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! ^^

山本先生 is the best. She is professional, highly prepared, and always on time. I was reaching a point in my beginner self-study where I was feeling a bit lost and directionless, and she has completely reinvigorated my love for learning the language. She is wonderful and thorough when it comes to answering your questions regarding both the language itself and Japanese culture. As someone who gets self-conscious about speaking, I deeply appreciate her soft, kind teaching style. She creates an environment where I never feel foolish, while still gently pushing me to correct my mistakes and keep progressing. My brain always feels full after our lessons in the best possible way! Money well spent for me, and will be for you too!

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.

This is a technical complaint. Kao is a fantastic teacher. The layout of the lesson screen has two images of the teacher and me and they cover up the material so it is difficult to see the material she is showing sometimes. .

Yamamoto-san creates lessons that push me to improve without making me overwhelmed. When I do get stuck, Yamaoto-san takes time to explain in depth, and follows up by checking my understanding. Highly recommend for those looking to level up their Japanese skill.