Interview by Isao Tokuhashi & Takeshi Takahashi
info@myeyestokyo.com
Jairo Rodríguez (Colombia)
Assistant Language Teacher/YouTuber/Corporate English Instructor
Earlier this early summer of 2025, we had the opportunity to interview Mr. Takeshi Takahashi, an English teacher whose life was transformed through an internship in Denmark. Then we received an email from him.
“If you don’t mind, I would love to introduce one of my foreign friends to you. He is an assistant language teacher from Colombia whom I met last year.”
Colombia is a Spanish-speaking country in South America. We have interviewed several people from Colombia before—but an English teacher from Colombia…?
Mr. Takahashi’s email continued.
“He recently started a YouTube channel where he uploads videos that help learn English conversation.”
This is the channel!
This channel is run in collaboration with Janus Ecleo, an English instructor from the Philippines, and primarily focuses on teaching English expressions for office and workplace situations.
Over the years, we have met quite a few people from South America who speak fluent English. However, we had never encountered anyone like Jairo, who has made English teaching his full-time profession. Naturally, we wanted first to ask Jairo, who is from Colombia, how he came to choose the path of “teaching English in Japan.”
When we finally met him—introduced by Mr. Takahashi—Jairo was exactly as he appeared in the videos: gentle and soft-spoken. What surprised us even more was how fluent his Japanese was. He spoke thoughtfully about his background in his third language.
*Interview at Higashi-ginza
Different by Day and by Night
I currently work as an ALT (*Assistant Language Teacher: a foreign national serving as an assistant teacher in a classroom in Japan, particularly for English as a second language) at a junior high school in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Over the past 15 years, I have taught at various elementary and junior high schools in places such as Chuo, Meguro, Nerima, and Suginami. Before that, I worked as an English–Spanish interpreter and translator, and also taught English to children.
Building on these experiences, I started a new challenge this year (2025): a YouTube channel called “That Makes Sense,” where I mainly teach English in English to Japanese businesspeople.
“Don’t Say This in Business English! Common Mistakes Japanese Speakers Make”
I run this channel together with Janus, a friend from the Philippines whom I met through my work as an ALT. I handle the planning and scripting, while he is in charge of video editing. At first, it felt experimental, and I was embarrassed to speak in front of a camera, but I gradually got used to it, and the quality of the clips has improved. I’m always thinking about new topics—whether I’m sitting in a café or walking down the street, I often think, “This might be a new topic!”
Since coming to Japan in 2003, I have consistently worked in language-related fields. What first set me on that path was the people I met in London.
Samurai Encountered in the Land of Gentlemen
I had been learning English since I was a child. From around the age of six, I attended an international school where, in addition to Colombian students, there were children from Australia, the United States, and various European countries. Classes were conducted in both English and Spanish, though I think Spanish was used more often. At home as well, I spoke Spanish.
While I was at university majoring in Industrial Engineering, I began teaching English part-time to children and working professionals, and through that experience, I came to strongly feel that I truly enjoyed teaching. I also preferred British English over American English (laughs), and I often listened to British music such as Oasis and Blur. So after graduating from university, I went to London. There, I spent two years at a teachers’ college—essentially a university for becoming a teacher—studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
Many Japanese students were also studying at the same college. As a child, I had watched Japanese anime such as Dragon Ball, but it was only after becoming friends with them and hearing many stories about Japan that I became interested in the country for the first time.
During the summer vacation of 2002, I visited Tokyo for the first time. It was truly a “WOW!” experience. The atmosphere of the city, the people, and the language they spoke—everything was completely new to me, and it left a powerful impression.
After returning to London, a Japanese friend suggested, “Why don’t you work in Japan?” It was true that what I had studied could hardly be put to use in the UK. I immediately began searching for job openings online—and I specifically targeted companies in Tokyo, a city filled with happy memories for me. Then I applied to a children’s English school run by a major Japanese publishing company and was accepted. In 2003, I moved to Japan and began working as an English instructor. At the time, I only knew a little hiragana and katakana, so the language barrier was enormous.
