Kaoru Yamamoto

I already had more than 50 lessons with Kaoru and I take so much out of each lesson. Kaoru is positive, optimistic, patient and motivating. Kaoru always responds to my wishes and implements them so quickly in our lesson that I am surprised every time. So I was able to prepare perfectly for my Japan trip, for an event, for concerts etc. and thanks to her I also passed my JLPT exam last year, where she continues to help me with grammar for the next exam. In class, Kaoru encourages you to speak Japanese too, and gives you enough time to think and also helps you along. I am not afraid that I might say something wrong or make mistakes. Like, you only learn from mistakes, right ;-) Learning Japanese on my own is not easy, but with her help it is much more fun and within a year I have learned so many new things that I would not have learned from a textbook or anywhere else. I can recommend Kaoru to anyone who is tired of boring textbooks and who needs some support in their self-study.

Those lessons help me so much with self-study. They are super fun, interactive, informative and fit my needs perfectly. Every week I look forward to the lessons and they always leave me feeling like my time was well invested! I learn a lot - each lesson has enough structure to prevent me from feeling lost but enough flexibility to keep it entertaining and interactive. They are just perfect for me. Thank you so much, Kaoru-sensei! ^^

After 4 lessons with Kaoru-san I can say she is an excellent teacher. She always provides honest feedback and really cares that I understand something before moving on. Her classes are challenging, which is what I needed to keep learning Japanese. She is a wonderful teacher!

This is the 2nd lesson I've had. I've had about 9 italki teachers, both professional and community tutor, and no one has been bad but I can confidently say that Kaoru pays the most attention to detail by far of anyone I've talked to. She'll make specialized lessons based on your interests and will actually type out what you say so that you have a record of your mistakes and how to correct them, along with any new words or sentence suggestions.

Kaoru-san is an amazing teacher—and I say that as a not-so-easy student. 😅 My schedule is unpredictable/chaotic, I forget things constantly, and I don’t always keep up as well as I want to... Kaoru-san handles this with amazing patience, positivity, and super adaptability. But she still pushes you and keeps you on your toes to ensure you improve. What really stands out is how she creates individualized materials instead of just following a textbook. She even uses your interests (anime, songs, etc.), which makes learning feel way more fun and “real.” She puts a lot of effort into this, which I find highly respectable. I feel progress coming in at a great steady pace; Kaoru-san knows how to get the job done, with a smile on top. かおるさん、本当にありがとうございます。頑張りますので、よろしくお願いします！

Kaoru is fantastic. She creates very structured and helpful lessons, but is very good at shifting and explaining if there’s something specific you need help with. I look forward to my classes!