The non credit options have been on hiatus for a while. Their site mentions vaccine status, so most…read morelikely covid related which is a few years old now. Hopefully they have some sort of update on their one off or non-credit classes.

Great classes, and great teachers. I think it's the only high quality art school in DC…read more Everybody is so helpful there.

I took a Bangla "tourist" class with GLN. I was so excited to find an adult Bangla class! I'd been…read morelooking for one since 2011. I think my skill level was a bit beyond the beginner class, but they only offered beginner and it was excellent to be able to refresh my skills. I was especially glad to get to hear and speak in real time. There weren't as many visuals or handouts/learning aids as I prefer, but I took notes for myself to learn from. The cost of the class was very reasonable. Overall, when time allows, I'll happily enroll in another class with GLN. GLN is offering a great service.

The other negative reviews are largely correct. GLN uses these class as opportunities for new…read morelanguage teachers to gain teaching experience while offering a low-cost option for students. Great concept, terrible execution. If your class does not have enough students (or in some cases, an instructor to teach it), they will simply stop communicating with you. They will ignore your requests for information or refunds. You will spend weeks moving your schedule around and waiting for information. DC has a lot of competent, busy, intelligent people who will support this type of thing, but they are careless with their time, money, and resources. I don't doubt some classes are great, but some classes are truly terrible (if they take place at all).

My visit to Alliance Française de Washington brought back memories of Alliance Française Singapore…read morewhere I started my interest in French language, films and cooking. Needless to say, you can call me a francophile. The only time when "-phile" sounds positive. The charming home was the place for learning French language and the host of all kinds of francophile events. It was nice to learn about the organization and the events. I met the friendly management team Didier, Thomas and Marie at the event hosted by the Belgium Tourist Office in New York. They were promoting the 2012 Year of Gastronomy in Brussels. We were treated to St Feuillien beer, cheeses made from Chimay beer and a speech by the executive chef of the Belgium embassy about Belgium cuisine. He is a fan of seasonal food especially the game season in Belgium. How lovely. Then last Friday we were invited back to Alliance Française de Washington for a chocolate tasting event hosted by Neuhaus Chocolatier. They gave us a history of chocolate making that started in Belgium. Neuhaus is the inventor of praline and ballotine. We tried their handmade chocolates ranging from Tentation (traditional nougatine: toffee filled with coffee ganache) to Jean (ganache of intense dark Peruvian chocolate (64% cocoa mass)) to Truffe au Marc de Champagne to Marzipans. I was in chocolate heaven mmmmm......!!! It was yet another awesome event at Alliance Française de Washington. I am definitely heading to the Neuhaus store at the Union Station : P

Cet endroit est un centre cultural (this place is a cultural center). At the Alliance you can take…read morea class, hear a lecture, see a film (most likely a French one), see an art exhibit or-- my favorite activity-- go to a wine and cheese event. The Alliance offers a library that has videos and more than eight thousand books. There are chapters of this organization around the world and also about 150 of them within the US. There's also a conversation club here if you want to practice your French. Oui!

Well-run, with high standards. Very popular among students, teachers and volunteers. WEC stands…read moreout as an important counter-balance to today's prevailing political culture, regarding immigrants and race relations.

I used to be a volunteer teacher at the Washington English Center, and it was one of my favorite…read moretimes of the week. I looked forward to being around people who enjoyed teaching English, and meeting students from all around the world. If I ever came across a family member or friend who needed English support, I would definitely send them here as well. From a volunteer perspective, the Center provides so much support and training for its teachers (who do not need to be professional teachers, so this helps), including a ready-made curriculum and textbooks. Though I've been an ESL tutor in the past, having this institutional support was important for me as I wanted to be well-prepared for my students. The teaching set-up also requires each class to be taught by two teachers, which is very helpful! The students come from all around the world and have many different reasons for being in the program. I loved laughing with them, learning from them (as well as my co-teachers!!), and even learning a few things about the English language myself.

Instructors (HW) are not knowledgable and do not know what the student needs to learn to get a job…read more The outcomes part 3 weeks with no classes at all. The group morale down for not enough support to get assignments done. The cost of this bootcamp for the instruction is not worth at all. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOTCAMP TO ANYONE. The staff has not enough experience to handle a large number of students in this cohort.

