For Japanese Professionals Working in English
Keep up with natural conversations. Say exactly what you mean.
Sessions built from real, unscripted conversations. No sign-ups, no fees, just training for the real world.
The Gap
I have learned a great deal.
What you’ll hearI’m learning a ton.
Heard in How to give feedback · Deep DiveYou can read a contract, write an email, hold a one-on-one. Then you’re in a meeting with people talking at full speed, dropping expressions you’ve never heard, and by the time you’ve worked out the first sentence, they’re three ahead.
The Language Studio starts with real, unscripted conversation at real speed. You hear exactly how an expression gets used in the moment, then slow it down, break it apart, and practice it until your ear and your mouth can both keep up.
About the Training MethodStart here.
Free, self-paced practice built for Japanese professionals working in English. Every session is natural English at real speed in the real world, so you build the ear for natural pace and the vocabulary for what actually comes up at work and in everyday life.
Coffee Break
5–10 minOne clip, one skill, done before your coffee cools.
Browse sessionsCommute
15–25 minReal speech, real context, for the ride to work.
Browse sessionsDeep Dive
30+ minLonger clips, deeper conversations.
Browse sessionsLonger, unguided versions of many of these conversations live on the YouTube channel (opens in a new tab), for extra listening whenever you want more.
About
Maida
I created this site after meeting countless students from Japan who had studied English most of their lives and worked professionally in English, yet still had trouble understanding natural conversations. The speed, idioms, jokes, cultural references and context made it hard to keep up. That’s why I use real content to immerse learners in natural speech, with a variety of accents and topics, so they can build fluency for the professional world and everyday life.
I have traveled to 30 countries and worked in a number of them, from Turkey to Italy to Vietnam. I understand at a personal level what it feels like to be immersed in a culture and language that isn’t yours. I have spent eight years preparing Japanese professionals for American rooms.
I completed a U.S. State Department English Language Fellowship in Vietnam, where I organized professional exchange conferences with the U.S. Embassy and trained educators. As Assistant Field Director with Semester at Sea, I designed immersive cross-cultural experiences for over 500 participants across ten countries. I am based in Washington, DC.
What Private Clients Say
Professionals in HR, management and investment- State Department English Language Fellow, 2024–2025
- Assistant Field Director, Semester at Sea
- East-West Center Program Officer
- Presenter, TESOL International Conference, Indonesia
- MEd, University of Hawaiʻi