HAMANO

I recently completed my 135th lesson with Hamano-sensei, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from such an outstanding teacher. Not only does she tailor each lesson to suit my interests, but her profound knowledge of Japanese culture, history, and current affairs enriches every session. Initially, I struggled with expressing myself in Japanese and felt hesitant to engage in conversation. However, Hamano-sensei's patience and expertise have boosted my confidence, and I can communicate easily even in Japan. Our curriculum has been diverse and engaging, encompassing traditional textbooks like Genki, as well as delving into classical poetry such as the 百人一首 and modern literature by renowned authors like 太宰治 and 夏目漱石. Beyond language proficiency, Hamano-sensei fosters discussions on current affairs, offering insights into the Japanese mindset and way of life. Most importantly, her enthusiasm makes every lesson incredibly fun. Thank you, Hamano-sensei!

I have had ~50 lessons with Hamano-sensei. My experience has been very good. * Her English is very good - if you're a beginner/intermediate, don't worry about communication issues. * She is very skilled in linguistics. If you ever want to know “why” something is a particular way in Japanese, she will be able to answer this. * She has plenty of interesting stories to tell to drive lessons and keep lessons interesting, in case you are feeling self-conscious and don’t know what to say. * She makes great use of whiteboards to present material in both spoken and written form * She has a totally flexible teaching style depending on what the student wants. We have changed styles multiple times so far, and it's always enjoyable. * She has lots of suggestions for what the student can work on at home, in case they have time, but never puts any pressure on the student to do so. 
 * She has always been very kind and respectful.
 * She has never missed a lesson or been late.

Over the past several months, Hamano sensei has been helping me with a presentation that I needed to give at work. It was a huge step up for me, presenting to external companies and my first full 30-minute presentation in Japanese. She helped me with vocab, grammar and most importantly pronunciation. I am pleased to say that it all went very well. To add to this, over the last couple of years, she has supported me in my progression through the JLPT levels. Lessons are always enjoyable and have been both textbook based or fitted whatever I have needed at that time. For anyone serious about learning Japanese then you should look no further.

We got a feel for my level and will start next lesson soon

Hamano-sensei and I do various kinds of lessons together, but sometimes we just end up telling stories - and she has a lot of interesting ones to tell. This is exactly the kind of live, interactive practice I'm looking for.

Hamano sensei is always so helpful and encouraging and genuinely cares for her students