FYI, the house with the Korean classes is at 1362 Post Street (between Gough & Franklin). I haven't…read moremade it around to enrolling, but what I have done here is attend as well as volunteer for events, including a mini event of couch assembly. In addition to language classes, some things that happen here are dance and music performances, movies, dinners, end-of-semester skits, traditional seasonal celebrations (Chuseok, Seollal / Seolnal), and just celebrations in general. The seasonal open houses are cool because different rooms are set up with ongoing activities such as calligraphy, food & drink, coloring, traditional board games, crafts, getting your photo taken wearing a hanbok, and more. Exploring the rooms will have you moving up and down among the floors of the house. So if you're here with family or a group, you might want to bring your cell phones to more easily figure out where each person is. In any case, once the food breaks out, sooner or later everyone can be found downstairs.

IIC offers many levels of Korean, helping you find a class that's just right for you. I jumped in…read moreat Beginning Korean II, but the transition was easy. The instructor is very attentive to each student's abilities and to the flow of the class. For a once a week, 3-hour class, the cost is only $420 including the cost of the textbooks. That's a big draw-in! The only rough patch is that different instructors teach different classes, and they may vary from semester-to-semester. So you may end up with an instructor less motivated. But at this price, it's worth the gamble. I really enjoy the class, and the classmates too. It's a fun, easygoing atmosphere. So far, the class has been going on for several weeks, and no one has opted out! Instead, people show up early to get some cramming done!

Returning to the study of Japanese is such a JOY for me at Sokogakuen! I have enjoyed the…read morechallenge of studying with other students of all backgrounds, the teachers each semester have been amazing and the courses affordable. I consider myself a lifelong learner and look forward to my years ahead at Sokogakuen. Special shoutout to both #Yuka and #Rustigan Sensei for the great learning experience!

Summary: Provides a solid base but the administration is questionable…read more I took 9 classes at this school about 12 years ago, starting from beginning 1 through Intermediate 6. The teachers were hit and miss in my experience. Some teachers really cared and gave a good effort to teach while others just went through the motions. As other reviews have said, you have to want to learn and have to put some effort in on your own time to really learn. I went to Japan for the first time after my last class at the school and I was surprised that I was able to get by with what I learned. Obviously I couldn't have real conversations but I could do the basics like order food, understand numbers/money, ride a taxi, etc. In the years since I've studied on my own off and on to try to keep up with it as much as I could. I recently started using Duolingo and I noticed that I keep going back to the basics that I learned at Soko Gakuen. The only real negative I have is with the school's administration and principal/director. Simply put, the guy is a bully and a jerk. He's really rude when you want to ask him even a basic question and makes you feel like you're not welcome at "his" school. He treats the teachers even worse. I still shake my head when I think about that guy all these years later. Also, the ultra inexpensive tuition that the school brags about translates to less than minimum wage for the teachers which I think might be illegal and is definitely exploitative. I kind of feel ashamed that I didn't realize this when I was going there.

I remember taking cantonese after school up until 6th grade. The teachers were pretty good although…read moreI never became fluent due to lack of practice at home. I would recommend parents to speak to their kids in chinese so they can practice what they learned. Back in the day the tuition was $45 with a discount for each additional kid but that was about 15 years ago. Not sure if Mrs. Cheung still runs the program but she did a good job. We sang songs and prayer before class. I believe the classes were for 1 hr and pick up was at 430. We did dictation practice, traditional chinese character vocabulary development, and more. Very convenient for those who attend st. anne school. more info here: http://www.chineselanguageteacher.com/st-anne-chinese-school-764.html

My son started classes at SF Spanish and he absolutely love it. He enjoys the different topics…read moreevery week and the material that is provided. I will definitely recommend that classes and the teacher is amazing and very knowledgeable.

Unprofessional instructors, rude, expensive, and overall judgmental experience. Don't recommendread more

I really like it here. The teachers are very warm. The environment is gorgeous. The work is hard…read moreand there are a great many opportunities to practice. J'aime bien ici. Les enseignants sont les meilleurs.

You learn to speak french in a emersive environment. They also have an extensive library to…read moreexplore! Ils sont fantastiques!

I have two kids at Russian Hill Academy - one is leaving for Kindergarten this fall 2026 (started…read moreat the tail-end of COVID) and the other just started last year in 2025. We had our son in the thick of COVID and were nervous about sending him to daycare. His interaction with people outside our home was limited, not to mention the fear of illness at the time. Jiali and her staff made sure we were totally comfortable with their practices, and they are super clean in general. It is a safe and clean space for kids to learn, explore, and remain healthy. When it came time to send our daughter to daycare, it was a no-brainer. We jumped at the available slot and she has been happy and thriving for the last 9 months. She is in her own class with kids in her age group and has made her own friends. The school does a good job of having the siblings find one another at select points in the day but she also has a strong independence which is important as we prepare for our son to leave RHA. If we could keep our son at RHA we 100% would but alas it is time for him to move on so we will hold onto the remaining time our daughter has there, dearly. The friends we've made will be with us for a lifetime, and we give so much credit to Jiali and her staff for all the heart (and sweat) they pour into creating a community for kids and parents alike.

