In this half lesson, we will have the chance to get to know each other while I learn more about your language goals and priorities, introduce some of my lesson types and answer any of your questions about my teaching style.

With this simple course, advanced students can expect to make regular strides in terms of conversational competence and confidence. I will generally not prepare any materials for the class. This approach will challenge students to think, speak and comprehend quickly in order to match the pace of native-level verbal communication.  

Unless a student prefers to review mistakes at the end, I will make a note of all errors made by the student and corrections will be made during conversation at appropriate moments; if necessary, further teaching and practice will be provided to address significant or recurring errors. Lastly, please note that, for the sake of verisimilitude, there will be no set topic or lesson materials provided and no homework assigned. However, if a student wishes to propose conversation topics prior to the class, this will be encouraged.

Conversation Class

This course features an approach developed by the teacher over the course of several years’ teaching experience. I will tailor materials to meet individual students' needs while keeping in mind the four fundamental skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

Class time will predominantly be dedicated to speaking and listening (with particular attention devoted to improving pronunciation, intonation and comprehension/thinking/speaking speed). I will carefully select course material prior to each class, including grammar exercises, written dialogues, news articles and YouTube videos, in order to offer students only the most important and practical knowledge for speaking REAL English for work and general communication with NATIVE English speakers. Therefore, students will spend less time learning vocabulary out of context; instead, tricky yet essential aspects of English such as idioms and phrasal verbs, presented in context, will form the basis of a student’s learning.

Standard Native English Course

In this course, we will work together to improve your academic writing. This is my specialty and I have tutored many students in this area, helping them successfully prepare application essays, dissertations, and more.

First, we will work on structure for academic essays and formal argumentative style. If you are more experienced, we will work to fine-tune your abilities according to your precise needs and upcoming projects. I am also happy to dedicate classes to specific skills such as assembling a literature review or effectively addressing counter-arguments within your essays. In principle, I am happy and comfortable working on any type of writing, from CVs and emails to dissertations, college applications and even fiction. Finally, included in the price of each lesson, I will proofread and edit up to 500 words of your writing per class and give you detailed comments and feedback.

Academic Writing (with Revision)

Offered for the purpose of allowing both student and teacher greater flexibility, this no-frills lesson type gives you the opportunity to practice speaking on the go, wherever you are, as long as you have access to a stable internet connection. Though correcting your mistakes will, of course, remain a top priority in this class, the approach will generally be much more casual. Therefore, I would only recommend this option to upper-intermediate and advanced students looking to increase their speaking practice time with a CELTA-qualified teacher. Ideally, the casual conversation class will resemble a spontaneous phone call between friends. To facilitate this and enhance flexibility, please note that video will not be used.

Casual Conversation Class (No Video)

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I received this certificate from Gunma Prefecture's board of education upon concluding my time as a teacher in Japan.

My main supervisor (Michiko Miyata) wrote this letter of reference for me before I left my school in Japan. It does not detail my dates of employment, but this information is contained in the Certificate of Participation.

As recognition of my teaching in Japan, I received this certificate to indicate my status as a Kizuna ambassador.

I received this reference from my former employer after concluding my time teaching online.

120 hours in-person course completed during January 2015. This course focused on theoretical approaches to teaching English, as well as practical lesson planning and substantial teaching practice with real, non-native, students.