Sumito

I had some technical issues before the class, but Sumito Sensei was incredibly understanding and kindly added the lost time back once everything was up and running. Today's lesson was excellent. I shared a story about recent events, and Sumito Sensei listened attentively, taking notes without interrupting, which really helped maintain the flow of the conversation. At the end of the session, he asked me to reflect on my own performance before going over his notes. I really appreciate how Sumito Sensei allows me to speak freely and provides corrections afterwards. This approach boosts my confidence and encourages me to engage more in conversations.

Sumito-sensei does a phenomenal job locating general areas in my language usage that need improvement, and also pinpointing specifics I need to focus on to be able to competently use Japanese in my everyday life. As a teacher myself, I understand that I'm a difficult student because I have no formal Japanese language schooling so my knowledge base/ability level is extremely inconsistent. I've taken a fair amount of classes on Italki (at this time, more than 100), and I can honestly say that while every teacher has been helpful in their own way, Sumito-sensei's lessons have given me the most tangible/usable progress in the shortest amount of time. Learning Japanese on your own is overwhelming for a number of reasons, one of them being that it's difficult to find honest feedback on your Japanese that's not basic text-book Japanese based. Sumito-Sensei's feedback is honest, practical, and very helpful. I highly recommend Sumito-sensei's lessons if you want to be able to speak naturally.

Great lesson with Sumito. Today we focused on how to react to responses. Its an important part of communication to indicate that one is listening. I appreciate Sumito's emphasis on tone of voice on top of vocabulary. Its one thing to respond correctly, its another thing to respond naturally. Sumito uses drilling to help me practice and become comfortable in a japanese tone of voice!

Yet another incredible session! Sumito sensei challenges me, pushing me to explore and articulate situations in detail, a skill crucial for enriching conversations. He guided me in crafting sentences that flow more naturally. It was super fun and challenging today! ありがとう！

All I did was take a trial lesson and I'm already excited to start learning. I have no doubt he will be a great teacher!

Sumito is very knowledgeable and had created his own innovative methods that are more effective than what I was taught at my University!