We cannot say enough good things about Russian Hill Academy and the care we get with Jiali and her…read morestaff. Our daughter started at a year and a half and thrived around having children her age and older around. She always came home with new words and found her best friends at the daycare. She has since started kindergarten but misses the daycare and always wants to come in and give a hug to the teachers when we come to pick up my son. The children go to the playground, have a beautiful indoor area for play and learning. The food is home cooked by the staff (my children eat more vegetables there than I can introduce at home!). I love to see the combination of fun with education as well. Our son now attends and also started at the same age, he loves going in and is always excited to tell us about his day. The school is Mandarin immersion (we do not know/speak Mandarin at home) but both children love and speak the language well, always singing songs and teaching me words. My daughter has loved it so much that we continue to find opportunity to continue to learn Mandarin. They both are able to identify symbols and converse easily with the staff. The activities that are posted and shown to us through Brightwheel are always impressive with respect to the breadth of activities like learning about caterpillars and butterflies or doing motor coordination activities. The children are always enthusiastic about singing and dancing and my children's Mandarin proficiencies are demonstrated through the video as well. While we do not always get to communicate as thoroughly with some of the teachers, Jiali is always very responsive to questions and keeping us updated on our child's progress. We have not had issues despite not speaking Mandarin for our children and we have loved that another language is being developed with our children. The families in the community are also wonderful and we love attending the yearly event where the children learn dances and songs to present to the families. Jiali is second to none in expertise in care for children. I credit her for both of our children being potty trained at the daycare, and she had to use very different approaches for both of them which I know comes from her understanding there's different personalities and needs for children. She has the children's safety and growth both in mind. We moved away from the Russian Hill area but felt so strongly about our great care with Russian Hill Academy that we have continued to have our care with her despite moving further away.

Rosa is a fantastic tutor for a lot of reasons…read more 1) She speaks both english and spanish fluently 2) She's a trained professor in english and spanish and has taught people all over the world. 3) She's very easy going, very organized and really sets you on a path to succeed. I knew maybe two words of spanish before I met her, "Gracias" & "Hola". After a few months of tutoring a couple times a week, I was proficient enough to be working in Argentina. Rosie is really fantastic and I highly recommend her for anyone seeking to learn Spanish.

I agree with the other reviewers - Rosie is a fantastic tutor!…read more Thanks to my brilliant decision to take German in high school and in college, I was WAY behind when I began working in a medical clinic with ~60% Spanish speaking patients. I had attended classes in two other conversational Spanish SF group programs for almost a year and a half and was finding I just could not learn the language. I started meeting with Rosie in a West Portal coffee shop twice a week for a total of 3 hours/week in October 2010 to see if maybe a private tutor was my answer. After several weeks I began to relax and really learn. Now it is May 2011 and Rosie and I joke about how nervous and serious I was when I would meet with her that first month. Turns out I wasn't learning because I would build up all this unnecessary anxiety about performing in lessons. Rosie gave the attention and support I truly needed to ensure I understood I was not being judged with every mistake I made. Soon the sentences began to flow and I am now able to talk with my patients (still with an interpreter though so they get the BEST care possible as there are still somethings I can not understand due to all the different dialects or that is very complicated to explain). I really must learn Spanish for my job as an healthcare professional and asthma educator. This specialized training was something I could not get in a group setting (even medical Spanish could not be tailored to my specific needs). Rosie has been able to teach me medical terminology as well as how best to approach patients during interview, physical assessment, and medication history taking. How wonderful she is! I highly recommend Rosie if you want to learn to converse in Spanish. But note, she understands English grammar better than most Americans so if you want the "why" regarding English or Spanish conjugation or sentence structures, she can provide very detailed explanations. Rosie is the BEST!

We're in our second year at La Scuola's Dogpatch Preschool and couldn't be happier! The caliber of…read moreteachers and staff is outstanding - you can just feel the love and care emanating for each individual. The emphasis on on curiosity and community comes through every day in big and small ways, and the physical space itself - with lots of light, color and energy - reflects the spirit of the school. The outdoor space is some of the biggest and best I saw in my tours of SF preschools. While our family doesn't have any connection to Italy/Italian, it's been amazing to see how quickly she picked up a new language and it gives her a chance to teach us something, which is a fun role reversal. And man, is Italian a beautiful language to listen to :) I love that my daughter is served healthy, homemade food (some of which is grown at the garden) and it's a huge bonus that I don't have to prep meals! They also learn meal etiquette - the students set the table, wait until every is served to eat, and wait to leave until they're finished. At pickup time, it's a challenge to get my daughter to leave she's having so much fun and loves her friends. You won't regret enrolling your child here!

Our almost 8 year old son has been attending to La Scuola since he was 5. He's currently in second…read moregrade. We have been having a great experience. We are a bilingual family (I'm from Italy) and it has been a highlight to be able to be closer to the Italian culture through the staff and other families. The school has a thoughtful approach to social emotional learning, has proactive communication, an enrichment program during after care, a great music teacher, and organizes several events, many to foster inclusion of minorities, to educate parents about their learning approach, and to encourage social connections among parents. Families here are very friendly, down to earth, and kind. They have a large outdoor area for kids to play and a garden. And our son loves their food and goes often for a second round!