Bilingirl

For the Japanese singer, see Chika Yoshida.
Bilingirl
Yoshida in 2019
Personal information
Born
Chika Yoshida (吉田 千佳[1], Yoshida Chika)

(1984-12-31) December 31, 1984 (age 39)
Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
NationalityJapanese
OccupationYouTuber
Websitewww.bilingirl-chika.com
YouTube information
Also known asBilingirl
Channel
Years active2011–present
Genres
Subscribers1.6 million[2]
Total views526 million[2]
NetworkYoshidamasaki Inc.
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: 4 Sept, 2024

Chika Yoshida[3] (吉田 ちか, Yoshida Chika, born December 31, 1984), also known as Bilingirl (バイリンガール) or Bilingirl Chika, is a Japanese YouTuber. Since 2011, Yoshida has been producing videos on YouTube where she gives casual English lessons to Japanese people. As of 2021, she has over 1.5 million subscribers on her YouTube channel.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Born in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan,[5] Yoshida moved to the United States when she was in her first year of elementary school due to her father's job transfer, and she grew up in Anacortes, Washington.[4][6] She attended a Japanese school every week from elementary to high school, where she was classmates with actor Kei Hosogai.[7][8][9] After graduating from high school, Yoshida enrolled at the University of Washington in 2003, where she majored in business and attended the Foster School of Business, and she graduated in 2007.[4][10][11] After spending 16 years in the United States, she moved back to Japan,[3] where she worked as a business consultant for an American company at their Japanese branch.[4][6] From 2010 to 2012, she briefly opened a nail salon in Ginza as a side business.[5]

Career

[edit]

In 2011, Yoshida posted her first video on her YouTube channel, Bilingirl English Conversation (バイリンガール英会話) to teach English grammar to her friend, who had asked her to look over her English resume.[3][6][12] After posting more English lessons, her channel began attracting a following, and after 1.5 years, she decided to focus on her YouTube career full-time after receiving job inquiries from several companies.[3] Several clients that Yoshida has worked with include Austrian Airlines and Kao Corporation.[3] Since opening her channel, Yoshida has gained 1.5 million subscribers as of 2021.[4]

In 2014, Yoshida opened a second YouTube channel, Japanagos, which features educational videos about Japan to her overseas viewers.[6] In the same year, she appeared in a commercial for YouTube.[13]

In 2018, NHK broadcast a television program that named Yoshida as the 5th favorite YouTuber in Japan.[14] In the same year, she launched a mobile app called "Help Me Travel", which teaches English phrases to Japanese people when traveling abroad.[15]

In April 2020, Yoshida took a hiatus from her channel following criticisms of her decision to return to Japan from Malaysia at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] She resumed posting videos on August 13, 2020.[17]

Personal life

[edit]

On October 18, 2015, Yoshida announced that she was getting married.[18] In June 2018,[11] she gave birth to a daughter, nicknamed Pudding (プリン, Purin).[19] On October 19, 2021, she announced that she had given birth to a son,[4] nicknamed Clover (クローバー, Kurōbā).[20]

Publications

[edit]
Year Title Publisher ISBN
2015 Native Eigo Nante Hitsuyō Nai! Phrase Bakari Anki Shitemo, Anata ga Eigo o Hanasenai Wake (ネイティブ英語なんて必要ない! フレーズばかり暗記しても、あなたが英語を話せないワケ) Kadokawa Magazines ISBN 978-4047317109
YouTube to Manga de So Much Fun! Bilingirl Eikawa (YouTubeとマンガでso much fun!　バイリンガール英会話) Media Factory ISBN 978-4040676302
2018 Jinsei de Ichido wa Yattemitai America Ōdan no Tabi (人生で一度はやってみたいアメリカ横断の旅) Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha ISBN 978-4408420820
Help Me Travel: Tabi ga Hyaku-bai Tanoshiku Naru Eikawa (HELP me TRAVEL 旅が100倍楽しくなる英会話) Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha ISBN 978-4408338149
2019 Wake Up! In Melbourne (WAKE UP! in メルボルン) Sekai Bunka Publishing [ja] ISBN 978-4418195046
2022 Wake Up! In Kuala Lumpur (ＷＡＫＥ ＵＰ ！ ｉｎ クアラルンプ−ル) Sekai Bunka Publishing [ja] ISBN 978-4418205028

