Frequently Asked Questions


If you have other questions, email them to [email protected]

  • Do you offer a money-back guarantee? Do you have a payment plan?

    - We do not offer a money-back guarantee for 1:1 live coaching sessions. However, you can get a full refund if none of the coaching minutes have been used.

    Once your first coaching session has been completed, full refunds are no longer available. Sessions cancelled under 24 hours' notice will be lost. Sessions can be rescheduled with more than 24 hours' notice.

    Refund Schedule
    0 used minutes = 100% refund of the total cost
    80 used minutes or fewer = 50% refund of the total cost
    more than 80 used minutes = no refund

    - There is no payment plan. You get immediate access to the calendar portal to book your sessions with a one-time purchase; there are no monthly fees.

  • What's included in the 200 minutes of 1:1 coaching?

    You get 5 x 40-minute coaching sessions on Zoom.

    The sessions focus on improving speaking ability by answering any questions you may have, targeting your specific weak areas, reviewing important techniques, ensuring you have accurate pronunciation, growing your active vocabulary and developing strong English habits. Also, all your speaking mistakes will be constantly corrected.

    Book any of your 40-minute 1:1 coaching sessions on Zoom with an easy-to-use calendar portal. Sessions cancelled under 24 hours' notice will be lost. Sessions can be rescheduled with more than 24 hours' notice.

    Availability (Toronto/Eastern time)
    Monday to Thursday: 7:30 to 20:30
    Friday: 7:30 to 15:00
    Saturday: 8:00 to 15:00

  • What is the difference Toronto English School's 1:1 coaching and other online 1:1 coaching?

    Unlike other online 1:1 coaching, TES coaching sessions are uniquely customized to each English-learner's individual needs and targets his/her specific weak areas of pronunciation to create forward movement and noticeable improvement.

    Also, TES doesn't waste time on standard one-size-fits-all lessons or low priority English, like grammar, idioms and uncommon vocabulary. You will only learn what you need to know to improve your speaking, pronunciation, listening and active vocabulary. Lastly, all your speaking mistakes will be corrected, as they happen, to help you develop strong English habits.

  • Can I buy the 200 coaching minutes without buying a course?

    Yes! If you're interested in private 1:1 coaching but don't want to buy a TES course, feel free to buy 200 minutes of coaching as many times as you want. There's no need to buy the Ultimate Fluency Study Guide to get online coaching.

    Book any of your 40-minute 1:1 coaching sessions on Zoom with an easy-to-use calendar portal. Sessions cancelled under 24 hours' notice will be lost. Sessions can be rescheduled with more than 24 hours' notice.

    Availability (Toronto/Eastern time)
    Monday to Thursday: 7:30 to 20:30
    Friday: 7:30 to 15:00
    Saturday: 8:00 to 15:00

    If you're unsure about the details of this TES product or any other one, feel free to email your questions or course-tour request to [email protected]

  • How does it work? Is the schedule flexible?

    You get immediate access to the calendar portal, so you can book your first coaching session on Zoom right away.

    Schedule as many sessions each week as you like and up to 30 days in advance; book as little as one session per week or as much as 6 per week, skip a week if you like or schedule back-to-back lessons.

    Sessions cancelled under 24 hours' notice will be lost. Sessions can be rescheduled with more than 24 hours' notice.

    Availability (Toronto/Eastern time)
    Monday to Thursday: 7:30 to 20:30
    Friday: 7:30 to 15:00
    Saturday: 8:00 to 15:00

  • Would my employer pay for 1:1 lessons?

    Yes! Many employers pay for their staff's professional development, especially to improve communication skills. In other words, better pronunciation and increased speaking confidence helps employees contribute to the company's success and get promoted. Receipts are available by request.

  • How do I reschedule a session?

    Simply email your request to [email protected], text it to 647-887-6755 or make your request during one of your coaching sessions.

    Sessions can be rescheduled with more than 24 hours' notice, so there's no need to cancel a session unless it's beyond your control and under 24 hours' notice.

  • Can I suggest conversation topics?

    Yes! If there's something specific you want to talk about during one of your coaching sessions, feel free to suggest it.

  • How often should I schedule a coaching session?

    That's totally up to you and your availability.

    Schedule as many sessions each week as you like and up to 30 days in advance; book as little as one session per week or as much as 6 per week, skip a week if you like or schedule back-to-back lessons.

    The more sessions you have per week, the more you'll practice and the faster you'll improve.

Kind Words from Past Students

Surprised At How Much I learned

by Keiko

I have attended four language schools because I was never satisfied and kept searching for better classes. I thought the quality of a language school depended on its students and the atmosphere of the classroom. Now I realize my thinking was incorrect; I should have looked for a school that gave me better results. When I first started taking Joe’s lessons, I was surprised because I learned new things that were completely different from the language schools I attended. Not only did he teach me pronunciation but how to speak in a more native way. I remember thinking that this was the English I wanted to learn. I was delighted by Joe’s enthusiasm and unique teaching style. He made learning English fun again. I am very happy to have learned more practical English and more effective ways to study.

Improved Speaking Score From 6 to 8!

by Kohei

Joe’s lesson is arguably the best one in Toronto. The lessons are balanced and improve all areas, like: pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, fluency, etc. Before meeting Joe, I was really impressed with my English ability, but then I realized I had a lot of problems with pronunciation. I had opportunities to talk to other tutors, but the only person who could fix my mistakes was Joe. In fact, I was able to stretch my IELTS speaking score from a 6 to an 8. Without any doubt, I was only able to get this far with Joe’s teaching. I definitely recommend Joe’s lessons to everyone.

