Kids Russian·6 min read
Choosing a Russian tutor for your child: 8 questions to ask before the first lesson
What to ask, what the answers should sound like, and the red flags that mean this tutor isn't right for your family.
June 24, 2026
English & Russian · Online and Charlotte, NC
Over 38 years of teaching. One lesson at a time.
Raisa Lee teaches English to adult learners, Russian to bilingual children raised abroad, and Russian to adults rediscovering the language — with the patience of a career educator and the warmth of a lifelong reader.
Meet Raisa
A minute with the teacher, in two languages.
For your child
Russian your child will actually speak.
For bilingual kids ages 4 to 20 raised in Russian-speaking families outside Russia. Build reading, writing, and confident conversation, grounded in the literature and culture that connects them to their roots.
Explore kids RussianFor you
English that gets you understood.
For adult learners — working professionals, university students, new arrivals. From beginner to advanced, with a focus on confident spoken English alongside grammar and writing.
Explore adult EnglishFor the curious
Russian from zero, for adults.
For adults learning Russian from scratch — for relationships, heritage rediscovery, travel, or sheer interest. Cyrillic, pronunciation, grammar, and the literature you've always wanted to read in the original.
Explore adult Russian- 38 years teaching
- UNC Charlotte ESL instructor
- Master's in foreign languages
- Level 5 certification
- Bilingual native fluency
- All ages 4 to adult
How it works
Three steps — and the first one doesn't cost you anything.
- 01
Free intro call
Thirty minutes to meet, talk about your goals, and decide together if we're the right fit. No commitment, no sales pitch.
- 02
Personalized plan
I design lessons around your level, goals, and schedule. Every student gets their own path — not a template I pulled off a shelf.
- 03
Steady progress
Weekly lessons, real materials, constant feedback. Most students feel the difference within a month.
What students say
A career of students who kept coming back.
Ms. Lee is a great English teacher. Her lessons are always clear and easy to follow, and she explains grammar and new words in a way that feels simple and not stressful. I really appreciate how patient she is, especially when I struggle to say something correctly. She never makes me feel bad for making mistakes and always encourages me to keep speaking. Her lessons helped me feel much more confident in English.
Raisa has been teaching my son for the last nine years and I could not be more grateful for her dedication and passion. She does far more than teach grammar, writing and reading — she inspires a true love for the Russian language, culture, and history. Through her lessons, my son has developed not only strong language skills, but also a deep appreciation and connection to his heritage. I feel very fortunate to have found such an exceptional teacher for my son!
Ms. Lee is a highly experienced teacher of the Russian language and literature. She not only teaches to read and write well but also to understand Russian proverbs and colloquial expressions, recite Russian poetry, and develop understanding and appreciation of classical Russian culture.
From the reading list
Essays on language, teaching, and the long way in.
Adult ESL·8 min read
Building workplace English confidence: what to focus on if you only have 3 months
A prioritized 12-week plan for adults who need to hold their own in English meetings, emails, and one-on-ones — fast.
June 11, 2026
Adult Russian·10 min read
The six Russian grammar mistakes adult learners make (and how I teach around them)
Cases, aspect, motion verbs, and the three other structures that trip up English speakers — with examples and the fixes that actually stick.
June 2, 2026
Common questions
Answers before you ask.
Rates depend on the service (English or Russian), lesson length, whether it's one-on-one or a small group, and whether the lesson is online or in person. I don't publish a single rate because there honestly isn't one. The fastest way to get a clear quote is the free 30-minute intro call — I'll give you a specific number during that call.
Both — I teach online worldwide and in person across the Charlotte, NC area. Most of my online students are in the US, but I teach across time zones easily on Zoom or Google Meet. In-person lessons happen in and around Pineville and Southern Charlotte, where I'm based. Many students do a mix: in person when they can, online when life gets busy.
From age four through the teen years, and into the university-prep level. A four-year-old's lesson looks nothing like a fifteen-year-old's — we'll use songs, picture books, games, and short conversations that fit what your child actually enjoys. I taught elementary school for fourteen years; small children don't scare me.
Yes — this is the single most common situation parents come to me with. Heritage-speaker children who understand Russian but won't speak it usually aren't missing vocabulary; they're missing confidence and a context where speaking feels normal and low-stakes. My job is to build that context. It takes a few months of weekly lessons, but most kids move from reluctant or passive to actively speaking again — and I've done it enough times to know how.
Not even close. I've taught adults who arrived with almost no English and walked out months later giving presentations at work. Adults learn differently than children, but you have one advantage no child has — you know exactly why you're doing this, and that pulls you through the hard weeks.
With weekly lessons, most students feel a shift within a month — a conversation that used to freeze them up stops freezing them up, or a text they couldn't read before starts making sense. Real fluency takes longer; that first breakthrough comes fast if you do the work between lessons.
The free 30-minute intro call is a real conversation, on Zoom or in person if you're local to Southern Charlotte. We'll talk about your goals, your level, your schedule, and your past language experience. I'll ask some questions — and honestly listen to your answers. By the end you'll know what a lesson with me looks like, what it would cost, and whether we're a fit. No pressure, no sales pitch.
Honestly, no — formal exam prep isn't my specialty, and I'd be doing you a disservice to pretend otherwise. TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge really need a dedicated exam specialist who knows the current test formats inside out. What I can help with is building the underlying English fluency and confidence that makes any exam feel easier, but for the exam-specific strategy and practice, you'd want someone who focuses on that.
Small groups of two to four students, usually siblings or friends at similar levels. The per-person rate is lower than one-on-one, and many students actually progress faster in a small group because they practice conversation with peers. I don't run large classes — past four people, the personal attention starts to slip.
Twenty-four hours' notice and there's no charge — life happens, I understand. Same-day cancellations I ask you to pay for, because that slot was yours. If someone in your household is sick, tell me and we'll reschedule; no one needs to power through a lesson while miserable.