I am an "intermediate beginner" in Spanish and have very much enjoyed working with Ricardo. He's…read morevery personable and enthusiastic. I feel his lessons are designed specifically for me. We do grammar, vocabulary, conversation, story telling; and his exercises often have an element of playfulness I really appreciate. I admit there are times I feel overwhelmed by what I don't know, but he is SO supportive and encouraging it gives me the confidence to keep learning. Thank you Ricardo! And thank you Se Habla Español.

I HAVE HIGH RECOMMENDATIONS for "Se Habla Espanol," a privately-owned Spanish language school in…read moreSF's Richmond district. Silvia and Ricardo both are native speakers and Spanish teachers. My friend told me about this school, and we started taking classes there several months ago. Silvia is a wonderful and patient teacher. and is a lot of fun to work with. We do a lot of laughing in the class, but we laugh in Spanish! My friend and I are "beginning intermediate" level - we've each had some Spanish previously but are nowhere near fluent. So we're focusing mainly on speaking correctly and reviewing correct use of verb tenses. I'm taking Silvia's class concurrently with a class at CCSF in the evening. I cannot recommend Silvia highly enough and encourage you to give her and Ricardo a call if you want to learn to speak Spanish.

I pride myself on knowing the different pastas without asking the server when dining at an Italian…read morerestaurant. Agnolotti, cavatelli, bucatini -- the list goes on! my love for perfectly al dente pasta knows no bounds. Well, the problem became apparent when we booked our trip to Italy a couple of months ago. I freaked out because my Italian is non-existent and so... HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO ORDER A COCKTAIL AT THE BAR?!?! * well, you speak English of course! * I wanted to be able to confidently order in their language and sure, I can Rosetta Stone my way into learning Italian, but why not learn it from a REAL live Italian? Idesli offers Italian classes twice a week, but it didn't work with my schedule. Carla, the director, was flexible and accommodating. She worked with me to find a schedule that would fit and answered emails promptly. I got six private, 1.5 hour sessions at a fair price. My instructor, Valentina, is patient, kind and engaging. I learned so much with the personalized attention and she always encouraged me to email her if I had any questions. Learning another language is hard! It's like learning how to walk all over again. I'm planning to continue where we left off when I get back from my trip to Italy. I can say that in the short time I've had with Valentina, she taught me the most valuable lesson one can ever learn: the difference of intonation. Did you know that in Italian, penne = pasta, but pene = penis? o_0 You can't exactly order "pene" at a restaurant, right?

I just finished a 10 lesson Spanish package with IDESLI and had a great experience…read more A little background on me: I minored in Spanish and studied abroad in Chile during college but found myself a few years out and faltering in my language abilities. I was presented with the opportunity to travel to Bogota, Colombia for work and began taking lessons with IDESLI to get back up to speed. I can confidently say that after 9 lessons I felt so much more confident in my Spanish abilities. My instructor Monica gave me great feedback and mixed the classes up with conversation, practices, and lessons. She gave me some great resources I can use later on as well. After these lessons I have used my Spanish so much more, in my professional as well as personal life, than I would have prior. I highly recommend IDESLI to anyone looking to take private Spanish lessons in the Bay Area. The private attention I received rivaled any college class I took. This is truly a great value. If I ever find myself needing to freshen up my abilities or to advance my abilities I will be going back to IDESLI.

