Speak from day one
Waiting until you have finished the grammar is how people lose a language. From the first lesson you are using Hausa out loud, however small the sentences.
Who we are
A Hausa language school built around real conversations
Executive Hausa Tutors teaches and translates Hausa for people who need the language in real life: professionals posted to Nigeria and Niger, missionary and NGO teams, families, researchers and anyone who has always wanted to speak Hausa properly. We work online, in Hausa and English, from Kano.
Based in Kano State, Nigeria · teaching worldwide
Our story
One tutor, one promise: you will speak
Executive Hausa Tutors began with a simple observation. Plenty of people arrive in northern Nigeria — or marry into a Hausa family, or take a role that puts them in daily contact with Hausa speakers — and discover that the language courses available to them are either academic, generic, or delivered by someone who has never had to use Hausa to buy fuel, greet an elder or calm a room.
So we built the school we wished existed: teaching led by a native speaker, shaped around the situation the learner is actually in. Lessons started with professionals and families who needed practical Hausa quickly, and word travelled. Today the same teaching method reaches learners and organisations on several continents, and the studio side of our work — translation, transcription, voice dubbing and localisation — grew out of the same demand: clients who needed Hausa they could trust, and wanted the people who had taught them the language to produce it as well.
We are deliberately small and deliberately personal. Every learner is taught one-to-one, every project is handled by a named member of the team, and every piece of work is checked by a native speaker before it leaves us. That is slower than scaling with a course platform, and it is the reason our learners stay.
If you want a phrasebook, there are many. If you want to be able to sit in a room where nobody speaks English and understand what is really going on, that is what we teach.
Lessons are live and one-to-one. You are never placed in a group call, and the pace is always yours.
What we believe
Six principles that shape every lesson
They are simple, and they are the reason our learners describe lessons as immersive rather than academic.
Pronunciation taken seriously
Hausa has sounds and tones that English does not. We train them deliberately and early, so you are understood the first time rather than the third.
Culture is part of the language
Greetings, respect, hospitality and proverbs carry meaning in Hausa. We teach the etiquette with the vocabulary, because the words alone can mislead you.
Be understood, not just translated
A literal translation can be perfectly accurate and completely wrong in the room. We translate for the reader, in the register they expect to hear.
Teaching that adapts to you
A doctor, a diplomat, a pastor and a grandparent learning to speak with their in-laws need different Hausa. The syllabus follows the person, not the other way round.
Materials you keep
Lesson notes, recordings and vocabulary lists are yours after each session, so progress does not depend on remembering what happened in the call.
How we teach
Four steps, repeated until Hausa feels normal
Nothing here is exotic. It is a disciplined loop: know where you are, work on what you need next, use it for real, then look back and see it working.
01
Assess your level and your goal
We start with a conversation about what you need Hausa for, then place you on a realistic level from beginner upwards.
02
Build a personal plan
Your tutor agrees the topics, vocabulary and milestones that matter for your work, travel or family life, and the schedule that fits your week.
03
Practise in real situations
Lessons are dominated by speaking and listening, with role play drawn from the situations you actually face — not textbook dialogue.
04
Review, and keep your materials
Regular reviews show what you can now do unaided. Notes, recordings and word lists stay with you so you can revise between lessons.
Meet your tutor
Sa’adiya Abubakar — Malama Sa’adiya
Executive Hausa Tutors is founded and led by Sa’adiya Abubakar, a native Hausa speaker and tutor based in Kano State, Nigeria. Her learners — executives, families, missionaries and researchers — tend to describe the same three things: patience, structure, and a talent for explaining the culture behind the words.
- Conversation first. Learners are speaking Hausa in the very first session, whatever level they start from.
- Pronunciation, tone and the alphabet. Systematic work from haruffofin Hausa upwards, so sounds are right from the beginning.
- Professional and business Hausa. Language for meetings, negotiations, field work and everyday office life.
- Cultural understanding. Greetings, respect, proverbs and etiquette, explained as they come up.
- Genuinely beginner-friendly. No prior Hausa required, and no question is treated as a silly one.
Native Hausa speaker
Hausa & English
Kano, Nigeria
Watch
Hear the method before you book
Our introduction video explains how lessons run and what a new learner can expect in their first weeks. The YouTube channel has more, including pronunciation and everyday Hausa.
Learners & clients join us from
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Germany
- Italy
- South Korea
- Nigeria
- and beyond
In their words
What our learners say
A few of the reviews our learners have left — the full set sits on our home page.
The quality of the classes are amazing, and the teacher is efficient and easy to follow.
Elizabeth Sarumi
An incredible group of educators who are engaging and wonderful to learn with!
Bradley Mock
Mallama Sa’adiya is amazing! I enjoy her classes very much. I am learning a lot and she is wonderful with setting a pace that I can follow. She is great with customising lessons so that I can use what I learn in my daily life. We have fun while learning. Na gode Mallama!
Miyette Williams
Next step
Meet your tutor before you commit
Thirty minutes, live, no obligation. We will talk about what you want to do in Hausa and tell you honestly how long it is likely to take. For translation, transcription or voice work, send us your brief instead.