Tom Lee

After two years of taking class with Tom I can confidently say that my lessons with him have been the #1 thing that has contributed to my growth in Korean. Not only have my speaking and listening skills improved exponentially, but my depth of understanding of all the nuance in the Korean language (and there is a lot lol) has dramatically increased as well. This for me is super valuable and really not something you can learn from a book!

Honestly I can say that after taking many many many lessons with Tom DAILY, this is probably one of the best teachers I’ve ever had in my life — period!! I cannot recommend him enough, he is so kind, compassionate punctual. He makes learning so fun and I can genuinely say that it has been a pleasure to be his student. His teaching method for learning languages is by far one of the most practical and hands on approaches. I never thought I would have learnt the amount I learned. And I never even did any of the homework 😂. He paces his lessons to suit his students. He takes so much notes during lessons. The study material is always centred around your life so you really learn vocabulary you would use in real life. I can’t recommend him enough.

Some people are just born to teach. Tom has a gift for sure. Tom offers a perfect balance of instruction, patience, encouragement, and humor.  -He uses both Korean and English in class -he types notes for you as you go -homework easily fits into busy schedules -you learn so much without realizing it -He can easily sense when you don't understand and may need additional examples -He can also sense when you are having an off-day and need less pressure. -classes are a joy and will quickly become the highlight of your week.   I am thankful I put the self-teaching attempts down and took a chance. Learning a language is hard. Having someone to walk beside you that genuinely cares about your success makes it easier.

All I can say is I learned so much in this lesson! I really appreciate that Tom spends time reviewing fundamental grammar - I really enjoy the review and I need it sometimes to get back on track. He is just so good with explaining the WHY and the background on vocabulary (great discussion on the origin of the Korean word Serial Killer!).

I had several grammar points I studied that Tom help provide more in-depth explanations and examples that my book did not have. Sometimes the explanations in the the books leave out subtle differences in context or when/why certain grammar phrases are used. His analysis is very helpful and since everything is documented, I can transfer notes to my books for reference when it comes up again. Our conversation today also provided me with some new vocabulary as well! I learn so much in one hour!

He always listens to me patiently. Whenever I have difficulty understanding Korean with an English mindset, he explains the logic first rather than insisting that I memorize it.