Improved My Listening

by Kazumasa

At first I went to a language school. However, I didn't feel like it was fun or interesting, so I stopped immediately and looked for a new school. I found TES where teacher Joe corrects pronunciation, grammar and collocation mistakes instantly. In particular, his pronunciation teaching was clear. I also highly recommend this class for those who want to improve their listening. He said that if I can't hear sounds correctly then I can't pronounce them correctly. After taking Joe's lesson, my TOEIC listening score increased from 220 to 420!

Pronounce English Like A Native

by Satoko

When I came to Canada on a working holiday visa, I had trouble with English. Of course, I didn’t have any vocabulary or grammar, but my pronunciation was the worst. I couldn’t convey simple words and went to various English school trials without any results. TES was really helpful because my pronunciation was thoroughly corrected, and my speaking improved. I would never have learned how to pronounce English like a native without taking this class. TES focuses on pronunciation and speaking, and Teacher Joe will explain any grammar that you do not understand. I was really happy to take this class. Thank you very much!

I was shocked at how much I needed to be corrected!

by Saaya

I went to a language school for about two months. Afterwards, I took a TES lesson, and I was shocked at how much I needed to be corrected each and every time I spoke. I don’t think there are many teachers, like Joe, who can make such corrections so carefully. Unlike other ordinary language schools, TES knows what Japanese people stumble on and what they are not good at, so lessons are specialized accordingly, especially in pronunciation. Thanks to TES, I can understand native speakers more than before. If you are going to a language school like I did and have a hard time improving or want to learn English well, I recommend taking Joe’s lessons.

Pronunciation is more important than grammar!

by Tomo

Every time I took Teacher Joe’s class, it was like scales falling from my eyes. First of all, at a regular language school, the basics of pronunciation are not taught well or not at all. Japanese tend to focus on the pronunciation of R and L, but we don’t realize that the pronunciation of A and other vowels are a bigger challenge. By taking teacher Joe’s class, I was able to learn how to pronounce every problem sound and use them in conversation. Also, if I made a mistake in pronunciation or grammar while speaking, he immediately corrected it. I didn’t believe Joe in the beginning when he told me pronunciation was more important than grammar, but it’s true. If your grammar is correct, but your pronunciation is wrong then you won’t communicated clearly. However, if your pronunciation is correct, you can still say what you want to say, even if you have some grammatical mistakes. In addition to improving pronunciation, Joe also teaches “real English”, like useful vocabulary, simple grammar and natural speaking ability. If you want to speak English, make sure to learn the basics of pronunciation and take Joe’s lesson!

Now, I can speak English with confidence.

by Masako

Joe was a wonderful teacher. It’s really difficult to pronounce English sounds correctly, especially all the vowels (a, i, u, e, o). However, Joe thoroughly and clearly explained how to pronounce everything, so all I had to do to improve was follow his instructions. He said that if you can pronounce a sound correctly, then you will be able to hear it correctly. At first, I was skeptical, but it was true. At first, I couldn’t understand native speakers. In Japan, everyday words such as “lemon”, “milk” and “level”, sounded quite different when spoken by a native person, and I often couldn’t understand them. As I started going to TES and practicing, I gradually improved my pronunciation and was able to understand native speakers. There has been a more dramatic change at TES than at my previous ESL school. Joe was a really wonderful teacher. I was very lucky to have him teach me English and help me improve a lot. Now I can speak English with confidence. My listening has grown dramatically too. If you want to learn real English, I recommend taking Joe’s class!

Get Unstuck!

by Yoshiko

I left my previous ESL school halfway through, so I could go to TES. At my old school, I didn’t feel like my language skills were growing. To be honest, I thought my previous school was a waste of money, and I could have had the same experience at a free language exchange. At TES, I could always talk directly with my teacher, therefore my pronunciation and grammar mistakes were always corrected during every lesson. In fact, he relentlessly pointed out every mistake (laugh). Eventually, the repeated corrections helped me to improve naturally, resulting in the correct use of articles and plurals. I noticed a number of pronunciation mistakes, like TH, R, F, etc., also improved. Lastly, Joe always taught me patiently even when I kept forgetting the meaning of the same words because of my poor memory. I believe I developed good speaking habits and would recommend TES, especially for those of you who feel stuck at the intermediate level.

Target Your Weak Areas.

by Minami

Joe patiently corrected me every time I made a mistake, especially in pronunciation and grammar. He helped me feel confident speaking in English. Thanks to Joe, I realized that even though I understood the grammar in my head, it was another matter whether I could automatically use it correctly in a conversation. I felt Joe was different from other tutors and online English conversation classes because he targets your weaknesses, and helps you thoroughly learn the basics of English, so you build good speaking habits. I felt that my weakness in English gradually diminished, and now I can communicate well. Even though, I took a limited number of lessons, I improved and noticed the difference. Don’t regret your English; take Joe’s lesson.

Toronto English School's founder & course creator:


Joseph

After earning a bachelor's degree in Education, Joseph packed his bags and searched out new experiences by teaching in Asia. After a few years, he returned to Toronto where he has taught English for over twelve years.

During that time, he pinpointed and mapped all the stubborn issues his students struggled with and developed practical solutions. As a result, Joseph designed a powerful teaching method that inspires learning, targets each individual's speaking weaknesses, creates breakthrough moments and builds accurate speaking habits for effective lifelong communication.

In a quest to help as many frustrated English learners as possible become successful, Joseph spent over a year packaging his 12+ years of teaching experience and expert knowledge into The Ultimate Fluency Study Guide (UFSG).

If you're not sure that Joseph's unique teaching approach is right for you, please email all your questions to [email protected]
English teacher

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Are you ready to get started?

Enroll today to get 200 minutes of effective 1:1 coaching on Zoom to become fluent and free.

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