Male/Female Teachers Difference?

[Supervin]

hi all.

i would like to if there is any difference in being taught by male or female teachers for japanese, since the language is so distinct between the two genders. i'm aware that the difference is significant in that all aspects of the language are affected, including sound/pitch, word usage and particles at the end of sentences.

is the feminine language only relevant to everyday and informal speech, e.g. lots of 'honto' and 'shinjiranai' - this is assuming that there is no difference in formal japanese between the genders?

will female teachers actually make their male students sound feminine in their japanese eventually? if so, do you think that they can be able teach 'masculine' counterparts on request?

i'm pondering over this because when i looked for japanese classes, one male tutor promoted his teaching methods, where one of them involved being able to teach the male form of speech. but i'm not sure whether this is an exaggeration to promote his classes or that this is an actual issue. any thoughts?

cheers.

 

[nice gaijin]

If you use women as a model for the way you speak, you run the risk of sounding feminine. While this is true, most *good* Japanese teachers concentrate on making sure you have a grasp of the language, and will indicate whether a particular word or phrase is used more by males or females.

I'm not sure what you meant by your examples, as I have heard both males and females use those words (though it's "shinjirarenai").

 

[Supervin]

it would seem that females use different pitch, certain words and endings of sentences, that would render it too polite and non-masculine if used by males.

the male tutor said that his course was unique in that he teaches in a more specialized way by giving full attention also to the gender differences, making sure that i was using only male language. now i don't know if this was just his way of promoting his classes. still not sure whether i should limit my tutors to male for this sake.

 

[nice gaijin]

It's good to have a male to model your speech patterns after (for informal conversation), though I probably wouldn't stress it very much for a beginning class. Its pretty easy to remember not to end your sentences a certain way, or avoid feminine pronouns.

 

[The7thSamurai]

My teacher is female, and I don't think I've ever had any problems. I don't think it would become a problem until well into the upper intermediate/advanced stages.