Such an amazing experience! Learning Mandarin has been fun with Meiji. She is an amazing teacher.

Note: I've recently taken Korean language classes at 3 different institutions: Hills Learning, the Korea Society, and the Korean Culture Center. (I'm writing reviews of all three in case anyone is comparing Korean class options.) Great language learning school, highly recommended! The teachers are all have a background in education and seem genuinely happy to be teaching. The classes themselves are really fun, and it's a really good/friendly/open learning atmosphere--I feel like the students and teachers tend to joke around a lot and have a good time while they learn. The classes follow really sound language learning pedagogy, with a really good mix of speaking and coursework, all in Korean. I think most people's language skills definitely improve significantly over the course of a semester. I do think the classes can be a little hit or miss depending on what level the other students are, but that's inevitable anywhere as an adult language learner. Hills Learning itself sometimes has social events or language practicing events that are a really lovely bonus. In addition to a really sound learning environment, more of a friendly-community vibe than you might expect from a language school read more

Pre-pandemic, my daughter was attending Cantonese classes at a local school in Manhattan Chinatown, and was doing fairly well in terms of learning characters and reading. When the school shut down due to the pandemic, a bunch of us parents scrambled to locate Cantonese instruction, as none of us wanted to have them lose their linguistic gains. Hills Learning provides a fun and easy virtual learning environment for kids, and uses Jyutping as a pronunciation reference for heritage learners, making the learning of new words less daunting. Dare I say that my child actually understands everyday language more so than when she was actually in the Chinatown school? With equal time in both a traditional classroom setting vs online classroom setting, I believe the experience at Hills Learning is a better value. I think eventually I'll have her take up the written language again, but as a parent I am happy with her progress with learning colloquial and spoken Cantonese, and more importantly, being able to use it in everyday situations! read more

As far as group language classes go, this is probably the best of the best. I studied Cantonese here for three group sessions and was pleased with the small class size and the very useful material. Classes are 90 minutes, once a week, which gives you a fair amount of time to study all your material. (I'd suggest supplementing this class with something else on the side -- a good study partner maybe? -- since just once a week isn't quite enough.) Any of the problems you have here are pretty much the same you'd have at any other language learning facility. Overall, a very good place, and has a wide variety of languages you might have trouble finding elsewhere. read more

I took the 3 beginner Korean series courses with two different teachers. Both were great! Small class size meant good attention from instructor. They really wanted to help me learn. And they understood that we're adult learners with lives and jobs. I felt very supported and I learned a ton. Of course, I wasn't fluent after 3 intro courses, but what I learned was super helpful during my trip to Korea for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. Thanks to John, Ann, and Yunhi! read more

I have taken two months of private Korean lessons at Hills and could not be happier with the experience. The program is serious and demanding but also flexible for students with a busy work schedule or other personal issues to juggle. My main goal in the lessons has been to communicate better with my extended family, though I'm also eager to learn Korean well enough to speak the language for work -- and even after a few weeks of tutoring sessions, my relatives noticed significant improvement. Heliany, my tutor, has been amazingly clear and thorough and supportive, and very responsive about shaping our sessions around my personal goals. I'd enthusiastically recommend this program to anyone looking to learn a challenging language in an individually tailored setting. read more

I have been studying Mandarin Chinese with Hills learning for a year now. During that time, learning has been slow and steady. I'd say we completed about a college semester's worth of Chinese language in that time, which is a perfectly reasonable amount of progress given the limited time investment of just one 90 minute class each week (plus homework). Class sizes are small (my class has fluctuated between 2 to 5 people), which helps the teachers really focus on each student's individual needs. Speaking of the teachers, they all seem to be native speakers, which is really important for a language like Chinese, where the pronunciation can be challenging for non-native speakers. Hills Learning has also been incredibly accommodating of both mine and my classmates schedules. They've been willing to reschedule classes (when none of us could make it) and also offered pro-rated private lessons as make-up classes when I have been unable to make a session. read more

Being a learner in Cantonese for about three years, I've mostly been doing self study, meetups, and learning from native speakers to pick up Cantonese. After awhile, I felt that I needed some structure and direction with my learning. So I reluctantly told myself to find a learning center that teaches Cantonese. In the past, I've avoided finding language classes because I felt that the "traditional classroom setting" wasn't the best way to learn a language; taking notes, studying, and passing a test wasn't "learning a language." Thankfully my leap of faith with Hills Learning removed those preconceptions. I found Hills Learning via a Google search for Cantonese classes. It wasn't the top search when I was looking, but I gave it a shot since finding cost efficient language classes in Cantonese are hard to come by. So I gave Hills Learning a try. I do not regret having made this choice. The class size was relatively small - which can be a good thing if you need more individualized attention. Since these classes were small, it felt more personal and it encouraged everyone to participate more in the class - what's the point of a language if you don't try speaking! There were lesson notes given at the start of each class, material to go over, and of course homework. But what Hills Learning does well is their approach to conducting the class. There's a stress in role-playing and interacting with your fellow students. More time is devoted to practicing speaking the material for that day's class, than just memorizing it. My teacher was very thorough and patient with all the students. My class had a curriculum, but it moved at a pace that tried to satisfy most of the students. Also the topics and material that were taught I felt were really relevant to how I would use Cantonese. Many books start you off with lessons that wouldn't seem relevant to your day-to-day use of Cantonese, or they would be very technical with little real-world examples and usage. The materials in the class taught me how to discuss weather, sickness, buying an apartment, going around town, etc. just to name a few, and coupled with technical points on grammar usage. Hills Learning's classes cover all bases well on teaching a language - grammar, speaking, memorizing. Oh wait, there's more! Private lessons! My initial exposure to Hills Learning was through private lessons. I didn't feel confident enough to partake in classes, and I wasn't sure on how good Hills Learning was so I tested the waters with private lessons. My Cantonese private lesson teacher conducted the first lesson to gauge my level, and tailored the rest of the lessons to how fast I picked up the material. The material that was taught was a mixture of what I wanted to learn along with stuff my teacher felt I needed to know. Just like the classes, the private lessons stressed speaking one-on-one after spending the first few minutes of class going over the material. Also the private lessons are very flexible because the time and place of each lesson is determined by the availability of both the teacher and student. I felt that taking private lessons well prepared me - in terms of knowledge and confidence - to take the classroom sessions. Overall, Hills Learning has been and still is my best source for learning Cantonese. I've been with them for about 8 months, and I definitely feel a large improvement in my vocabulary, conversational skills, and confidence in speaking. I would highly recommend Hills Learning for any Cantonese learners out there who are considering taking their learning to the next level, and are on the fence about taking classes. The only thing you'll regret is that you haven't tried! read more

