Student stories

Goal. Journey. Breakthrough.

Three stories that show what months of one-on-one lessons actually look like — not just the happy ending.

Takeshi M.

IT Director, Tokyo

Lead global meetings

Where they started

Takeshi could read technical English fluently but froze in meetings — he'd prepare perfect sentences in his head and miss the moment to say them. A promotion to a global team made the problem urgent.

What we worked on

We rebuilt his meeting English from real material: his actual agendas, his actual slides. Every week we rehearsed the next real meeting — interrupting politely, disagreeing without preparing an essay, thinking out loud imperfectly.

Where they are now

Within a year he was chairing his team's global stand-up twice a week. The written feedback became his playbook — he still reviews it before big meetings.

The turning point was realising I was allowed to speak imperfectly. Nobody at my old school ever told me that.
— Takeshi M.

Yuki A.

Pharmacist, Osaka

Travel without fear

Where they started

Yuki hadn't used English since university and rated herself 'a true beginner.' Her dream was a trip through the UK and Ireland — but she couldn't imagine checking into a hotel in English, let alone chatting with locals.

What we worked on

We started from zero pressure: daily-life role-plays, one situation at a time — cafés, trains, pharmacies (her home turf!), small talk. Her Vocabulary Bank became her pre-trip study list; we rehearsed her actual itinerary in the final month.

Where they are now

She took the trip. Three weeks, solo, from London to Galway — including a conversation with a Dublin pharmacist about work, in English, that she still talks about.

I cried a little in a Dublin pharmacy — because I understood everything, and they understood me.
— Yuki A.

Rina S.

Account Executive, Yokohama

Sound natural, not textbook

Where they started

Rina's English was already strong — TOEIC 850 — but she hated how she sounded: 'like a textbook reading itself.' Native colleagues' jokes flew past her, and she'd smile without understanding.

What we worked on

A mix of business polish and the Super Casual course: real slang with strength ratings, banter and comebacks, the rhythm of native small talk. We watched clips from her favourite shows and broke down what was actually said versus what subtitles claimed.

Where they are now

Six months in, she hosted two colleagues from the London office for a weekend — and kept up with every joke. Her words: the first time English felt like her own language, not borrowed clothes.

I finally get the jokes. Do you know how long I've been pretending to get the jokes?
— Rina S.

Your story starts with one lesson

Every student above started with the same nervous first booking. The first one's free.