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "吉田 千佳 (オンライン動画クリエイター) | 人生デザインU_29". NHK. Archived from the original on April 5, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "About Bilingirl Chika". YouTube.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bhattacharjee, Nivedita (September 8, 2016). "How to use Taylor Swift, vacays, and pop culture to rock it like Youtube's Bilingirl". Tech in Asia. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "「バイリンガール」吉田ちか、第２子出産！夫＆長女との家族ショットも公開「逆子の経膣分娩」". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). October 19, 2021. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Ishimoto, Ayako (October 2014). "吉田ちかさん「英語学習者の背中を押してあげたい」（ユーチューバー）". MyNavi News (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Ito, Masami (December 5, 2014). "Bilingirl has plenty to teach you". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Hosogai, Kei [@kei_hsgi1010] (October 20, 2014). "最近びっくりした事。人気ユーチューバーで、CMにも出たりしているバイリンガール…なんと俺のシアトル時代の同級生笑 週に一回の日本人学校で小学生から高校生までずっと同じ笑 覚えてるかなー？笑 なんか…めちゃ不思議や笑笑" [Something surprising happened recently. Bilingirl, a popular YouTuber, appeared in a commercial. She was my classmate when I lived in Seattle (lol). She's always been the same since we attended Japanese school once a week from elementary to high school (lol). I wonder if she remembers me? (lol) Somehow... this is very weird (lolol).] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Chika [@chika_english] (October 20, 2014). "@kikaijishi2 @kei_hsgi1010 わお、ここでも！w 本当に不思議過ぎるんだけど！" [Wow, you're here too! (lol) But, really, this is too weird!] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Hosogai, Kei [@kei_hsgi1010] (October 20, 2014). "@chika_english @kikaijishi2 久しぶりー！ 良かった、覚えてたんやね笑 なんか不思議すぎてよーわからん！笑" [Long time no see! I'm glad you remember me (lol) This is too weird! IDK! (lol)] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Yoshida, Chika (March 2, 2021). "YouTuber・"バイリンガールちか"のネイティブ英語はめざさない!". MyNavi News (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "UW Converge Tokyo 2018: Speaker Bios". University of Washington. 2018. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  12. ^ "バイリンガール英会話、仕掛けた女性の起業マインド". The Nikkei (in Japanese). July 12, 2017. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "YouTubeクリエイター祭典 CMで話題の"バイリンガールちか"がクリス・ペプラーと英会話". Oricon (in Japanese). October 23, 2014. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "「好きなYouTuber」1位はHIKAKIN、2位はデビュー間もない草なぎ剛". Oricon (in Japanese). March 24, 2018. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  15. ^ Osawa, Ai (October 14, 2018). "「試食ありますか？」って英語で言える？人気YouTuber"バイリンガールちか"さんの英会話アプリはかゆいところに手が届く♡". Isuta (in Japanese). PR Times. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  16. ^ St. Michel, Patrick (July 11, 2020). "Social media finds itself in a new role as businesses reopen". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  17. ^ Suzuki, Yuya (August 25, 2020). "英会話系YouTuber「バイリンガールちか」はなぜ人気？ 活動再開を機に魅力を分析". Real Sound (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  18. ^ "バイリンガールちか結婚発表 英会話で人気ユーチューバー". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). October 19, 2015. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "英会話ユーチューバー「バイリンガール」吉田ちか第2子妊娠を発表 10月出産予定". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Yoshida, Chika (November 25, 2021). "First month with our baby! & his nickname reveal!". YouTube. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
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