Reviews for Intermediate Conversation

Blandon Casenave
star 5.0
2023-10-26
The course is conversational, so it's not the same as the previous levels. You can feel yourself starting to speak without thinking before every phrase - it's great!
Ayelet Prizant
star 5.0
2023-05-01
The class was a good and lively mix of students of similar intermediate levels.
Damien Spivak
star 5.0
2023-04-01
The one class I attended with Gloria Aveal was excellent.
Jennifer White
star 5.0
2022-10-02
I always enjoy classes with Rolando. I appreciate that he is good at facilitating conversation in an interesting way and without rigidly adhering to the homework. It’s a great way to practice my Spanish.
Michael Cestare
star 5.0
2022-06-30
Great course and group of students. Rolando is a good teacher. Very receptive and patient, and always kept the conversations interesting for us.
Gillian Casey
star 5.0
2022-06-18
The course is a nice way to speak with others at your level or sometimes a bit above or below, allowing you to adapt to necessary skill level all while challenging yourself.
Rosemary Spano
star 5.0
2022-05-04
great conversations in this class--it was very enjoyable. Rolando is always a great teacher and now I know he's a great conversationalist too.
Meredith Nemirov
star 5.0
2022-05-04
The course was very well structured with appropriate homework that sparked good conversations!
Kristen Staffaroni
star 4.0
2022-03-28
These courses are great. I enjoy them, the assignments and my Spanish has improved. I will continue taking them!
Lisa Aldoroty
star 5.0
2022-03-02
The intermediate conversation class with Juan Carlos was great and very informative. Juan Carlos gently corrected certain mistakes and wrote the corrections in the chat. which is very helpful as a learning tool. He is great at introducing new topics each class to discuss and keeps the conversation flowing. I saw an improvement in my conversational skills.
Joseph Rivera
star 5.0
2022-02-03
The course was great. It was a good follow up to Beg. Conversation and really helped me to get comfortable with just speaking and not overthinking how I expressed myself.
Gabrielle Flowerman
star 4.0
2022-02-03
The conversation classes are an excellent opportunity to practice and reinforce skills. I highly recommend them.
Rosemary Spano
star 4.0
2021-11-27
I love Berges in general. I’ve taken classes level 2 through 5 and really enjoyed them. I’m still adjusting to the conversation class which is a very different experience. I’m missing the structure of the grammar classes. I still wish there was a level 6.
Joanne Haas
star 5.0
2021-10-26
I believe this is an excellent class to improve and grow one's Spanish skills.
Claudia Kavenagh
star 5.0
2021-10-07
I loved this class because I really like the format of reading articles and researching a topic, and then discussing them all during the class. It's such a great way to improve vocabulary and grammar. We always had great discussions about the articles we read.
Elizabeth Hershon
star 5.0
2021-10-02
I love the class! I have been taking this class for more than one year. I really enjoy the other students in the class and Andres is a wonderful, patient, teacher. My Spanish is getting better and I look forward to it every Thursday.
Ayelet Prizant
star 5.0
2021-09-30
Andres kept the class lively and encouraged interaction and sharing between students. The conversation class is a fun way to practice our speaking and listening skills!
Peter Heilbroner
star 5.0
2021-09-14
Lots of fun, loved the class, challenging for me but paid off in better convo skills.
Kate Phillips
star 5.0
2021-08-08
Very happy with the structure of the course and the instructor. Alexandra is a true professional.
Ayelet Prizant
star 5.0
2021-07-10
The conversation class was fun, lively, informative and educational. My speaking skills definitely improved after the 10-week session.
anonymous
star 2.0
2021-04-15
I love the idea of the conversation class and when done well they are great. And I love having to read articles in Spanish and think about what I might say, in advance of the class. But I think that all instructors should have to follow some guidelines about how they teach, including using at least some of the homework assignments. The two intermediate conversation classes I took were completely different.
anonymous
star 5.0
2021-04-14
One of the best things about the conversation courses is that I can take them more than once. The content is dynamic and ever-changing, which keeps them fresh. I learned a ton and also enjoyed the course.
Anonymous
star 4.0
2021-03-25
Excellent course for the somewhat casual learner wanting to give more time to study than daily life permits. Alejandro addresses each student where they are and makes progress in Spanish fun.
Laura
star 5.0
2021-02-13
I look forward to this class every week! Topics are interesting and it’s a comfortable environment to really practice Spanish.
Danielle
star 5.0
2021-02-04
I really enjoyed this class and being able to have conversations in Spanish with other students who are learning with me helps. I love that the class size is small so that everyone can participate and really get to know one another. One hour and a half goes by really fast when the conversation is engaging
Marios Koufaris
star 5.0
2020-11-06
The course is a great way to both practice and to advance one's Spanish. The small class size works well and doing it 100% online was convenient and effective.
Ben
star 5.0
2020-09-03
It was great! I also enjoyed the small class size. Dennis knew when to talk slowly and made it easy for the conversation to flow.
Megan Nickel
star 4.0
2020-07-31
I enjoyed the looser structure and conversation about current events.
Josie Bearden
star 5.0
2020-07-31
Loved this course! Maria is great and kept us all very engaged. I wish we could meet more than once a week! Will definitely be signing up for another (now my 3rd course!) with the Berges Institute.
Anonymous
star 5.0
2020-07-16
Even though the course took place over video chat, everyone was engaged and participated in the conversation.
