Native Japanese & French (& Latin) Language Coach
Offers remote services
Offers remote services
$75/hour
estimated cost
Zip code
It’s free, with no obligation to book
Introduction: I have been teaching languages since 2000. I started tutoring in Switzerland, and have been teaching Japanese, French and Latin in San Francisco and in Tokyo. I work with adults of all levels (from 18 years old and up). I have experience with one-on-one lessons, online lessons, and schoolroom classes. I teach from an hour and up, for weekly consistent scheduling. My rate is $75/hr, and I also offer a discounted rate for the first trial lesson at $65/hr. For groups of two people my rate is $100/hr.
I was born and raised in Switzerland. Because my father is Swiss and my mother is Japanese, I have spoken French and Japanese since childhood. As a youth, I spent summers in Japan with extended family. While I was an undergraduate student, I worked as a French teacher for foreign students at école Lémania in Switzerland, and also as a Latin tutor to junior and high school students for 2 years.
At the University of Geneva in Switzerland, I earned a “Licence es Lettres,” equivalent to a Bachelor of Arts degree, in Japanese, ancient Roman history, and Latin. After graduating, I moved to Tokyo to pursue a doctorate in ancient Japanese grammar at the University of Tokyo. However, I left the doctorate program after two years when I found a greater calling in Tokyo's fashion world.
In Japan, I worked as a PR fashion manager for a variety of European brands including Giuseppe Zanotti Designs, and as a contributing writer for Time Out Tokyo. I still also work as an interpreter (Japanese-French-English) with Japanese department stores and import company during European fashion events, and go to Europe regularly for work. I recently worked for the inflight magazine of the Japanese airline company ANA as a coordinator and interpreter for their San Francisco issues.
I am also a cultural consultant and travel curator. Hired as a Japanese cultural expert, I worked with Airbnb to help them curate their promotional tour of Tokyo for their new Experiences services.
My language clients are predominantly professionals looking to improve their fluency and cultural knowledge for their work. Japanese-language students range from IT managers seeking fluency in Japanese social media, lawyers needing coaching with business language and manners, to artists who exhibit shows in Japan, and more. I help them develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the infinite nuances specific to the Japanese language and culture.
For French-language students, I have taught to students from UC Berkeley, International Baccalaureate, Piedmont high school, Japanese professionals and more. I helped them understand French grammar and literature better, and pass their tests and exams.
I love teaching and teaming up with my students to help them achieve their goals. It’s fulfilling to watch their personal progress. I adjust every lesson to my students’ requests and needs. I like to collaboratively decide on what learning materials work best and regularly update my personal educational library. While I use various materials I have picked up internationally, I am always open to using my students’ preferred materials.
Let's take your language skills to the next level!
***My rate is $75 per hour. I teach from an hour and up, for weekly consistent scheduling. I also offer discounted packages of $650 for 10 lessons (=$65/hr). For groups of two people my rate is $100/hr.
***Please note my cancellation policy: to cancel a session, contact me by text 48 hours or more before your lesson; if you do so, I won’t charge you and will do my best to accommodate your rescheduling request. If you contact me less than 48 hours before your lesson, I will charge you in full. A rescheduled session is subject to the above cancellation policy, too.
***Late policy: clients are expected to pay the full session rate from the original booking time, no matter how late they are. Please contact as soon as you know when you are going to be late.
Overview
Hired 10 times
Serves San Francisco, CA
Background checked
Payment methods
Cash, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle
Reviews
Customers rated this pro highly for work quality, professionalism, and responsiveness.
Exceptional 5.0
12 reviews
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Read reviews that mention:
Sara R.
Jan 3, 2021
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Hired on Thumbtack
Hired on Thumbtack
Learning French from Yuki over the past several months has been an extremely satisfying and enriching experience. I started lessons with Yuki because I was interested in re-engaging with learning the French language after many years, and have been impressed with my progress in only a few months. Yuki tailors lessons to your interests and needs, and is exceptionally professional and committed to her work as a language coach. Not only is she always punctual, flexible, and consistent, she has also been extremely kind and patient with me, which has helped me to feel comfortable in my lessons with her. Moreover, she is smart, experienced, and well-organized, all of which are qualities one needs in a teacher. I would give the highest recommendation to Yuki, and encourage anyone who is looking for a French language coach to contact her!
Details: 26 - 44 years old • Beginner • Full fluency • Beginner • Beginner • Full literacy • 60 minutes • Phone or internet (no in-person meeting)
French Lessons
Allison Y.
Dec 11, 2020
I’ve been working with Yuki for over a year to learn French. She is an excellent teacher who goes above and beyond for her students. Her curriculum is always organized, she is well prepared for every lesson, and she varies her style and resources to try to accommodate different interests and learning styles. She’s excellent at explaining complex grammatical concepts and infusing cultural contexts to further my understanding of the French language and culture. I would highly recommend her to anyone who’s not only looking to learn a new language, but also expand their perspective on current events and the arts in other parts of the world.
