“I plan on continuing lessons until I can speak Spanish fluently at a conversational level!”

“Hearing questions from classmates (and hopefully them hearing mine) helps us all learn and grow on our Spanish journey.”

The coaching sessions with Alexis have been incredibly beneficial to my preparation for the Darden MBA program and beyond.

What attracted me the most to this program was that everybody is rooting for your success.

“I really like the flexibility, because being an MBA student during the recruiting season, I don’t have the most predictable schedule.”

“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.“

“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“

“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…“

“Happily, there were lots of overlapping motivations. Being conversant in another language opens your view of the world, and I really missed that feeling. So when I learned about the UVA education benefit + Speak tutoring from a colleague, I knew right away I’d sign up for it at some point.“

“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.“

“When I was much younger, I tried to learn German and French, but now know neither of those languages. 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…“

“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!“

“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. I remember stretches in the summer where I had very little motivation and was really just making it through the days, but by the end of my lesson with Alejandra I would have a wide smile on my face and I would be bouncing around the house with energy and satisfaction to share.“

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.