Anonymous
star 5.0
2020-07-16
Great course! I've gone through all 5 levels and Intermediate Conversation with Alejandro and he is a great teacher. I
Sarah P
star 5.0
2020-06-17
just finished intermediate conversation with Andres. This is my sixth class with Berges starting with in-person level 1 in New York City continuing to level 5 and then conversation. During that time, in-person eventually became online. This last class which was my first conversation class was very engaging and involved impromptu conversation led by Andres with the other students and discussions of recent news items that were given to us as homework. The final class involved presenting an event that happened in the Spanish-speaking world. I appreciated Andres for his patience, kindness, intellectual curiosity and energy and would heartily recommend him as a teacher.
Cristina Drafta
star 5.0
2020-06-10
The course was stimulating and encouraged conversation. Some of the topics recommended as reading homework were a bit strange but regardless they stimulated reading and writing in Spanish
Max G
star 5.0
2020-05-24
A wonderful opportunity to practice Spanish conversation with a wonderful instructor and small group of other students.
Anonymous
star 5.0
2020-05-16
The course moved online because of COVID and Maria made the transition easy and smooth. I enjoyed the conversation class. We had discussions about current events and our daily activities. I want to practice speaking and understanding others and this class helped me with that. Thank you Maria.
Gabrielle Flowerman
star 5.0
2020-04-20
Berges' classes, the teachers and the administrative staff deserve much more than 5 stars. Everyone is outstanding, and it is pleasure to study here. Even during quarantine, the conversation courses are fabulous because they are a perfect venue for practicing skills, while stimulating your intellect. The added benefit is the chance to maintain social connections with fun and interesting people of all walks of life. I recommend this school to everyone who asks me about studying Spanish. It has been worth every penny. There has been a huge advancement in my skills. Thank you Berges staff! Many thanks for a fantastic class!
Anonymous
star 3.0
2020-03-25
The class was just okay. I never felt like the teacher prepared himself for a class. It was always improvised. And it’s not just this teacher. In general it appears like they are just killing time by coming to class. Very low energy without a plan for a class. After few classes I don’t feel like attending. The only reason I am still trying is because there are not many options in nyc.
Eliza
star 5.0
2020-03-25
Rolando was an excellent instructor. Conversation flowed organically around a range of topics, including challenging ones, but he remained in control of the class at all times. I recently returned from a trip to visit my family in Cuba and was able to relate to them more deeply and more fluidly than ever before thanks to this class.
Kristen Misak
star 5.0
2020-02-06
Another great class with Nicolas - my fifth class at Berges and my fourth with Nicolas.
Richard
star 5.0
2019-12-30
Nicolás tiene la habilidad para asegurar todos los estudiantes que el cuarto es seguro. Él incluye a todos en la conversación, y habla bastante despacio para que todos pueden tratar de entender. Las temas discutimos fue interesante y desafiante, específicamente las presentaciones tuvimos que hacer. El unico problema fue que el nivel de la clase fue un poquito bajo para mi. He unido la clase avanzada en enero - vamos a ver!
Michelle Garcia
star 4.0
2019-11-20
I think the course structure is great and the current events or topics assigned in the homework each week really help facilitate conversation amongst classmates.
Anonymous
star 3.0
2019-11-05
Overall, I enjoyed the class, but I do have to point out that levels were a bit all over the place. There was one student who was really great and should have been at Advanced Conversation, but there were also two students who were just not even close to Intermediate Conversation. I don't even think they'd fit it Basic Conversation. It was a bit frustrating at times as the instructor was spending too much fixing their diction and grammar way more than he did for others and dragging the whole class. One of the two actually communicated that he/she doesn't feel that he/she fits in, but ended up finishing the course as the instructor encouraged. The encouragement should have been directed towards recommending him/her to move to Basic Conversation or low level grammar class. I think there should be a stricter oral proficiency test to enter into conversation classes. But away from this, I generally had a good time conversing with others.
Amy
star 5.0
2019-10-14
This was my first class at Berges. I have taken other conversation classes at other schools and this has been my favorite. I liked the method of choosing an article (in advance) to prepare for class.
Anonymous
star 5.0
2019-10-03
This class was conducted solely in Spanish - and it was really fun and interesting to hear the stories and comments of a random group of New Yorkers. However, with about eight students in the room, you personally will not be speaking that much in each 90-minute class. While this class will help you along, to substantially improve your Spanish you will have to put in time studying and speaking on your own.
Michelle Garcia
star 5.0
2019-09-06
Interesting topics to prepare and discuss in class helped facilitate conversation.
Linda Perry
star 2.0
2019-06-27
The course has great potential. However ever class followed the exact same format. It became boring and predictable. A game was used once to introduce vocabulary and to break the monotony. I have been in other courses where short films or a short poem or reading was used to good effect. One student was allowed to dominate most discussions. She should have been limited in a nice way. These are not criticisms of Ms. Guedes. She is personable and willing, however she needs more training. I did not come back for the two last meetings. I am a very busy person and I felt that my time was not well spent.
Danielle
star 5.0
2019-06-24
Loved it. Melissa was a great instructor. She was so friendly and patient. I loved going in and chatting in Spanish for 90 minutes a week.
Gulnara
star 5.0
2019-05-13
I liked it
Anonymous
star 4.0
2019-04-30
Teacher was great, he led the convos in a very interactive manner. Class was news/discussions based so there is always something to talk about. Wish it was a little more structured so I knew if I was improving or not. Some formal exercises would've been helpful.
Steph P
star 3.0
2019-04-11
I enjoyed this class because we were able to talk about a variety of subjects and bring up topics we found interesting or parts of speech we were struggling with. The teacher was friendly and interesting. However, overall, I don't feel like I gained very much new knowledge or practice of the language. Much of the conversation would end up being between a student and the teacher. She would ask a question and someone would respond, then we'd move on to the next question. Student grammar was hardly corrected or guided, even when it was desperately needed.