“AnnaMaria is a wonderful teacher, very patient, always in good spirit, never dull, and never condescending.  She methodically advances through our Italian language text book and exercises, and effectively uses the whiteboard to review and summarize the important language and grammar details.“

“Marta was truly one of the best language instructors I’ve worked with. She had a knack for simplifying difficult concepts and illustrating her points with lots of examples culled from a variety of authentic sources (newspapers, music, videos, etc.), and she was also great about correcting my grammar and pronunciation without ever seeming overbearing…“

“The lessons really helped me elevate overall English communication skills, it also helped me enhance my enunciation, intonation, listening skills, and understating of common American phrases. The initial assessment by my coach helped me identify weak areas so that I could work on them and be clearly understood by professors and peers…“

“Sojung is a fantastic teacher. She is so encouraging and always finds ways to tie my interests back to our lessons which helps me retain the information better.“

“It is a shared experience for us as a couple. Something we can enjoy together in anticipation of our future adventures. We are able to help each other study and practice/“discuss” whose pronunciation is correct. Anne is very accommodating and patient. She is able to Instruct the two of us simultaneously with ease. She adjusts to our needs as a couple and capabilities as adult learners.“

“At the time we both had busy schedules and worked in different cities. We thought a French course would be a good opportunity to spend time together. It was! We looked forward to our afternoons at Speak, which were sometimes followed by walks on the Downtown Mall or dinner.“

“Frankly, during COVID we're pretty limited in what adventures we can enjoy. Learning a language together is a little bit like traveling, and it's aspirational toward the days when we get to go places again. We have our sights set on a little inn in Bretagne that we've visited before...“

“Matt and I started at very different levels of French and Anne has been able to tailor the class to meet both of our needs as one novice and one intermediate learner. Anne is so special because English is her second language so she understands how adult learners learn best from personal experience.“

“I have definitely gotten more confident and comfortable at speaking Japanese which was my main goal over the summer. I will also be ahead in grammar and reading  Kanji before starting my Japanese classes this fall.“

“… me and my wife attend Spanish mass sometimes at Church of the Incarnation in Charlottesville. I was surprised how much more I could understand at mass after I started class at Speak!.“

“The biggest challenges for me are how to speak and write in clear and efficient ways,” says Wenwen. “I have a lot of opportunities to practice my English at Speak! Language Center. The lessons I am taking with Liz have equipped me with the skills of expressing myself more clearly and efficiently.”

“I work with many Spanish speaking patients and families at the hospital and was inspired to learn Spanish because I felt that I was not providing the same level of care to these patients as to those who are English speaking.  Just being able to enter the patient’s room and introduce myself and my role in Spanish makes a huge difference in establishing trust and acceptance.“