Great People: Kyoko Nagashima

The person I most credit for my learning the Japanese language is Kyoko Nagashima. My primary Japanese language teacher for almost 2 years, she taught me 70 percent or more of the grammar and nearly half of the vocabulary I ever learned.

Almost always patient, almost always kind, and always ready to teach, she was an inspiration to me as an English teacher, as I often copied and adapted her activities for my own classes. She also inspired me with her fluency with my own tongue, setting a very high bar for myself and the other students she taught, yet managing to treat even the worst of us with class, grace and respect I didn't always deserve.

From Japan Highlights