Hiromi Koyama

School: Drexel University
Department: Languages
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Overall Rating
rated by 11 students
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Easiness
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 Pros: Good at explanations, thorough with practice, acknowledges those who study hard, very willing to help
Cons: Really beats on the students who don't study, doesn't emphasize grammar and application enough in comparison to the memorized material
Here's the thing; if you're taking this class, you should want to learn the language. If you don't want to study or want an easy A, take another class, because you'll find yourself dreading to go to class because you'll get scolded and embarrassed by Sensei for not studying. Also, it tends to bring down the whole class and she sometimes even gets frustrated with those of us who make occasional mistakes.
A criticism of the class that I agree with is that a lot of the work seems like memorizing conversations rather than actually applying the grammar and vocabulary you've learned. However, she does practice with you a lot, so be sure to take advantage of it. Also, the only grade that really counts is the final exam, which is oral. There is no way to BS through it; you just have to know the material. I would also recommend having some familiarity with the language before taking this class, as this would be difficult for complete beginners.
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 Pros: Clear explanations
Always willing to help
Cons: Can be slow for a work intense class
Koyama-sensee is my favorite of the Japanese teachers at Drexel. She is the sweetest thing and she knows when you give it your best, which matters a lot to her (which affects her temperament). She explains the grammar well and is always willing to answer questions. She always says that she doesn't like to repeat the explanations, but she often will. She does push for excellence (as she isn't the examiner and always wants you to do well) and will keep telling you to do more and more studying. She will like you a lot if you study.
However, if you don't study, I heard that she can be very scary (though it doesn't necessarily mean she won't like you). The Japanese classes are all very work intensive and require a lot of grammar understand and reading in the textbook. If you don't do the necessary amount of work, you can be in a lot of trouble, not necessarily just for the class, but for the final (as it is 90% of your grade).
My only complaint with Koyama-sensee is that she won't cover all the material that we need to in the class time. Though this is mostly because she spends time explaining the grammar to the class, it hinders the students in the end. The exam covers nearly everything and if the material isn't all covered in the end you can be in trouble. Koyama-sensee is good with making sure the grammar is well understood so it isn't the worst thing ever.
Highly recommend her.
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 Pros: Koyama Sensei is very helpful and ultimately wants you to succeed
Cons: Any new language is difficult to learn and takes a lot of time. So be sure to dedicate yourself to it in order to get an A!
Koyama Sensei is very nice and has a great sense of humor. But like a lot of Asian teachers, she has her strict side, and if you don't study well, she will be mad at you and you WILL study the next class. She wants you to succeed and will help you in any way you can, but the Drexel Language Center forces students to do A LOT of independent study. In other words, she will say she is not there to teach you, but is more of an intensive tutor. You must treat it that way. The book, while dated, is awesome and has all the grammatical things you need to know. Just study up!
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 Pros: Nicer than Shor-sensei
Cons: Tendency to be bipolar
I loved Koyama-sensei for the first half of the class, then she became a nightmare to deal with during the second half. It seemed as though she became "disappointed" in the fact that I (and the rest of the class, for that matter) was finding everything more difficult as the class went on, after starting off strong. This definitely affected her approach -- after a while, it felt almost like I was under a firing squad with each practiced conversation and became completely turned off to the class.
The problem with most language classes at Drexel is that they are extremely demanding, and given the fact that many people come to Drexel declaring very challenging majors, I think that the language professors sometimes don't really understand that we have other things to do.
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 She's nice most of the time, but if you don't understand something and mess up a lot on something, she will point it out right in the middle of class which can be extremely embarrassing. I think she genuinely does care and is definitely a lot less intimidating than Shor-sensei. Of the two, I would definitely recommend taking class with her.
I guess my main advice/point of contention would be more towards the class in general rather than my opinion about Koyama-sensei. If you're in a labor-intensive major and are limited for time to study, think very carefully about taking Japanese as it requires a lot of time and effort that someone who has a lot of other work to do may not have. I have a very demanding major, so I found that I didn't have much time to devote to memorization (upon which the entire class is based on); therefore, I didn't always perform very well in class because I simply couldn't. I've found that both professors are somewhat perfectionistic in their evaluation of how students study (I was guilt-tripped about not studying hard enough on the midterm, but I got a B+). I do not feel that this is necessarily right because I feel that students not only have varying amounts of time to devote to the language, but also have varying capabilities as far as languages go. Hence my neutral rather than positive review.
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 Best teacher for Japanese. Understanding and communicative.
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 Great teacher!! She is fun and actually makes the class interesting... Would totally retake for any future Japanese class..
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 I didn't have Koyama-sensei for class, but I did take my final with her. She was a lot more relaxing than Thompson-sensei (who I had for the midterm, and made me really nervous). She even helped out a little on the final. She's very nice and funny!
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 I LOVE Koyama-sensei. She's happy, funny, energetic, and really cute! Even though my class was 9am in the morning, I always looked forward to attending Japanese. She made my fall term worthwhile.
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 Koyama Sensee is a very caring professor. Because there were only four students in our class, class is even more oral intensive than what was expected for. But, I find that we learn a lot faster that way. She is also very good at catching your weaknesses in learning the Japanese language and will help you in that area. Grading is hard, but it is the same for all language classes, I think. Grade is determined only by the final exam (that's the scary part). Koyama Sensee also gives lots of useful tips on how the midterm and the final are going to be like. I will def. retake her if possible.
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 Koyama sensee, unlike Shor sensee, does not make Japanese class a vicious, humiliating ordeal. Good job!

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