Reviews for Advanced Conversation

4.8 (58 reviews)
A Berges student
Jonathan
March 4, 2021
It was great. I keep signing up and coming back. So that says everything, right?
Tamara Kirson
March 3, 2021
Victor is a gem, always responsive and helpful.
Tamara Kirson
March 3, 2021
Nico's Spanish is beautiful, but of course - it's Colombian ; ) His explanations are clear, and he speaks at a relatively normal pace to build our oral comprehension. Nico is knowledgeable about many subjects and when he isn't, he shows intellectual curiosity, another plus in an educator!
Tamara Kirson
March 3, 2021
Nicolas is quite a lot of fun, and we have had a terrific group of people. Because we're an advanced group, the discussion starts spontaneously and flows from there. It's especially wonderful when there is back-and-forth among the students. Whenever we ask a grammar question, Nico answers well. I also think that it would be good to include a grammar point in the conversation evenings based on what surfaces each time. Perhaps, Nico can check in with the next group to take "the pulse" about that idea.
Tamara Kirson
December 9, 2020
Nicolas facilitated a wonderful conversation group with three of us, who were all aligned in many views and interests. We talked and laughed and discussed new vocabulary and grammar, when we asked questions. It was an intimate highly conversant group, and Nicolas was joyful and interested in us. Five stars*****
Rebecca Carriero
November 8, 2020
The instructor's knowledge of current events and culture was ride ranging, making for a stimulating conversation every weekend. The class size was small so the discussion time was evenly distributed. And the teacher did not overly correct, making it easy for the conversation to flow.
Jon Howard
September 23, 2020
It was great. I signed up again for the same class and teacher. So obviously I felt it was worth my time. He did a good job of making sure that everyone got to both speak and listen. He seems like a cool guy too.
Anonymous
September 8, 2020
It was great!
Monica Tulchinsky
August 25, 2020
Rolando was great and kept the conversation course interesting and fun! My Spanish improved a ton because he made sure we talked about a wide range of topics.
Nickoleta
August 16, 2020
This was my second time taking Advanced Conversation with Rolando, so at this point it has become part of my Saturday routine. The class was very small, possibly due to the pandemic and being online, or perhaps simply because there aren't as many students at this level. This means we all get ample opportunity to speak and listen, and I feel like we've gotten to know each other pretty well by now, because Rolando usually starts off by asking us all how our week was before delving into sharing about whatever we've read or watched this week. Rolando is the best kind of teacher--he makes everyone feel comfortable enough to engage with each other and have real, natural conversations rather than "teacher asks question, student responds, teacher asks another student a question, student responds, etc." Grammatical or vocabulary corrections are quick so as not to disrupt the flow of conversation, and since we're online, he'll often just make the quick correction and type it in the chat so we can follow up on our own. I think the other two students in this session were more advanced than I am, so I also learned a lot just from listening to them carefully. I'll be back for the next session!
Anonymous
July 13, 2020
I wasn't sure how I would like taking an online course, but Nicolas was great at making me feel at ease from Day 1. I enjoyed chatting with the other students in the class, and the sense of community we developed over video calls was astonishing.
Tamara Kirson
July 8, 2020
We were a group of all women, and Nicolas was wonderfully comfortable in leading discussions among us. His Spanish is beautiful, with clarity and expressiveness, so he is easy to comprehend. Beyond the topics of discussion, we often ventured into other areas of interest like movies, books, and music - in Spanish, of course! Advanced Conversation is a good platform for building confidence, proficiency and vocabulary. Nicolas makes it fun!
Emily Johnson
June 18, 2020
I really enjoyed the format of the conversation course. Reading about and discussing current events was a great way to learn new words and practice discussing opinions and hypothetical situations.
Dasha Prokhorova
June 10, 2020
The course was excellent! I have been taking conversation classes at Berges for several years - the quality of the content and teachers is what keeps me coming back. I love Rolando's teaching style - he is very engaging and asks great questions that keep the conversation flowing and encourage students to think outside of the box and use new vocabulary.
Glenna
May 17, 2020
Great course as usual. Real study of Spanish language + fun place to socialize.
Jim Rescigna
December 26, 2019
A well run class in which everyone spoke pretty equally. The instructor was careful to assure that we all spoke.
James Rescigna
December 19, 2019
The conversation class with Rolando was very helpful. I feel more confident in expressing myself in Spanish. The teacher's attitude encouraged us to speak freely on many topics and his corrections were gentle and helpful. The students are serious about learning but we still had fun.
James V. Rescigna
October 2, 2019
Nicolas had us chatting away in Spanish as if it were easy. His input was subtle enough to make us aware, but not distracted by, our errors. That gave us freedom to express ourselves without the inhibitions language student usually suffer from.
Rachel Genao
October 2, 2019
I had an incredible experience in my advanced conversation classes led by Nicolás. He was helpful, interactive, and extremely friendly. Throughout the classes I was able to build my confidence in speaking which was one of the most important things that I gained while taking this course. I feel that my speaking skills have grown exponentially in such a short amount of time. Thank you, Berges! And thank you Nicolás!
Kelly
July 25, 2019
I loved my time here!