Beyond Words
Language, culture, travel, and stories from the Speak! community
ENGLISH STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Pedro Henrique Giacomeli de Almeida
The coaching sessions with Alexis have been incredibly beneficial to my preparation for the Darden MBA program and beyond.
Giacomeli De Almeida, Darden MBA Student
ENGLISH STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Jose Pacheco Nunez
What attracted me the most to this program was that everybody is rooting for your success.
ENGLISH STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: NYDIA
“I really like the flexibility, because being an MBA student during the recruiting season, I don’t have the most predictable schedule.”
Nydia, Darden MBA Student
Student Spotlight: ANA
“Our classes are very dynamic. Dana always has something new and especially a lot of patience and didactics. It's an enjoyable environment, and everything flows well.“
Ana Oliveira, Biologist
B-Speak! Coaching Student Spotlight: RIFQI
“I think at the end of the day, if you talk with your coach and you really know what you need, B-Speak! Coaching will provide the session by tailoring your need to achieve results! For me it is a great remedy for my communication skill“
Rifqui Syuja, Darden MBA Student
Student Spotlight: FRANCESCO + VITTORIA
“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.“
Student Spotlight: NICK
“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…“
Student Spotlight: UMAIR
“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…“
Student Spotlight: HISTORY PROF. DAVID SINGERMAN - AND HIS BABY DAUGHTER!
“Being conversant in another language opens your view of the world, and I really missed that feeling. I found it such a joy to be immersed in another linguistic world, and my lessons with Paola were the hour I looked forward to most every week.“
David Singerman, Professor of History
Student Spotlight: CHANDLER'S KOREAN JOURNEY
“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.“
Student Spotlight: Ben and Leslie
“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.“
Student Spotlight: George and Myra
“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.“
Student Spotlight: Jody and Jeffrey
“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...“
Student Spotlight: Sarah and Matt
“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.“
Student Spotlight: JEFF'S SPANISH ADVENTURE
“During my travels, I always wished I could speak to people in their own language. I thought that if I learned Spanish, I might be more likely to use it in other countries and in our own, and therefore to remember it“
Jeff Leopold, Darden School of Business
Student Spotlight: JASPER'S FRIENDSHIP WITH FRENCH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
“Anne helps me with my work that I have for class and it often leads into deeper philosophical discussions about whatever I am learning. She gives me vocabulary words to memorize to help me build my vocabulary as well. Sometimes we have sessions to go over grammar. I really like her sense of humor!“
Student Spotlight: PHILIP'S GAP YEAR SPANISH JOURNEY
“My pandemic experience has been all-but-consistent, but having daily classes with Alejandra (or even a less intense but still regular schedule in the fall) vastly helped me through this year..“
Philip DiMeglio, Undergraduate
Student Spotlight: ERIC AND OLIVIA (FATHER-DAUGHTER SPANISH, INDIVIDUAL CZECH)
We had the pleasure of meeting Eric Ramirez-Weaver, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Virginia in 2017, when he began what was to become a 1.5 year individual Polish language course. In 2018, he decided to switch his Slavic focus to Czech, learning online with our Prague-based instructor, Jan. This past fall, Eric and his daughter, Olivia, decided to use their time at home to craft a Spanish silver lining, taking online Spanish lessons together with one of our stellar teachers, Paula Mercado.
Student Spotlight: Will
“I want to keep working with Theresa until I graduate, by which time I hope to be proficient. Recently I have been doing some Portuguese on Duolingo, and I would also like to learn German someday.”
Student Spotlight: CAROLINE
“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.“
Caroline, Doctoral Student in Anthropology