Serving the UVA Community Since 2010

“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.“

“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.“

“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…“

“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.“

“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.“