-Pro support.

Visit your Current Reservations page, and click the "Make a Reservation" link.

The reservation deadline depends on your teacher, and varies from 24 to 72 hours before class.

To cancel a reservation, visit your Current Reservations page, and click the "Cancel" button next to the reservation you wish to cancel. When you cancel a reservation, the lesson ticket is returned to your account balance.

The cancellation deadline is 24 hours before class.

After the cancellation deadline, you cannot cancel a lesson. However, if you cannot attend, please notify your teacher by clicking the [If you cannot attend] link next to the reservation. This does not cancel the reservation (you will still be charged the lesson ticket) but is a courtesy to your teacher.

No, we cannot refund a lesson ticket after the cancellation deadline, even if you could not take the lesson for reasons beyond your control.

• Choose your computer’s operating system:
  Windows 7
  Windows Vista
  Windows XP
  Macintosh OS X
  
• See more tips on Japanese text.

• Be sure you have completed the one-time sound setup.
• Make sure you are running the latest version of Flash Player. (detecting Flash Player... you may need to install Flash Player)
• Double-check your anti-virus program. Some programs interfere with the classroom.

Your Internet connection may be slow or having problems.

• Make sure any other windows that use the Internet are closed.
• Inside the classroom, try these steps:
  Reduce your camera quality, or turn off your camera.

  Turn off your video reception.
• Run these Internet connection tests.

• Do you hear loud echos of your own voice?
  The cause depends on whether you hear echos when your teacher's TALK button is on.

  • Do you hear loud echos regardless of whether your teacher's TALK button is on or off?
    YES: Mute your microphone (Windows only)

    NOTE: Muting a microphone does not mean turning off the microphone; muting keeps the microphone’s sound from being echoed in your speakers.

    1. Open the Master Volume window, Open the Master Volume window (Windows only)
       1. Open the “Sound and Audio Devices” control panel.
       2. Click the Volume tab.
       3. In the “Device volume” section, click the Advanced button. This opens the Master Volume window.
       4. Look for a column labeled “Microphone”. If this column is not present, click the Options menu and choose Properties. In the list at the bottom of the popup window, put a check next to Microphone. Click OK.
       .
    2. Look for the Microphone column. If this column is not present, click the Options menu and choose Properties. In the list at the bottom of the popup window, put a check next to Microphone. Click OK.
    3. Near the bottom of the Microphone column, there should be a checkbox labeled “Mute”. Make sure it is checked.
  • Do you hear loud echos only when your teacher's TALK button is on?
    YES: Your teacher needs to correct his/her sound setup. (Your voice is being delivered to your teacher, and then picked up by your teacher's microphone and re-delivered to you as an echo.)
• Do you hear faint echoes of your own voice?
  YES: Your teacher needs to reduce his/her microphone volume. A high microphone volume causes your voice (delivered to your teacher’s computer) to bleed into your teacher’s microphone, and then get re-delivered to you as an echo.

The problem is likely your microphone.

• Check your headset batteries (if any).
• Turn off sound mixers from your computer’s sound control panel.
• Turn off extra microphones.
• Lower your microphone volume.
• If your webcam or computer has a built-in microphone, try using it instead of your headset’s microphone.
• Use a noise-canceling headset (a headset with a built-in noise-canceling microphone) for the best sound quality.

• Make sure the volume (if any) on your headset is turned up.
• Check that the headset is plugged in and the batteries are good (if any).
• Check that your computer’s sound is not muted.
• Log out of the classroom, and log in again.