Michelle Olivero
5.0
2021-01-19
I had taken Spanish many years ago and thought that I needed a refresher/back-to-basics type of class and I got that and so much more! By the end of the class, I am able to converse and speak about myself and others in Spanish, which is a huge leap. I'm excited to keep learning as I've signed up for Level 2! I love this method of teaching & learning as it's realistic and easy-to-understand.
Dee Dee Goldpaugh
1.0
2022-07-04
This course fell far below my expectations. Honestly, I'm surprised you even sent an eval form given when I discontinued coming to the course I sent a detailed email as to why, requested a conversation about continuing with private lessons instead, and never received any response from the school or instructor.
First, the pedagogical methods used, from my understanding, are outdated in terms of approaches for adult language learners. My class, and I'm not kidding, consisted of a full hour of laboriously going over sentences assigned for homework, which few of the participants did, so we had to sit there and wait for the students to figure out the homework on the spot. Then maybe 30 minutes of actual instruction of new material. Moreover, we are ADULT LEARNERS. Calling on students without their consent, just calling out someone's name to give an answer, is insulting and does not take into account different learning styles or anxiety someone may feel speaking in front of others. It also means the entire class has to sit there while another *adult* who does not know the answer has to sit and sweat it out in front of the group. Not acceptable.
I attended this class with my husband who is already fluent in three languages. We couldn't believe how not engaging it was. I can't believe we paid to primarily review homework sentences every week. One day we were sitting doing our homework together and my husband started yelling, "I'm not going to write a paragraph in the present tense using this vocabulary. I'm not doing it!" And we just decided to never go back.
At that point, I looked for the instructors contact info but couldn't find it. So I wrote a very nice email to the school stating the class wasn't a good fit for us, but were potentially interested in private instruction with the teacher and never heard back. So that was that.
Melanie Sax
5.0
2022-03-28
At age 70, I decided to try again to learn Spanish. I chose the Beginner's level because I needed the review and did not want to be "left behind in the dust" by younger students surging ahead with their quicker brains! I appreciated the way the course was structured. Common topics of "getting to know you" conversation were introduced early in the course. I felt I could quickly make sense of basic Spanish grammar which helped my ability to communicate more easily what I wanted to say. Many "holes" in my understanding left over from former beginning classes were filled in nicely. I feel much more confident about trying to communicate in Spanish (at least at a rudimentary level!)
Karl Greenberg
5.0
2022-07-04
I think Berges is great. I did not expect that, as I'm fairly skeptical about these things, but it was a really good experience, and the course materials were quite well organized and the quizzes were challenging. I look forward to the second level.
Christine Morga
5.0
2022-07-05
This was a great course with Alejandro. I had studied Spanish years ago, but forgot most of what I'd learned. Alejandro is a great teacher- patient and fun with his lessons. I've already begun Spanish II!
Alison Foster
5.0
2022-07-02
The course offered a way to immerse yourself into the fundamental grammar and vocabulary of Spanish and a great review after a long time. I look forward to continuing on to level 2.