I really enjoyed my trial lesson with Natsumi. I'm a bit shy but she made me feel at ease. We worked on things based on my current level and the lesson went by very quickly. I'll definitely take more lessons with her !

夏美先生に初めて日本語を教えていただいたときからもうすぐ6ヶ月になりますね。その間、長野に引っ越し、4月から通う音楽学校の出願手続きを終え、面接の練習をし、数え切れないほどのメールを書き、そして日本語能力試験N2に合格しました。夏美先生、これまで50回のレッスン、本当にありがとうございました。これからも先生から日本語を学んでいきたいと思っています。よろしくお願いします！ It's almost been 6 months since I started learning Japanese with Natsumi Sensei. In that time, I've moved houses in Nagano, finished the application procedures for the music school I'll be attending from April, practiced for interviews, written more emails than I can count, and passed the JLPT N2 Exam. Natsumi Sensei - thank you so much for your help so far in these past 50 lessons. I look forward to continuing to learn Japanese from you.

I booked a conversation practice lesson and Natsumi is very patient and friendly. I feel like its easy to talk to her and I think my Japanese will improve very quickly if I talk to her regularly! I can recommend her lesson!

I've had a few lessons with Natsumi-san who has helped me refreshed my Japanese after not taking lessons for a while. I don't get to practice my Japanese on a day to day basis so I am not always the best student. It's been great with her as having as a tutor and a coach.

Natsumi-sensei is a great teacher. We're working through Genki I and it's so so much better than doing it alone. She's super up-beat, energetic, and positive. Overall a great experience!

Natsumi-sensei demonstrates a strong grasp of constructivist learning principles by actively engaging the learner in meaning-making rather than passive reception. Her energetic and encouraging teaching style creates a psychologically safe learning environment, which is critical for second-language acquisition and risk-taking. The use of the maru-batsu board is an excellent example of gamification and formative assessment in practice—it provides immediate feedback, reinforces correct usage, and reduces anxiety around errors. From an educator’s perspective, her approach aligns well with Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), as she carefully scaffolds new material while maintaining high engagement. Her bubbly demeanor is not superficial; it serves a pedagogical purpose by sustaining motivation and supporting long-term retention. Natsumi-sensei is an instructor who clearly understands that emotional engagement is a key driver of effective language learning.