I had the good fortune of coming across Bill in my search for a French tutor in early 2020. Having found a bit of time on my hands, I realized that I wanted to rekindle my love of French and, lucky for me, Bill had exactly one open spot left. To put it simply, I can't recommend Bill highly enough. I am a bit of a unique case, having learned French in an immersion program in elementary and middle school. This meant that while my speaking ability is quite high and intuitive, my vocabulary and understanding of grammar is pretty limited. In just three short months, Bill took me through seven verb tenses, a panoply of vocabulary categories, and a whirlwind of other topics. In hopes of helping others find their perfect French tutor, I thought to share the reasons why Bill is so exceptionally talented. First, he has a deep and organized understanding of the language. Through years of study, he has managed to identify patterns in verb conjugations, or noun genders, that serve as incredibly useful shortcuts for a learner. What's more, those shortcuts mean that what you learn sticks with you. Although I have years of French speaking under my belt, I can honestly say that now - after working with Bill - is the first time that I really understand why the language is structured in the ways it is. As a result of that understanding, I feel like my command of the language has increased immensely. Second, Bill curates the learning experience specifically for each student. As mentioned, I am a bit of a peculiar case and I was initially nervous about being put into a learning program better suited for people starting at square one or really advanced speakers. Instead, Bill developed a curriculum that was tailored for me. From the speed at which we covered the material to the lessons themselves, I felt like Bill was actively and intentionally modulating both his style and the substance to fit my needs. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Bill has a contagious enthusiasm for his work. He absolutely loves teaching people French and Italian. It's abundantly clear that he has fun teaching and that he wants you to have fun, too. I certainly did! read more

I decided to learn French from scratch for an upcoming trip to France this year, and I am fortunate and happy that I found Bill Savage. It was a perfect match for me. To state it simply, Bill is the best French tutor in Seattle, in my opinion. He has a unique and beautiful style of teaching French (he is also fluent in Italian as well, and teaches both French and Italian lessons). I began with him simply to learn French, but I have really come to admire him for his life's story as well. Bill is the kindest, most patient teacher I have ever had in my life. His knowledge of French is complete and he customizes our lessons to my own pace and learning style. I have met and spoken with some of his other students on the way to and from my lessons, and everybody just loves him. At the same time, our lessons are intense. He has high expectations for my progress and always encourages me to do my best. Bill is very positive and has a lot of energy. He sometimes follows up between lessons to make sure I have understood and to see if I have any questions. I always walk away having learned a lot of useful information, and not only about the French language itself, but also about world history, art, music, culture, street slang, funny stories, and brilliant travel tips and strategies. Bill really knows what he is doing and I enthusiastically recommend him as the best French teacher you could find. He is a great guy, too. read more

I cannot say enough about how thrilled I am to have found Bill Savage for my language learning needs! I've been studying with Bill for just under three months now and I can't tell you how much I've learned! Bill is a thoughtful, thorough and enthusiastic teacher who tailors his lessons to each of his students. He will go as fast or as slow as you need him to go. When I say tailor, I mean tailor! He spends time understanding your language learning goals and customizes your lesson plans and homework to align to those goals. Through a lifetime of study, Bill has found a unique way to teach that helps the learner quickly understand patterns and reason and each week you truly see the progress you are making. It happens so quickly you almost miss it and then you realize "I just said that perfectly!" Bill is also extremely available to his students. While he provides a plethora of materials to help your weekly studies along, he is also a text or email away if questions arise. He definitely goes above and beyond. With Bill, I feel like I'm not just memorizing but truly understanding and learning. I look forward to continuing my language learning with Bill and am excited to know he'll be cheering me along throughout the process. read more

I recently completed a two-month, bi-weekly, crash course in Italian with Bill (who also teaches French). During our private lessons he always exhibited a great sense of humor, patience and flexibility during lessons: always energetic, approachable, and encouraging me to push the envelope and to rise to the challenges he put in front of me. It might be worth noting that, unlike programs that emphasize a more conversational approach during lessons, his teaching style leans toward discussions around structure, grammar, usage and accurate pronunciation. Lessons are conducted by Zoom and concepts and diagrams of his own improvisation unfold effortlessly on his whiteboard over the course of an hour. Lessons are followed by homework assignments that reinforce the topics covered earlier that day. Remarkably, between lessons he's available via email and text to answer questions about homework. Should I decide to continue learning the language after returning from my travels, I'll definitely be looking to see if he can fit me in for additional lessons. It's a fabulous language to learn, and Bill most certainly made the process fun & effective. Highly recommended. read more