February 6, 2020 I…read moreleft in the last two weeks due to no more new material, poor instruction due to three instructor changes, and choosing a job in the industry. Pluses First we'll start with the positives from the physical to the logical and qualitative. Location The GA campus in DC is clean, serviceable and well stocked with excellent Frontlines support. I would give it as near as 100% as possible. Classrooms always have working projectors, enough seats and whiteboards. Coffee, Peanut Butter and Jelly and tea bags are always plentiful. Outcomes The outcomes team gives the students most of the skills I learned in this industry at dozens of customers and clients over 20 plus years. As much as the students complained about the long sessions to me, those that follow its rigors will secure a position quickly. Curricula The curricula as defined in the GA SEI Syllabus compares well with Flatiron, CodingDojo, Trilogy and others. Instruction All lead instructors seemed knowledgeable of the material covered. All instructors were approachable and inviting of the material. Delivery The Google calendar was updated weekly with relatively accurate material to be presented and learned. Labs and software functioned as expected. Installfest saved the students trouble that they will quickly learn in the field. Compatibility and libraries are key from development to deployment. Minuses Now, some constructive guidance Location Those stairs are extremely steep and elevator access restricted. Heat in these historical buildings often has trouble on those frosty days. This one is no different, a space heater or two might help if compliant ones are available. Outcomes Only one thing I might recommend here are interview dry runs. We had one or two examples of interviews, and I imagine hiring panel next week will be equally excellent. But as mentioned below, practice, practice practice! All candidates I have ever met benefit from practicing the interview questions and the discomfort. I mentor all of my charges in this area. We even do professional development sessions on it. Curricula The curricula was not taught completely. For example, one of the reasons, that I, an experienced Engineer chose GA were the Algorithms and Data Structures courses as shown in the screenshots below. These courses were not available until after the course opened and even worse were never addressed. This pattern of missing core material as we moved forward forms part of the basis for my letter and departure. Instruction Our lead instructor changed three times. None of them covered all of the material separately or together. For new students this gap will carry over into their new careers. Although I mentioned this before and in tickets, it has not been addressed adequately. It cannot be rectified at this late stage. Delivery Furthermore there was often a lack of respect for the difficulties that the students faced. Comments such as the students are "lazy," "do not want to work," or "do not like to read have been heard." While I encourage constructive criticism it must be backed by instructional excellence. Instructional Excellence Although very personable as a whole the instructional style was far too loose to give new students the comfort they need in this difficult, challenging and dynamic field. Like sport and music, training for novices is about learning patterns and executing them repeatedly and in combination. As the student grows, these patterns or katas inspire the artists to create their own symphonies. Not enough structure was provided for training the students muscle or neurological pathways to allow for confident improvisation. This is my number one guidance. When teaching new material it is vital that it is taught, demonstrated, practiced and reviewed. Although much of the material had this character, it has not been consistent enough to train the students. On my final day I was directly criticized for the instructional failures of this cohort. I was told that I was pushing and telling the students what to do when in reality all that I did was: Describe the concept. Demonstrate the concept. Allow the students to choose issues to tackle. Reviewed them as a whole. The instructor who arrived later to try to guide us was disrespectful to me and to the classroom in his behavior. Summary I chose GA over the alternatives for several reasons. First, the curriculum met most of the baselines of each of the other bootcamps in the area, although it was slightly pricier, the vibe and location seemed worth it. I was 100% accurate on the location and vibe, you are a warm and welcoming team that open your hearts to all students. Please structure the courses more. I mentioned this in my ongoing ticket