Momoe Son is super nice, and she focuses on every student. Highly recommended this place!

Beginner Chinese course at their Grand Central location was wonderful. The native-speaker teacher guided our (small) class so as to keep from getting off-track too often. She also included cultural notes and was very accessible outside of class via e-mail. There was light homework, since the class was only twice a week there was plenty of time to complete it, and the only penalty for not completing it was your own detriment. She spent a lot of time on pronunciation, going around the room to give each person a chance to pronounce the words out loud, which was very helpful!! It was very easy to register online with my credit card, and there was even an early registration discount. I hope I can make some time to take the next level course soon. The best point for me was the great location -- very close to my office, right next to Grand Central. read more

If you are looking for a friendly, but professional place to learn Japanese, Hills Learning is the place to go. My teacher, Maeshima sensei, is a native speaker who has a background in linguistics. She can give specific, clear explanations of any kanji or grammar questions one might have. The atmosphere is casual, but serious. Classes are small. Maeshima sensei corrects each student's homework nand explains errors individually. I have tried all the "usual" places and none of them offered me what I find at Hills....either in terms of materials, methods or mood. Plus the location is perfect, one block from Grand Central Terminal! I have met a few other staff members at Hills besides my own teacher. Maki sensei, for example, always takes the time to say hello in the target language, even though I am not her student. People seem to care at Hills Learning....and that makes all the difference. read more

If I could give it 10 stars, I would! After a lot of deliberation over where to take Korean language lessons, I decided on Hills Learning--I had seen some good reviews from Google and felt I should give it a try. Since I work as a freelancer, my schedule is rather erratic so I chose to go with private lessons rather than the standard classes. This was one of the best experiences I have had in New York in general, by far. My teacher, Ann, was wonderful and helped me really jumpstart my Korean language skills. I had taken classes at other places before, but with this program I felt that the stuff I was learning really stuck. Not to mention, I felt like everyone at Hills Learning really cared about me and constantly checked up on me to make sure I was happy with the progress. Nothing but good stuff to say about Hills Learning (and Ann in particular), and about their private language classes. It might be more money, but the specialized attention and care I got was well worth it! Do yourself a favor if you want to learn an Asian language, and sign up for Hills Learning. read more

I took I think 4 or 5 trimesters at Hills Learning and I loved it! John and all the professors are amazing professionals. Classes are small which gives the opportunity to make lots of questions and learn better. The center is super neat and the building hosting it is so fancy and conveniently located less than a block away from grand central. I took korean classes and only left the school because I relocated. I highly recommend it!!!! read more

Hills Learning was the first place that popped up when I did a Google search for Thai Language Lessons in NYC. Having never really studied a foreign or Asian language before, I must say that the approach this school takes is very effective. It's just a very clean, straight up approach. No "gimmicks." From the very beginning, they stress importance on learning to read and comprehend and don't just teach conversational. The class sizes are very small and our teacher was a native Thai, very patient and clearly loves to teach. I've only ever visited Thailand and know a few locals there but never bothered to learn any of the language. Not even a peep. After only 9 weeks (once a week) of Beginner Thai and 4 weeks (also once a week) of Advanced Beginner Thai, I am much further along in learning this language than I ever thought possible, i.e., I am able to speak, read and comprehend at a very basic survival level. This is impressive given the nature of the Thai alphabet and of Asian tonal languages and it's also impressive in that I live in New York and cannot immerse myself in Thai culture in Thailand, although I plan to one day. Our teacher very much encouraged out-loud conversation and her patience and accessibility made it very inviting and fun to just dive in and study. After each lesson she records her own voice speaking all the vocabulary and some conversation from the lesson, puts it online and this was extremely helpful. I could listen and repeat from my smartphone every day. It encouraged me to seek out other recordings and study and listen even harder. Since taking on learning a new language, I feel my brain functions better and I have new and profound respect for my own language. The school makes it very easy to register online, it's Grand Central location is very easy to get to and I think the price that the lessons are offered for is quite affordable and worth every penny. I would definitely highly recommend this school for anyone who needs to learn an Asian language, be it for business or just for pleasure. read more