Marlowe
Aug 21, 2020
From my first meeting with Yuki, I knew I liked her. I haven't learned another language in a long time, and unlike when I have learned romance languages (French and Italian), learning Japanese is an entirely new ballgame. Throughout our lessons together, Yuki has been patient, thoughtful, and has worked with me on improving my Japanese skills in a unique way. Unlike the traditional classroom or other online-based lessons, working with Yuki is entirely hands on. She pushes me to do the most with my time and learning ability while balancing the knowledge that learning a new language is difficult. Polite when correcting mistakes, and allowing for me to correct my own mishaps, she pushes my learning further so I better understand the language. That, along with her cultural know-how and willingness to discuss different topics while sticking to the lesson at hand, makes her an excellent language teacher. I have nothing but glowing things to say about Yuki, and could easily go on. If you are looking to learn Japanese, Frech, or Latin, she is absolutely the person you should work with.
Tom T.
Jun 10, 2019
Yuki is a brilliant and wonderful teacher of languages (French, Japanese, Latin). I have recommended her to friends of all ages. She teaches students from middle school to middle age and beyond. She makes language learning interesting and fun. She's excellent at motivating students.
I've studied French weekly with Yuki for two years. I look forward to our lessons. Yuki is a tremendously gifted teacher. She's native fluent in French, Japanese and English. She also teaches Latin which she also knows well.
Because she knows so many languages, she understands the deeper ways to learn languages. She always comes prepared, is punctual and very kind.
She also knows the culture and history behind these languages. I studied Latin in high school and college, and we've discussed Latin in addition to our French studies. I lived and worked in Asia for many years and I enjoy discussing Japanese culture and history with Yuki (in French!).
Our studies have included intensive grammar review, speaking and listening as well as reading and translating classic texts. I am no longer as student but seek to learn a new language. Yuki is excellent with adult learners like myself. She also is excellent with students seeking help for school acceleration and improvement.
Yuki is a wonderful human being and a tremendously talented teacher. If you want to learn Japanese, French or Latin, she's the absolute best.
Eric H.
Jan 18, 2018
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Hired on Thumbtack
Hired on Thumbtack
Yuki is an excellent teacher. I hired Yuki 7 months ago for Japanese lessons and have been studying with her ever since. Not only have I learned more than I expected, I have had fun while doing so. Yuki's ability to answer questions, correct mistakes and push me just enough beyond my comfort zone, all while offering encouragement and instilling confidence, creates an engaging, productive and enjoyable learning environment.
In addition to her skill in teaching the language, Yuki shares a wealth of knowledge regarding Japanese culture and current events, regularly weaving this into our lessons. Many aspects of Japanese culture are reflected in how the Japanese language is used. Yuki's ability to blend language learning with cultural insight reinforces my understanding of both and provides a practical and realistic context for my developing language skills. I find this extremely valuable, especially when compared to other language learning experiences that rely primarily on exercises that are contrived and don't reflect how native speakers actually converse.
One hallmark of an excellent teacher is their ability to understand and adapt to a student's needs and learning style. Yuki does this extremely well. During our very first lesson, she specifically asked what my motivation and goals are, what experience I've had with the language (if any) and how I like to learn. This was comforting and encouraging, since clearly she wanted to teach me in a way that worked well for me, not simply based on her preferred style of teaching or a "one size fits all" approach. It took me a while to realize that she was continuing to observe and adapt to my learning style months after that first meeting. As an example, I mentioned during a lesson that I was encouraged because I could often understand much of what Yuki would say in Japanese. She responded that she had purposely been speaking at full speed, as native speakers do, because she felt that I had progressed to the point where that was just enough of a challenge to help me learn without being too difficult to be discouraging. I can't remember how we had progressed to that point, but Yuki was clearly keeping track of my progress, where I was getting comfortable and where I was still challenged, and had adapted our lessons over time to what I needed at that moment.
I highly recommend Yuki as a language teacher. She cares about her students and applies all of her knowledge and teaching skill toward helping them reach their individual goals. She creates a very supportive and comfortable environment, which is invaluable when learning a language. Her ability to integrate cultural insight and current events adds a depth to her language lessons that is not easy to find and makes her lessons more relevant, practical and engaging. Perhaps most telling of all, I have learned more than I expected and I have had a lot of fun doing it.
Japanese Lessons
Credentials
Background Check
Nathalie Yuki Keiser
FAQs
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I started teaching by chance. When I was at University of Geneva, I taught French at Ecole Lemania to foreign students as a side job. I learned that I really enjoyed teaching, and ever since I have continued tutoring and coaching. I'm also a grammar nerd, so I love answering to students' questions, who sometime make me realize new grammar angles. I have taught to class rooms, but I decided to teach private lessons (or groups of 2) only, because it allows me to adjust my lessons to each student's needs. This makes every lesson exciting for me too, because they are all different and I don't have to stick to a textbook only. My lessons are 100% tailor-made for my students, so I enjoy preparing each lesson. I am always researching new materials, new ways to structure my lessons.
- Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
I worked as an interpreter and cultural consultant for a TV show on Vice media for their Japan episode. Working with such a creative team was inspiring and I'm excited to keep working with people like this. I also worked with Airbnb to promote their new Experiences service. Hired as a Japanese cultural expert, I helped them curate and co-host their promotional tour of Tokyo.
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
As you try to find the right tutor, ask yourself these questions. 1. Do you get a good feeling from your teacher? 2. Does your teacher enjoy teaching? 3. Are your teacher's explanations easy to follow? 4. Is your teacher listening to your feedback and requests? 5. Does your teacher motivate you and keep track of your progress? 6. Are you pushed enough by your teacher? 7. Do you feel your teacher is adapting every lesson to your particular needs?