I have been taking French lessons with Mr Savage for a little over six months and I'm absolutely thrilled with the results! My sister & her spouse moved to France in October, so I figured it was time for me to finally face my fear of French. I never thought I'd be able to get the pronunciation right or be able to understand what was being said to me because of my age and the fact that I spent the last 30 years working around loud machinery. In spite of my hearing loss I am making tremendous progress in learning to speak this beautiful language and, rather than being intimidated, I'm enjoying the lessons so much! I really appreciate the way each lesson is thoughtfully structured to address my specific issues. Bill Savage has developed a method of teaching that has given me insight into how the language is constructed. This has enabled me to see patterns that make it easy to understand things like verb conjugations and sentence structure while building my vocabulary very quickly. I still have a lot of work to do before I get on that plane to Paris, but now, instead of being worried, I can't wait to get off that plane and get some real world practice! read more

Bill is an amazing French teacher!!! I started taking one hour lessons per week in hopes of getting some brain exercise in (learning a foreign language really is a health benefit) and dust off college French cobwebs in hopes of more meaningful travel experiences in the future. I'll be honest, I was intimidated by the prospect (I couldn't tell you exactly why) but I had proven to myself that I did not have the self-discipline to do any of the apps on a regular basis, and based on a recent to Paris, they weren't helping me improve my speaking whatsoever. I am thrilled with my last few months with Bill and the progress I've made under his guidance. Not only is he really sensitive to accommodating and then appropriately pushing you to your next best level, he is so attentive to individualizing the homework and practice right down to what your interests are and want to learn. His enthusiasm is super contagious and you really walk out feeling like you've accomplished something, speak with way more confidence and that the French world is really opening up to you. read more

I began taking French lessons from Bill Savage in preparation for a trip to France I had planned. Within the first 15 minutes of the very first lesson, I knew I had found the right tutor for me. His teaching method is organized and intended to make you conversational as quickly as possible. After taking lessons for just 7 weeks, I embarked on my trip and was well prepared. I used all that Bill had taught me while on my trip and it was invaluable! After returning, I elected to continue my lessons since I had enjoyed them so much. I felt like Bill taught me a semesters worth of usable French in less than 8 weeks! Bill makes learning French interesting and fun. He is always well prepared and has a plan. In addition to that, he is very pleasant, easy to work with and willing to go at a pace that is comfortable for each student. If you don't live in the Seattle area (which is the case with me), Bill is willing to teach you face to face via computer. It worked wonderfully! I would recommend Bill Savage as a French tutor to anyone without any hesitation. read more

Bill is one of the best language teachers I have ever encountered. My partner and I wanted to learn French in anticipation of a summer vacation in France. We found Bill after an online search for French tutors in the Seattle area and during the first lesson knew we were in for an awesome language experience. What makes Bill a great teacher is his creative, engaging, practical and passionate nature. He frames language in logical patterns and builds on concepts, conjugations and vocabulary that make learning French easy to understand and able to apply right away. He helps stretch your language brain in a way that keeps you curious and wanting more, but also knows when to slow down and share other examples to help you learn it. I leave every class feeling refreshed and more confident in my abilities to speak and understand French. After 4 months of lessons with Bill, not only do my partner and I feel well prepared for our trip to France, but we look forward to more French lessons with him after we return! read more

Bill is such a wonderful teacher! In high school I took Japanese and in my undergraduate studies I took Spanish. I knew very very little French before starting lessons. Bill makes learning so enjoyable and he allows you to learn at your own pace. It has only been a few months, but I feel like I have learned so much and I realize now just all the many sentences that I can create. I love the way he teaches the language with every week giving building blocks to help build the foundation. For me it way more enjoyable than learning from a textbook. I enjoy the passion he has for teaching and teaching French. He also gives great memory devices and always as great examples to help remember words/lessons. I always look forward to going to French and there is not another French teacher out there I would recommended. I am excited to continue this journey and I would encourage anyone to reach out to Bill and go for your own lesson as well. read more

In seeking a French tutor, I knew I needed a teacher who would have enthusiasm and be able to teach French with impartiality, endurance, and patience. All of which I value in the teacher-student interaction. I found Bill Savage (by Google Search) and discovered on our first meeting that Bill has all of these qualities and more. Bill obviously loves to teach. His enthusiasm is contagious and it is the easiest thing to get involved with speaking and hearing this language, with him. I have found in the less than one month I have been under Bill's tutelage a valuable resource. He uses anecdotes to explain why one says things in a certain way in French. He uses these anecdotes to separate one's thinking, and thus speaking, in English from the same in French. I consider myself very lucky to have found Bill as my tutor. I am confident, for the first time in several years of struggling to learn French, that I will become fluent. read more

Discovered Bill by happy accident when the other tutor I tried to engage was fully booked. Since I was somewhat desperate to dust off my high school French in advance of a trip this summer, the first tutor suggested I contact Bill Savage, stating he comes very highly recommended. What a terrific find! From the first few attempts to schedule (I had out of town family visiting -- really hard to pin down), Bill was gracious, accommodating, patient and very easy to work with. I am LOVING our lessons! Bill immediately gets to the heart of what it is I'll need to know and be able to say in a variety of situations while traveling, then has me practice at home. He individually designs each lesson to build on the previous one to reinforce what he's teaching, then revisits the previous lesson's content when proceeding in the next lesson. Bill also teaches Italian, so I get a few bonus phrases there, too! read more

