"Minobe sensei is an awesome teacher. He does a great job of breaking down complex grammar into small, understandable pieces that make learning a difficult language manageable. When teaching, he provides an insight that helps students develop cultural understanding. His classes are engaging and fun, and he creates a comfortable environment where students feel encouraged to participate. His projects are especially fun, like dubbing an anime in Japanese or cooking with the class. On top of that, his passion for teaching is clear in every class session, which has really motivated me to keep improving and stay interested in learning Japanese. "
- Student from JAPN 1010 (Fall 2025) & JAPN 1020 (Spring 2026)
"Minobe 先生 is an amazing teacher, and has done a lot to help me learn Japanese these last two semesters. He presents the material in an understandable and fun way, and somehow has a perfect balance of just enough homework. Not too much that it's overwhelming, but enough that we get plenty of practice. I also appreciate that he never makes us feel stupid or ignorant for forgetting something. He guides us onto the right track in a way that makes us feel like we got there ourselves. Overall, he is a very talented teacher, and I would recommend his classes to anyone interested in Japanese."
- Student from JAPN 1010 (Fall 2024) & JAPN 1020 (Spring 2025)
"Minobe Sensei is an amazing teacher. He is strict but in a good way that motivates me to do better. He teaches in a way that I can understand and lets his students ask questions. He teaches effectively and puts effort into putting notes on assignments that we turn in to let us know how we can do better. Before school started, I did not know any Japanese. I am now in my second semester and I know the 2 Japanese alphabet hiragana and katakana. And I know over 50 Kanji not to mention all the grammar and conjugation I have learned. He teaches quickly and effectively."
- Student from JAPN 1010 (Fall 2024) & JAPN 1020 (Spring 2025)
"Minobe Sensei has been a wonderful Japanese teacher. He utilizes patience and is in depth knowledge to assist students in understanding new concepts of grammar and writing. I specifically enjoy that he shares the origins of written kanji to help students understand why and how the kanji developed into the way that they are written today. Not only is this interesting, but it has also helped me to retain information and broaden my understanding of the Japanese language."
- Student from JAPN 1010 (Fall 2024) & JAPN 1020 (Spring 2025)
"Dr. Minobe is an outstanding and dedicated Japanese professor. He makes the classroom welcoming and engaging and is passionate about teaching. His method of teaching includes student collaboration which makes learning and practicing Japanese effective and successful. His technique of learning Kanji through mnemonics is greatly beneficial and simple to learn. Dr. Minobe is kind and caring to all of his students and he goes above and beyond in his teaching. I truly appreciate him as my Japanese professor."
- Student from JAPN 1010 (Fall 2024) & JAPN 1020 (Spring 2025)
"Minobe-sensei has been an incredibly competent and engaging instructor. He takes the time to make each class session fun and high-energy, with different activities. I know he cares about all of his students and he puts in so much work to get everyone to the level they need to be at. I've personally had a lot of helpful and meaningful conversations with him that both improved my Japanese and created a great friendship."
- Student from JAPN 3000 (Fall 2024) & LANG 3990 (Spring 2025)
"Dr. Minobe is an outstanding and dedicated Japanese professor. He makes the classroom welcoming and engaging and is passionate about teaching. His method of teaching includes student collaboration which makes learning and practicing Japanese effective and successful. His technique of learning Kanji through mnemonics is greatly beneficial and simple to learn. Dr. Minobe is kind and caring to all of his students and he goes above and beyond in his teaching. I truly appreciate him as my Japanese professor."
- Student from JAPN 1010 (Fall 2024) & JAPN 1020 (Spring 2025)
"It's no understatement to say that Minobe Sensei was one of the best educators I have experienced in my life. He made an extremely rigorous course engaging, enjoyable, and one that I looked forward to attending. As a person, he is extremely kind and friendly, which greatly helped me adjust to the intimidations of learning Japanese. There was always a welcoming and comfortable class environment, bringing the students together and creating a strong sense of community. Because of this, many of us made sure to get in the same class this semester, and we have Minobe to thank for bringing us together. His in-class activities almost always had students communicating with others, and this helped everyone feel more comfortable with their skill level. I believe this sense of community he created is key to helping students enjoy classes with high workloads such as Japanese, and I’m very thankful to be a part of it. Outside of class, he never failed to respond to my emails promptly and always gave considerate, helpful responses. It was always clear to me just how much he cared about his students and wanted every one of us to succeed. I remember vividly when we walked out on the last day of class: everyone was talking about how awesome Minobe was and how we hoped to have him again. It’s impressive, to say the least, to have all of his students unanimously agree that he was simply the best of the best. I can’t vouch enough for how much I enjoyed my time in his class, and I plan to do everything I can to take a class with him again!"
- Student from JPNS 101 (Fall 2021)
"I really enjoyed the songs that Minobe Sensei showed and the singing during the beginning of class. I liked how the songs were relevant to class material and how it exposed me to songs that I listen to on my free time like, ひまわりの約束. As a socially anxious person, I never felt super anxious, unlike foreign language classes I had taken in the past. I think this is due to the way Minobe Sensei set up the activities and the way he called on people and corrected them. I also liked how he showed the class game he plays like Splatoon and the number guessing game. It made me feel like I had a more personal connection with him compared to other teachers. Overall, Minobe Sensei’s class was fun and it helped me get over some of my social anxiety, and is still my favorite classes I have taken at Purdue!"
- Student from JPNS 101 (Fall 2021)
"My first impression of Professor Minobe was that he was very open. In a class of nervous freshman, his clear passion for teaching and the Japanese language seeped into us, keeping us all engaged with learning the language. During class, he would have us sing a song in Japanese, stand up to play word games, and pair students up for group activities, all of which caused us to quickly form new bonds with the people around us. His dedication to his students shows through both inside and outside class interactions, and the easy-to-understand lessons caused the students and I to grow more confident in our learning capabilities."
- Student from JPNS 101 (Fall 2021)
"I have had the privilege of being Professor Minobe's student for the past two semesters now. Without a doubt, his best quality as an educator is his clear desire to help his students learn and do their best. Everything he does in the classroom works towards this goal. He takes standard textbook material and adds relevant and engaging aspects to it to enrich the students' experience. He also gives all students an equal opportunity to participate in classroom activities, challenging students to continuously compete with themselves to improve at their own pace. The combination of teaching ability, knowledge of the subjects he teaches, and desire to help students improve, coupled with his open and likeable personality, has made Professor Minobe one of, if not the best, teacher that I have had in my time at Purdue."
- Student from JPNS 301 (Fall 2021) & JPNS 302 (Spring 2022)