Five Stars. I haven't enjoyed language classes like this since I was little…read more In a little over a year, we are now having full basic conversations around the house! All thanks to ItaLingua (grazie di cuore ai miei insegnanti Diana, Vania e Roberto!). I am not usually successful in online classes, but the very small size of our classes, lots of familiar faces who have made the journey with us, and instructors who really pay attention to your progress (for example, I would struggle with avoiding pronouncing "c's" like you would in Spanish and two of my instructors made a point of giving me the questions in class that required that) made all the difference. The emails after each class with the live notes and assignments are clear and helpful. the emphasis on immersion and not using English unless necessary is really helpful. and the materials are challenging at first (the workbook is all in Italian) but that really makes you buckle down (especially for me being many... many... years removed from school). Some recommendations that worked for us or we learned along the way: (1) think about the time of day for the class each week. I loved the Saturday late morning class time, but I could tell for others that was not ideal. And same as say Monday evening. Though that seems to be preferred by most and I love kicking off my week with my class. (2) you want to do the homework and maybe go over it 2 or 3 times. both for you, and for your classmates. It helps class move along and if this is your first romance language, maybe 4-5 times. (3) Don't use Google translate! You would be surprised how often it's either wrong, or translating using words or conjugations that are several levels above where you are. Simple words and phrases and tenses are just find for the early classes. The class really starts to emphasize conversations as you go (4) Get a new book! You'll be scribbling and filling-in-the-blanks everywhere (oh and use pencil! you go over the homework in class and early on, I made a lot of mistakes) (5) PodCasts, AnkiApp, and using Italian around the house - we benefited from having both me and my partner taking the classes together, eventually we started putting our monthly calendars, and kitchen labels and shopping lists in Italian (and sometimes talking to our cat in Italian too). But definitely pair the class with listening to Italian language podcasts while at the gym, or while you are commuting, and I strongly recommend the AnkiApp which does proper pronunciation for flashcards for when you are commuting by train or bus. If you start making the flashcards from the start, you will just build and build week after week. Only 20-30 new cards a week, but now we're up to 1,400 (and you can share with friends). (6) Make sure you Zoom is up-to-date (i used Teams for work and had a little bit of a learning curve as a luddite last year). Excited for elementare next... fingers crossed

A Italigua le insegnante sono fantastice! I take my class…read moreonline. My teachers have been fun, engaging, and keep the class moving along. The 2 hours goes by quickly. I have learned so much since I started and looking forward to my travels in Italy. I would recommend Italigua to anyone who wants to feel confident speaking italian.

I signed up for classes in February on whim after a deal popped up in an email. I researched it…read morebriefly and decided to go for it since it worked for my schedule and the price was quite reasonable for the number of classes. Fast forward a couple of months and I'm half way into my second session and I've learned quite a bit while having a lot of fun. Classes are conversational, so it's not a whole lot of note taking or just writing things down although we are supplied with a binder and every week we are given handouts for the classes. We do take some notes but it's more about learning a few basics and taking it from there building on the previous weeks lessons. Also, the classes are pretty small, about 12 or less from my experience, so if something is not clear, it's very easy to ask a question. I'm taking a trip to Italy this summer and I have no doubt that I'll ready to get there and put my skills to work.

Studying with Juztino was not what I expected! It is not a boring classroom experience, there are…read moreno desks! You will not learn from a teacher that is two lesson plans ahead of you, he seems to know everything about Italian having lived in Italy for years of his life! You will not simply learn to pass a test, there are no tests! Instead he will teach you a useful approach to speaking Italian! Along with his masterful approach to teaching a very difficult language he incorporates the local Italian businesses into a "culture" in which his students are invited to participate. He even works with Native Italians to introduce his students to the cooking skills and micro-cultures of the Italian way of life! He is not the most tech savvy, shiny classroom, lifeless computer module of an instructor; he is a face to face, etymologically gifted, guitar and flute playing song leader of an instructor (he teaches italian songs to his students). I am so glad to learn from him! It can't be easy to teach me a language but somehow he is making it happen, and in spite of all this learning I am even having a good time! Ciao bello!

Rosa is a fantastic tutor for a lot of reasons…read more 1) She speaks both english and spanish fluently 2) She's a trained professor in english and spanish and has taught people all over the world. 3) She's very easy going, very organized and really sets you on a path to succeed. I knew maybe two words of spanish before I met her, "Gracias" & "Hola". After a few months of tutoring a couple times a week, I was proficient enough to be working in Argentina. Rosie is really fantastic and I highly recommend her for anyone seeking to learn Spanish.

I agree with the other reviewers - Rosie is a fantastic tutor!…read more Thanks to my brilliant decision to take German in high school and in college, I was WAY behind when I began working in a medical clinic with ~60% Spanish speaking patients. I had attended classes in two other conversational Spanish SF group programs for almost a year and a half and was finding I just could not learn the language. I started meeting with Rosie in a West Portal coffee shop twice a week for a total of 3 hours/week in October 2010 to see if maybe a private tutor was my answer. After several weeks I began to relax and really learn. Now it is May 2011 and Rosie and I joke about how nervous and serious I was when I would meet with her that first month. Turns out I wasn't learning because I would build up all this unnecessary anxiety about performing in lessons. Rosie gave the attention and support I truly needed to ensure I understood I was not being judged with every mistake I made. Soon the sentences began to flow and I am now able to talk with my patients (still with an interpreter though so they get the BEST care possible as there are still somethings I can not understand due to all the different dialects or that is very complicated to explain). I really must learn Spanish for my job as an healthcare professional and asthma educator. This specialized training was something I could not get in a group setting (even medical Spanish could not be tailored to my specific needs). Rosie has been able to teach me medical terminology as well as how best to approach patients during interview, physical assessment, and medication history taking. How wonderful she is! I highly recommend Rosie if you want to learn to converse in Spanish. But note, she understands English grammar better than most Americans so if you want the "why" regarding English or Spanish conjugation or sentence structures, she can provide very detailed explanations. Rosie is the BEST!