I don't write reviews unless something spectacularly good or bad happened. My experience with Bill Savage's language classes was spectacularly good! I learned more with Bill in two sessions then I learned in another well-known, local language school in months of group classes taught by native language speakers. You cannot find a better language teacher than Bill Savage. Customizing lessons for the learner, Bill is a madly gifted language teacher, combining an upbeat and engaging personality with stress-free interaction/repetition, and pedagogical building blocks that click together like Lego. He also provided countless memory tricks based on pattern recognition, shaving an enormous amount of memorization time from the start. Finally, one-on-one lessons are key for rapid language acquisition, and Bill's private teaching fees are on par with the group classes I was previously paying for. Bravo, Bill! read more

I have been taking lessons with Bill for a year now. I can't recommend his teaching enough. I have taken language classes throughout my life, including Italian from another instructor before Bill, and his methods are fantastic. Sometimes language instructors can be overwhelming or erratic with how they progress. Bill teaches very clearly each week, the homework is based only on that, and each week builds on the next. Bill doesn't just teach phrases you memorize he helps you understand the language in an empowering way. You won't be disappointed with Bill's teaching. No matter how busy Bill is teaching he always takes time to answer questions throughout the week as well, which is incredibly helpful. If you want to really understand the language and speak confidently he's the instructor for you! read more

I started working with Bill in December of 2021 to learn Italian! My husband is Italian and his family is living in Italy. We had tried learning before with Duolingo, but always gave up/felt like what we were learning had nothing to do with things we would ever need to say. Within the first two months we took a trip to Italy and were able to converse with non-english speakers. Now it is 7 months later and we can't wait to go back with so much more knowledge! It's been really amazing, Bill's system is so easy to follow and it keeps us accountable without being stressful. So excited to continue on the path to learning more Italian! Our goal was to be fluent by 1 year and it feels like an easier goal than I would've imagined thanks to Bill's way of teaching! read more

I feel so fortunate to have found Bill Savage in my efforts to learn French. As an older learner, yet new to learning any foreign language, I was finding the task more than a little daunting. Bill was immediately reassuring and made the learning process fun again! He is extremely organized, tailors learning goals and style to individual needs, and is passionate about both language and culture. His explanations and background stories as to why language has formed as it has, not only aids a new level of comprehension, but brings color to the language. I find his approach just brings language alive for the learner. I have progressed dramatically with Bill's help. I cannot recommend him highly enough and look forward to continued learning with him. read more

Bill's one of those rare teachers with the gift of understanding a student's optimal learning style and catering the class and homework to make the student successful and constantly motivated. I've never learned anything in a private setting before and Bill makes learning Italian feel downright luxurious. The speed of the coursework is set specifically for me, the homework itself, for me and each session feels like we're making weeks of progress in a day. I've been subscribed to a few Italian instagram channels for a while before starting these lessons and after a few months with Bill, I realized I was no longer reading the English translations :). I highly recommend working with Bill if you're interested in working on your Italian or French. read more

Bill is a great French tutor! I requested tutoring in advance of a recent trip to France... We, very quickly, had an easy rapport - and he was able to help me become conversational within a few sessions. I had taken many years of French in school, but nearly forgotten most of it. Bill's method of instruction was easy to follow with rapid progress. He lays a foundation of the language to build confidence, and does a good job pacing subsequent lessons so that each lesson was challenging, but within my personal range. I highly recommend Bill to anyone seeking a new language or to brush up on skills. He is so personable and professional; I looked forward to each lesson. My hope is to continue studying with Bill, now that I am back... read more

After years of spending time in France and relying on my family and friends for language support, I decided it was time to begin to conquer the language. My family is amazed at the speed I'm learning with just one lesson a week. Bill makes this possible with his technique and support. While I have a long way to go, I'm confident in my continued progress with Bill's excellent tutelage. I tried other techniques; they didn't work as to really grasp the language I needed to understand the roots and intent -- this is what you get with Bill that no "on-line" program can provide. I have been so happy with my experience I now have my daughter, who had five years of French in high school, advancing her capabilities with Bill as well. read more

I am quite blown away with my progress learning French under Bill. His knowledge and ability to truly teach the language is incredible, it's something I wish I had during school. I had tried Duolingo, Rosetta Stone and Mango but got bored each time. The apps spent so much time learning things I just couldn't relate to or care about. Bill's process creates a scalable process for constructing sentences that should be broadcast globally so that everyone can pick things up this easily. He is also very fun to work with, accommodating, confidence inspiring and just an all around great guy. I look forward to his classes twice a week. I am not exaggerating, I cannot recommend him enough, seriously, just go for it! read more