Here is what some of my ex-students have said about me. (Please note that I have corrected my students’ English, without changing the meaning, to make their testimonials easier to understand.)

“I enjoyed your tutoring very much. You are a very good and funny teacher!”
–Hikaru, Japan

“You’re the best tutor I’ve ever had!”
–Chi-Il, Korea (this student had had three tutors)

Seong-Su
“When I had tutoring with Sarah, I started to understand my biggest English problems. The lessons were stress-free, so I didn’t even feel as if I was studying. But after each lesson, I could definitely feel that my English had improved. She makes her students feel comfortable and confident. I am sure you will be satisfied with your choice. Don’t hesitate!”
–Seong-Su, Korea

“Sarah is very patient and knowledgeable about Chinese culture. She can teach you in a way that works well for you.”
–Xiaoyang, China

“After I had been in Canada for two years, I still didn’t dare to speak in English because I was afraid of making some mistakes. Since I met Sarah, I have been feeling more confident, so I speak English in my daily life now. I can speak English more freely. If you are in the same situation as mine, why not try to contact Sarah and have tutoring with her?”
–Kevin, China

“She definitely understands the problems of non-native English speakers. Furthermore, she corrects broken English in both a kind and a professional way. All the fears I had about speaking English are gone. If you choose her as your tutor, you won’t regret it.”
–Yoon-Soo, Korea

“Sarah has been teaching me English for a long time. Because of her, I can express my opinion with confidence. Her students don’t have to be afraid to speak up. She continually gives me challenges to study English, so my level of English has risen. Her ability to help a person with ESL is amazing. Because she is also good at correcting English, and explaining mistakes, students can review their mistakes and study more. Having her as my English tutor has been an advantage in my life. Sarah, as my English tutor, has opened a whole new world for me. Thank you, Sarah.”
–Nori, Japan

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Soo

“When I came to Canada,…I felt afraid of speaking English all the time. But now I don’t. While I was tutoring with Sarah, she encouraged me not to feel frustrated and worried about my mistakes. So now I can say anything without fear.”

“When I came to Canada, even though some native speakers told me that my English was good, I felt afraid of speaking English all the time. But now I don’t. While I was tutoring with Sarah, she encouraged me not to feel frustrated and worried about my mistakes. So now I can say anything without fear.

“I wanted to express my opinion in English very correctly and effectively, but nobody corrected me. But Sarah did correct me. She has the ability to understand what I’m trying to say, even when I’m not being clear. Thanks to her lessons, now I know what the correct expressions are in certain situations, like in a restaurant or at the bus stop.

“Sarah also became my friend. I’m a very talkative person and we talked a lot. She always listened to my stories very sincerely. I talked to her as I talk to my friends. When I spoke English back in Korea, the topics were always about business or other impersonal subjects, never personal ones. So it was not fun. But with her, I enjoyed speaking English. And she tried to make the lessons fun.

“I had a really great time with Sarah, and I felt she always did her best to help me improve my English.”

–Soo, Korea

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“She had the confidence and skills necessary to teach me…I had the knowledge and confidence to get a high enough score on the TOEFL…I chose the best way to learn English.”

“Before I came to Canada, I thought that I could improve my English easily. However, during my first four months in Halifax, I felt frustrated because my English wasn’t getting better. I wanted to go to an American graduate school, so I had to get a high score on the TOEFL. Therefore, I needed someone who could teach me academic English and everyday speaking. Even though I took classes at a language school, I wasn’t satisfied even though the classes were expensive.

“I then sent emails to many local tutors. Although I hadn’t met Sarah before, I chose her because while I was reading her response, I felt she had the confidence and skills necessary to teach me.

“After I started tutoring with Sarah, I could certainly feel my English improving, especially my writing. When I started to learn writing with her, I had a very hard time because I used to use ‘Konglish’ and I didn’t know how to write essays at all. However, Sarah already had experience teaching TOEFL writing and had good teaching materials. She encouraged me and trained me to write all types of TOEFL essays systematically. After that, I was unafraid of writing in English anymore, and I had the knowledge and confidence to get a high enough score on the TOEFL.

“Now I can say I chose the best way to learn English. I will definitely miss tutoring with her after I go back to Korea.”

–Ji-Young, Korea

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“I can feel how much she loves her job and students. I think that is why students who tutor with her can…learn a lot more than from other tutors…She is funny, honest, and energetic.”

“While in Canada, I have had three different tutors. However, my favourite tutor is Sarah. She makes her students feel comfortable, so that they can concentrate on tutoring. She is funny, honest, and energetic. In addition, she is very committed to her work. While having tutoring with her, I can feel how much she loves her job and students. I think that is why students who tutor with her can pay attention to tutoring more easily and learn a lot more than from other tutors.

“In my case, I particularly like three aspects of Sarah and her tutoring. First, she is especially good at ‘translating’ my incorrect English into correct English. She has the ability to understand the gist as well as the details of what I’m trying to say, even when I’m not being clear. Sometimes she even knows the correct Korean word that I’m having a difficult time explaining. Second, as I mentioned, not only does she have a great personality, she also makes her students feel comfortable. So I think of her as a friend as well as a teacher. Above all, she is excellent at counselling. This is my favourite aspect of her. If I have any kind of anguish or stress, she usually tries to make me open up and share the problem with her. We usually find a solution to the problem, no matter how long it takes.”

–Min-Sun, Korea

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“If I could go back to the time when I first arrived in Canada, I would have started tutoring with Sarah as early as possible. I guarantee you that you will improve your English a lot if you study with Sarah…”

“It was good luck that I met Sarah in Canada. On my way back to Korea, I felt great fulfillment about what I had done in Canada for seven months. I am sure I wouldn’t have felt that way if it had not been for Sarah. I studied with her for almost four months, and I really enjoyed the time I spent with her. What I really liked about her lessons was these three things.

