Alliance Francaise de Berkeley is middle of the road in terms of French-language instruction. I…read morehave taken classes over the years in other countries and states so have experience with in-classroom language learning. My 2-star review of Alliance Francaise De Berkeley comes down to a few things: 1) instructors are inconsistent 2) there is only one path to learning so those who learn outside of their "lane" may struggle 3) the study materials (book: Inspire1 by Hachette) were somewhat chaotic and hard to follow 4) The online learning portal is difficult to use, has a lot of errors that get in the way of progress and doesn't actually explain the why behind your mistakes (how else can you learn?) I really think Alliance could be much better if they invested more in development of their instructors, expanding the ways that students can learn, and investing in better learning tools & technology (while I don't work in tech, tech-savvy Bay area students expect online tools to be good not antiquated and error prone)

I love attending this school. I've attended for about 10 months. The teachers and staff are…read moreextremely helpful, professional and kind. They display a genuine concern for your french learning. The school promotes the appreciation of French culture as well as the language. For example many events are held that are free to members (students) or at a minimal fee. I attended one where a flamenco dancer spoke about her upcoming show. This entire event was in French, but wow I was able to follow along (suprisingly well for an advanced beginner). . . thanks to my studies at the school. As far as price, as the saying goes . . . "you get what you pay for" high quality instruction and immersion opportunities beyond the classroom setting. At this time, I'm not able to travel to a francophone place - - - for me, this school is the next best thing.

Our family has been part of this school community for 20 years, and we are so grateful for the…read moreexperience. It's a wonderful way to connect children (and adults!) with German language and culture in a relaxed, educational setting that also serves as a hub of the East Bay German/American community. The teachers are welcoming, the instruction is top notch, and students have the opportunity to gain official language diplomas that also give them access to university systems in Germany without additional language requirements. The Saturday morning time commitment is not hard to fit into a busy family schedule.

Our family has attended GSEB for many years, and found it to be a warm, welcoming place, with…read moreteachers that really care and do a wonderful job. For children, the school does a great job finding the appropriate level for them, and has a good track record of success with kids and the language certification exams. For adults, there is a good range of courses to cover everyone from beginners to more advanced students. There are quite a few long-time attendees of the school (myself included), which speaks well to the value of the community and education that the school provides. I'm really glad that we found GSEB and became part of the community. We can easily recommend it for anyone looking for a good Saturday language school option!

Angel was an amazing Spanish tutor, I hadn't taken Spanish since high school and was nervous going…read morein. Angel was patient, kind, and I learned a ton in my 8 weeks of class.

I've been working with Angel for the past 5 months, and he has been an excellent Spanish tutor. He…read moreis very patient, tailors lessons to my level, and is always flexible with scheduling. I've made great progress and highly recommend him to anyone learning Spanish.

Arturo is a patient and calm teacher. He helps you understand the language easily and converses…read morewith you so you can practice speaking what you've been taught. It is nice having classes with other students and allows for more opportunity to speak the language. He also provides notes for each lesson plus grammar practice. If you want to learn Spanish and have fun while doing it - this is the place for you!

I am travelling to Spain this summer, where I will take an Spanish course, and in preparation, I…read morethought I would enroll in a class here. I'm taking classes right now, and while the first week was great, I'm really not so into it now. I'm in the advanced beginner level, as I took Spanish in high school (about ten years ago). I am not fluent at all, but have some vocabulary, and can conjugate in present tense. Pros: 1. Right now, it's just me and the instructor. So, I'm stoked about personal instruction for just $14 per hour. (Cost depends on length of course. Check the website for more info. http://institutomesoamerica.com/) However, I don't believe this is the norm. 2. Instructor seems to be patient with me, as I try to figure out how to conjugate the past tense. UPDATE: He's not so patient anymore... see below... 3. Must think of third "pro" Cons: 1. Teaching method is not creative. I have dittos, from which I conjugate verbs. Sometimes they are in sentences, sometimes, just the verb. Today we did this for over 2 hours of the 3 hour class. So freaking boring. 2. Sometimes I feel like the instructor is SUPER bored. Which makes my selfconciousness kick into high gear. 3. I do not feel that there is enough interaction between me and the instructor. 4. Instructor claims to use a NATURAL teaching method, and a NEW approach to teaching Spanish. Ummm. What?? Reading off a ditto is natural and new??? 5. Instructor IS bored! He taps his fingers, stretches and is not patient. Corrects me before I have the chance to correct myself. 6. Misspellings on the dittos. Gets annoyed when I don't understand the words, which happen to be in ANOTHER LANGUAGE AND ARE MISSPELLED. 7. Doesn't follow along on the dittos. Corrects me even when I'm right, as he's not looking at the ditto. 8. Somehow thinks that I will remember EVERY word we've used previously. Thanks, but I'm not magic. But I will definitely try suggesting some other activities to the instructor, and asking about specific things that I would like to learn, such as practicing being at a hotel/train station/restaurant. Hopefully, the instruction will improve. UPDATE: I added a star, because I felt satisfied with the resolution I recieved. I was unhappy with this particular school and recieved a refund. Very honest and wanted to resolve the problem, and I appreciate that.

