Meet Our Instructors
Our team includes more than 50 experienced linguists, with instructors based here in Charlottesville and across the U.S. and around the world. Together, they bring language, culture, and real-life experience into every lesson, creating learning that’s personal, engaging, and human.
English: Liz Launer, M.A.
Meet Elizabeth Launer, Speak!'s Administrative Coordinator and English Program Leader. Since joining the team in 2012, Liz has helped connect thousands of students with the right instructors while supporting Speak!'s international teaching team and English programs.
Meet Christina Ball, Ph.D.
Meet Christina Ball, founder of Speak! Language Center. A Yale-trained Italianist, Fulbright Scholar, and lifelong language learner, Christina has spent more than 30 years helping people connect through language, culture, and conversation.
Spanish: Franco Perez, Cert. ELE
“I am fascinated by well-applied pedagogy, so I studied to teach Spanish as a second language. My favorite teaching method is the "flipped classroom" and I like my students to feel as comfortable as possible in my lessons.”
Speak! is about CONNECTION!
Many of our favorite moments happen when teachers and students learn, laugh, and connect beyond the lesson.
