Miki

I already wrote one review of Miki-sensei's work, but I'm grateful to have multiple opportunities to praise her as a tutor. She is exceptionally good at helping English-speakers improve at Japanese. Among other reasons, I just marvel at the balance she strikes between challenging me and encouraging me. She makes this balance seem easy, but I know it's a rare skill to have, especially with how she doing it in real-time during our delightful conversations. For example, we hold our lessons mostly in Japanese (which is challenging in itself), but she has an incredible ability to speak to me on my level, as well as support me when I get confused. (Imagine being able to speak clearly to someone who is a beginner at your best language... it's not easy! It takes a really sophisticated understanding of both the learner and the language!) I leave every lesson of ours with a smile on my face and increased confidence in my Japanese, but also a renewed eagerness to learn even more!

As soon as next week, I will be the parent of a child whose first language will be Japanese and Miki has been doing such a good job for many months of helping me improve my ability so that my relationship to the child can be strong in their native language. I will always love and appreciate her for the time she has spent with me preparing for this major life change.

I would recommend Miki-sensei for anyone learning Japanese.

I really enjoy my classes with Miki sensei! She is a kind, warm, supportive, and very experienced teacher. She always begins our lessons with a small-talk practice. I am a beginner, so it's challenging for me to express myself with my limited Japanese. But I try, and Miki sensei patiently helps me, often writing down useful words and phrases. She speaks only Japanese with me, which makes it a great listening practice. This 1 hour feels very productive! The textbook we use is also a great choice, and the workbook has lots of exercises to review after class. I also have homework to write, which we then check together. Thank you! :))

Speaking with Miki-sensei is always a joy. What appears to be she and I having a pleasant chat about pro wrestling is actually a very intentional series of speaking and listening exercises for me, as she is extremely thoughtful to ask questions that are either just above or at the top of my ability to answer in Japanese. She also brings me vocabulary that is essential for understanding Japanese pro wrestling but absent from more general Japanese curricula. We've been working together for months, and I can't imagine stopping anytime soon. My skills have grown so much faster than they were during my years of self-study, and I'm so appreciative of Miki-sensei's role in this.

Miki-sensei recently helped me prepare for the JLPT for the first time which was very successful. I felt that our conversation practice was particularly helpful because of the listening session of the JLPT