I have been studying Spanish with Enjoy Spanish since 2025. My class is small, effective, and very…read moreenjoyable (the name Enjoy Spanish is definitely truth-in-advertising!). Daniela and Carlos are both excellent, engaging instructors who are native Spanish speakers but also fluent in English. Classes are non-judgmental and a family-like atmosphere. They are a mix of drills, exercises, and free conversations that reinforce lesson. I have taken Spanish in school and with 1-1 tutors. ES is by far the most engaging and effective Spanish learning experience I have had. I highly recommend ES for Spanish learners at any level!

I adore learning from Daniela, Carlos, and the team at Enjoy Spanish! The classes are fun and…read moreengaging and the structure and flexibility have been great for my learning. I've been doing my weekly lessons for almost 2 years now and have gotten so much more confident. It's also a lot of fun! Highly recommend learning with the ES team!

My kiddo finished her first year of after-school programming at Hanwen and is looking forward to…read morenext year. She's attended other Chinese-language programs in the past but shared with me that she's learned the most at Hanwen (from songs to zhuyin to full characters). On top of that, there's a great student community and they have fun activities like kung-fu, too. Thanks for running a great school, Ron and team!

Our daughter (5 yrs old) currently attends Hanwen's afterschool program and she loves it. In…read moreaddition to the Chinese language classes, she is also enrolled in a mindfulness class (her favorite), a kung-fu class, an abacus class,and a yoga class. The instructors and the founder (Ron) are all highly engaged, supportive, and friendly. The program is very well run and offers a wonderfully enriching environment and an extensive assortment of activities. Our daughter reports to us on a daily basis (in Chinese) about things she learned and things she enjoyed doing with her new friends. We highly recommend the school to all our friends and enjoy being a part of the community.

We initially chose EBI for its Spanish immersion program and were soon delighted to discover it's…read morealso an International Baccalaureate (IB) school. While raising bilingual children is important to us, the IB curriculum has become the most enriching part of our experience. Its inquiry-driven approach inspires curiosity, deep thinking, and a genuine love of learning that keeps our children engaged. Our top priority was to find a school where our kids would enjoy learning, ask big questions, and develop a global perspective--and EBI has exceeded our expectations. The teaching at EBI is high quality. The educators are thoughtful, skilled, and dedicated to helping each child succeed. They create a supportive learning environment that emphasizes both academic and social-emotional growth. Group work and collaboration are central to the school's approach, helping students build important interpersonal and problem-solving skills. EBI has been a great fit for our child with a learning difference, and also the one that doesn't have a learning difference because of their commitment to differentiated learning, which supports all learners! The inquiry-based model allows them to engage with the material without relying on memorization or worksheets. We appreciate the strong Learning Differences and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) support team as well! The EBI community--teachers and parents alike--have been fabulous!

We love EBI and have been at the school for 8 years for our 3 kids. Wonderful teachers and learning…read moreenvironment, great staff and leadership working to strengthen the school. Our kids have benefited from an incredible education and community!

Our child was really struggling with the adjustment to high school. The support he received from…read moreClassroom Matters was invaluable in helping him succeed that first semester of high school. Also, I saw Lisa Miller for assistance with my parenting and her assistance was also very helpful!

Classroom Matters is the best! Tatiana and Lisa are wonderful members of the community who truly…read morelove to see kids succeed and enjoy school. The tutors here are awesome and helped my daughter with her confidence and competence in math in a very short period of time. Highly recommend, even if your kiddo just needs a little push to believe in themselves.