“First, she was the only tutor who could catch my mistakes while I was talking, write them down, and correct them at the same time! (You’d better believe this because I met quite a few tutors in the Halifax area.) You should try writing down what someone else is saying while that person is speaking. It is hard. However, if someone else can do this when you are speaking, the corrections will really help you improve your English.

“Second of all, she is smart. I mean, there are many tutors in Halifax whose major is not even English even though they tutor ESL. As you know, speaking English and knowing English well are worlds apart. Not only was Sarah’s major English, she is also really good at defining tricky words and explaining grammar. (How many people do you think can explain grammar in detail?) I am the kind of person who has to understand something perfectly, and Sarah helped me out with every tricky question that I had. She even pointed out some grammar mistakes that I had thought were right for years.

“Finally, her class is like watching a comedy. Don’t get me wrong—she can be serious when she wants to be. But she really tries to make her classes enjoyable for her students. Whenever I wasn’t quite sure about the meaning of a certain expression, she improvised a short scene to help me understand more effectively, using her various facial expressions to make the expression clear. That short improvised scene helped me understand much better than ten minutes of explanation would have.

“If I could go back to the time when I first arrived in Canada, I would have started tutoring with Sarah as early as possible. I guarantee you that you will improve your English a lot if you study with Sarah and that you will be able to feel the fulfillment that I felt on the plane on my way back home.”

–Sun-Mi, Korea

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“Before I met her, I expected that tutoring would be very strict and boring, but I enjoyed her class and felt comfortable learning.”

“While I was taking [classes at a language school in Halifax], nobody corrected my incorrect English. I wanted to learn proper and accurate English. At that time, my friend was having tutoring with Sarah and admired Sarah’s teaching style. Now I love the time I have classes with her.

“The first day I had tutoring with her, I regretted not having tutoring earlier with her, even though it was just my first class. At the beginning of the class, she brought some special resources to figure out what I’m like and which way would be good for me to learn. It was very impressive, because she prepared very well and professionally. Before I met her, I expected that tutoring would be very strict and boring, but I enjoyed her class and felt comfortable learning.

“I want to describe her as a ‘multiplayer.’ She is my tutor, a counsellor, like an old friend, and even a dermatologist as well. She corrects my English immediately and nicely using accurate English. She knows more about me than I know about myself. She has a good eye. I feel she knows what I want to learn, even what I want to say. She knows what mistakes Koreans usually make—the so-called ‘Konglish’—when they speak English. She’s always on her toes, even if I ask her a question that requires her to think like a dictionary.

“I’m going to miss all the times she encouraged me to study (in her special humourous way) and really took care of me.”

–Eun-Ju, Korea

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“This is the main benefit of Sarah’s tutoring: it encourages students to speak from the bottom of their hearts. I like that she teaches English not only as a tool for communication but also as a way for expressing ourselves, like music or art.”

“I came to Halifax two years ago, and began tutoring with Sarah last August to improve my speaking.

“Sarah’s biggest strength was her ability to listen to and understand what I was trying to say. She was so respectful of what I was trying to say that she suggested a lot of examples to express my thoughts best, showing that she had a big vocabulary.

“Every time I had tutoring, there were a lot of surprises in the lessons, not only in the content of the lesson but also in what I learned about myself. Sarah always provided me with subjects or asked me questions that were a little or quite challenging, so I never felt bored.

“When I first started tutoring with her, I answered her questions without really thinking, based on what I thought she wanted me to say. In spite of my attitude, she kept on asking me questions in a patient way. But one day, I realized that I was trying really hard to give her my real opinion. Now I want to express myself in my own way, whether in English or in Japanese.

“This is the main benefit of Sarah’s tutoring: it encourages students to speak from the bottom of their hearts. I like that she teaches English not only as a tool for communication but also as a way for expressing ourselves, like music or art.”

–Yoriko, Japan

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“…she is the best teacher ever!”

“I have had tutoring with Sarah for about six months. When I first came to Halifax, I was afraid of everything because of English. However, I am not afraid of English anymore because Sarah helped me with my English.

“First of all, she is very responsible and reliable. She always shows up on time.

“What I really like about her lessons is that I can have a lot of chances to speak English. Also, every time I make mistakes, she corrects my mistakes and pronunciation. That was one of the benefits.

“She has a lot of experience teaching, so she is very knowledgeable about problems ESL students might face.

“Besides, she is very friendly. When I have some questions about everyday situations, she explains them to me in a friendly way.

“I am really glad my English has been improving a lot. Having tutoring with Sarah was a stroke of luck. In fact, she is the best teacher ever! I will miss her.”

–NamGyu, Korea

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“Sarah is by far the best tutor I have ever met, and her class is by far the best class I have ever taken.”

“Sarah is gentle and smart. What’s more, she is a high-energy person. She is very welcoming towards students. She always keeps a positive attitude, showing how much she enjoys her job. Every day, she comes to work with a smile on her face.

“Sarah is by far the best tutor I have ever met, and her class is by far the best class I have ever taken.

“Her class has made up for my lack of spoken English, owing to her praise. When I first took her lessons, I did not have confidence when it came to speaking English. But by having her lessons, I have confidence–I can explain my thoughts clearly–because she encouraged me to fulfill my goal.

“Thanks for being such a great teacher and friend. I want you to know how much I appreciate your kindness. I had a great time during our lessons.”

–SoDam, Korea

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For more information, or for a free lesson, please email Sarah at esltutor500(at)gmail(dot)com or call (902) 452-5557 (leave a message).