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 rates are $80/hr, and I also offer discounted packages. For groups of two people my rates are $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 rates are $80 per hour. I teach from an hour and up, for weekly consistent scheduling. 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.
