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! ^^

Kaoru先生 is very engaged, enthusiastic, and reassuring in our lessons. The lesson follows a nice well-rounded format that is structured yet flexible. The time goes by fast - but gives me lots of practice both in free conversation and grammar-focused exercises. She has incorporated working with lyrics from a pop song, and has indicated we will look at manga too. I feel sure the lessons will help me get to the next level in my speaking ability!

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.

I just completed my trial lesson with Yamamoto-sensei and I immediately felt comfortable with the lesson plan and the goals that were discussed. I've been self-studying for several years and Yamamoto-sensei immediately shared tips that I never would have caught while reading formal textbooks. I'm excited to continue my language journey as her student.

It was my first lesson, but I learned so much. I learned how to make a past tense, negative, and conjugation, then applied it to making a self introduction sentence. She's very good at explaining these concepts and very patient and positive.