From Soldier to Civilian: Using Military Experience in Japan
For about eight years at the English school I worked at, I taught children at various locations around Tokyo. I truly enjoyed the work. Compared with children in Colombia, Japanese children listen very attentively (laughs). I was surprised by that difference.
After that, I decided to try working as an interpreter. Actually, when I was 18, I had been assigned to the Colombian military through the conscription system, where I served as an interpreter.
What the military needed were people who could speak both English and Spanish. Only two people were selected from my hometown, and I was one of them. I spent a year working as an interpreter at the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in Egypt. This was my first real interpreting experience, and I also worked as a medical interpreter there. I found it extremely rewarding and strongly felt, “I want to try interpreting in Japan as well!”
In Japan, my interpreting work involved international conferences and presentations. I provided interpretation—including whispered interpreting—for Spanish speakers at conferences and presentations conducted in English. The fields I worked in were extremely diverse, and I had to thoroughly study materials in advance, learning specialized terminology and its background in detail. Since Spanish and English both originate from Latin, they share many similarities in vocabulary, which often helped me.
I continued working as an interpreter and translator for about two years. During that time, I had work almost every day, and sometimes I was so busy that I could barely sleep at night. As a result, I became quite exhausted both physically and mentally. I decided to step away from interpreting and translation and return to the classroom. I realized once again that teaching was what I truly enjoyed, and I took a position as an ALT, teaching English at elementary and junior high schools. I have worked at many different schools across Tokyo, which brings me to where I am today.
School lunches in Japan are delicious. At my international school in Colombia, meals were served cafeteria-style, where students paid for and chose what they wanted to eat. Having nutritionally balanced lunches like those in Japanese schools felt very fresh and new to me. I used to dislike sushi because I couldn’t eat raw fish, but now I love it. Natto, however, is still impossible for me (laughs)—I just can’t get used to it.
A Third Face Emerges
As I mentioned earlier, I am also active as a YouTuber. I had long wanted to do something using YouTube, but for a while I couldn’t quite come up with a concrete idea.
However, I had always been deeply interested in wasei-eigo—Japanese-made English. Words that are commonly used in Japan that often don’t make sense at all in actual English, and I found that gap both unique and fascinating. For example, announcements you often see at train stations like “Please touch your Suica or PASMO at the ticket gate” don’t quite work in English. In English, you wouldn’t say touch—you would say tap. Another expression you hear a lot is “plus alpha” (laughs). These phrases sound perfectly natural to Japanese people, but they can be quite puzzling to foreigners. Wanting to share this kind of fun and interesting mismatch, I decided to start a YouTube channel together with Janus, who agreed with my idea.
[Wasei-Eigo] 5 “English” Words That Confuse Native Speakers
Now we create videos on a wide range of topics, including TOEIC and English for the workplace. Our main target audience is Japanese businesspeople, and for each video, we set an assumed viewer level ranging from A1 (beginner) to C2 (proficient) on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) scale. I was surprised to discover that even viewers at a near-native C2 level are also watching our channel.
For a long time, I have wanted to start a company that teaches English to corporate clients. I have actually taught English to employees at a foreign-owned automobile manufacturer in the past. However, turning that into a sustainable business is not easy. That’s why, as a step toward that goal, I launched the YouTube channel—to let people get to know my teaching style and way of thinking.
Then, in May this year, Janus and I finally launched a company called “ProSpeak”, which provides English training for businesses.
ProSpeak website, the company Jairo co-manages with Janus, his YouTube partner.
I strongly want to support Japanese professionals who need English in the corporate world. My ultimate dream is to build something meaningful through teaching and creativity, and help people feel more confident using English in real life.
What is Tokyo to you?
A big city that offers a lot of things, never sleeps, and is constantly changing. I think Tokyo always welcomes foreign people.
But it could improve to be a really welcoming city to foreigners, because foreigners still have trouble getting around Tokyo, mainly because of the language.
But don’t worry. That’s exactly why our YouTube channel exists—to help make Tokyo more accessible: That Makes Sense!
Jairo’s links
YouTube Channel ”That Makes Sense”: youtube.com/@ThatMakeSense-j5
ProSpeak: prospeak-corporate.com/jp