We chose La Scuola three years ago for its combination of warmth and strong academics. I toured a…read morelot of K-8 schools and the warmth and personality of La Scuola stood out. Dig a little further and I was impressed by the International Baccalaureate program and language immersion. I have to say we haven't been disappointed. Our child loves the school and is always happy. I have been hugely impressed by the teaching standards and communication. Just fyi, we have no Italian at home and love that our child is learning the language and will take on Spanish in the coming years. I can't recommend the school enough.

My kid is in 1st grade and we have loved La Scuola since she started in Kindergarten. We were drawn…read moreto the school for the international community, the IB system, and the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Also, my daughter came in with no Italian language skills in K and the teachers did a great job of making sure she was following what was happening until she picked up the Italian. There were a few others like her and they did an awesome job integrating them into the language having other kids help with translation when needed.) We are thrilled to be able to be part of this community for a whole 9 years!

Nando is more than a teacher, he's a friend for life. I'm so…read moreblessed to have met him. Absolutely going above and beyond and is not the everyday teacher you'll meet. He's the best and i meet him on almost a weekly basis (when i'm not traveling) for over a year now.

Nando is an amazing teacher…read more My husband and I started learning Spanish with Nando back in February this year to prepare us for a month long South America trip. Let me tell you this, I did not know Spanish at all and my husband had very minimal understanding (from high school). We just got back from our SA trip last week and we thought we both did pretty darn good job communicating in Spanish. Nando really got us up to speed!! It was amazing how we can communicate comfortably. Unbelievable. Nando offered us a customized lesson plan that allowed us to learn quickly. He also incorporated some interesting activities and games with his lessons that made the learning process MAS DIVERTIDO! We honestly would recommend him - 1000% - to anyone who wants to learn Spanish. We are looking forward to having more classes with Nando.

¡Dios Mio! There…read moreare the good things, then there are the bad things. Here's the good stuff: - Dino knows languages. Um, lots of the them. - His curriculum is as flexible as you need it to be. Not just from a course load, but maybe you got your ass kicked at work that day, and don't want to work super hard on verb tenses: He will adjust to your goals and your emotional needs that week, that day, that moment. - Homework is dependent on you, he can assign or not assign: it depends on what you want. - The schedule can be flexible. Travel a lot? Got personal stuff? He can work around it. - His teaching style is thorough, thoughtful, and useful. There isn't a single session that feels like fluff or wasted time. And even after an hour or so, your brain is still ready for more. I started at once a week. Then went to twice a week. And if I could've found the time, I would've done three times as week. The Bad: - Dino is a giant presence. Literally. People want to stare at him. It'll put you in the spotlight. You will meet people and interact. You may have to put your new skills to the test. Buen suerte, mijo. - Your friends will be jealous that you are kicking their ass with your new language. It's ok, you deserve the kudos. - You will go to every taqueria in SF and order in Spanish. Locals might hate you for that. Or love you. Kinda depends. I little knowledge is dangerous. - You may fall in love. Go find out why. Seriously, Dino is an animal with languages. A strong, understanding beast who will help you with a thoughtful program, designed for your needs. Get to it.

I went through three ho-hum Spanish teachers before finding Dino. First off, Dino loves language…read more It's infectious. The history of it, the semantics, the quirk, the slang. Which means your lesson isn't going to be some dry textbook-style drone. It's going to be as colorful as Dino himself. To top this off, Dino is kind of a language genius so his immense intelligence and understanding of the ins and outs will be gifted to you in the hour sessions. Bonus! He meets most students at Cafe Flore so you can have a glass of wine which loosens the tongue for those who find it tied. Dino has also started teaching Spanish classes for our restaurant employees which has been such a boon for an industry where language is what creates the gulf between front and back of the house. So whether you want individual lessons or a group class, Dino is the man.