My life, knowledge and passions have been enriched to degrees I never imaged I would reach in my…read moremid-60s thanks to the myriad of classes and day trips I have enjoyed with Smithsonian Associates. On Saturday, August 17, 2024, the day trip, A Natural History of the Mid-Atlantic: Stories of Calvert County, Maryland led by the jovial, kind and informative Hayden Matthews included visits to the historic and geographical significant Battle Creek Cypress Swamp; a visit to the Calvert Marine Museum chock full of information and displays on the formation of the Chesapeake Bay with megalodon Shark teeth and intact, carefully preserved prehistoric fresh water and sea water shells, as well as a stop at the amazing AnnMarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center featuring a stunning life-sized bronze sculpture of a man working a set of long, heavy oyster tongs in front of the museum. We concluded this trip by visiting the Bladensburg Battlefield of 1812 which sits atop of a tall hill now home to a Catholic church. From this high vantage point I was able to imagine how hard local folks worked to mobilize to keep British soldiers at bay from our nation's capitol. A smattering of zoom classes I have enjoyed worth highlighting are: * Is God a Mathematician with Dr. Mario Livio * Spitfires: The Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger during WWII with Becky Aikman * The Hessians are Coming: Mercenary Soldiers and the American Revolution with Dr. Richard Bell * The Civil War in Perspective: Our Evolving Story with Dr. Stephen Engle * Overfed, Overpaid, Oversexed--Over There: Yanks in Britain in WWII with Dr. Kevin Matthews * What Fossils Reveal About Coral Survival with Lisa S. Gardiner * The Harvey Girls and the Ladies of the Canyons: Uncovering Women's History in the Southwest with Lesley Poling-Kempes, * The Pacific Ring of Fire: A Geologic Overview (7 week/once per week series) with Dr. Kirt Kempter, and lastly * Understanding Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias with Dr. Barry Gordon, MD. I remain so very grateful to Smithsonian Associates with more classes to enjoy~

Smithsonian Associates charges 10% ticket processing fee for online orders. Ten per cent when…read morethere is NO HUMAN INVOLVED in the transaction is exorbitant. No paper ticket is ever printed nor offered. There is a printed names list at the venue. This fee is exorbitant.

I got a catalog in the mail and was perusing it one night as I watched tv. A totally unassuming…read morecatalog, it's printed on newsprint and is small. The courses they offered seemed wide in variety and like your standard adult education - I was surprised and pleasantly impressed since I had tried to find adult education in Alexandria previously and was not successful. This catalog somehow came to me without me having to find it. The class was 'How to Buy Residence' and it was $30 for city residents, and $40 for non city residents, taught by Dr. Diane Murphy, who is a buyer's broker. When we signed up for the class, we figured...'what were we going to get for $30? We'll be lucky if we learn ONE thing that night', but for the price, we figured what the heck. Parking is not hard although navigating through the school is ridiculous - it's quite sprawled out and just tough to find the class we needed. But when you walk into the building, there is a sign for Adult Education and a listing of classes and classrooms, so immediately I felt better; I was in the right place. It was a two hour class and it turned out to be chock full of good information. The class was excellent, excellent, excellent. I would have easily paid 3x-4x as much for the quantity and quality of information I learned in that class. I highly suggest anyone thinking about purchasing in the next 3 years to take this class. I was a total beginner and my boyfriend was a lot more knowledgeable about the subject, but he learned some important facts also, and said 'sometimes it's just good to hear it again'. The class probably should have been 2 hours a day for 2 to 3 days. I have a feeling she had a lot more info to impart. It also was as she said 'trying to drink out of a fire hose' - it's a huge amount of information in a short amount of time. But it's all good stuff. There were 10 people in the class. The registration process left much to be desired. It was so stone aged I almost ended up not registering. In this day and age, having to print two forms for my boyfriend and I to take a class (we don't fit on the same form), write a check and then snail mail this over to wait and see if you got in - it's unheard of. Nevertheless, I was sooo happy with the quality of the class, that I would easily do it over again and am looking through to see what else they have now. *Note: Please keep in mind that this review is based on ONE class; I can't comment on any of the others until I have tried them, and when I do try another one, I will update my review then.

they lied to my face said they didn't have clones, treated me like i was sketchy. these were…read moreemployees that i've never seen before. they checked my ID to make sure i'm 21. ok cool! but since when the security? and having them block ur door from going in as if ur doing something illegal doesn't look good!! they already checked my ID, so why can't i go in? talked amongst themselves to see if i'd been there before???? why does it matter? i'm a paying customer. oh and the person i dealt with looked high out of his mind and no doubt security is new and has no customer service skills they'll lose business quickly for this company . will not be returning and i will copy and place this everywhere do not spend ur money somewhere ur treated like an inconvenience i will not be back. would rather travel an hour back into maryland and get clones

I love this spot. The best knowledge, customer service, and products. The people who work there are…read morealways friendly and willing to help

I've been taking Spanish classes at District Spanish for 4 years now and have nothing but good…read morethings to say. The classes are flexible, informative, and a great way to meet people. My Spanish proficiency has improved immensely during my time there!

I started taking Spanish lessons here last summer when the company was called Simple Spanish. The…read moreowner recently moved out of state and Gerardo took over and rebranded under his ownership. The transition was seamless and my learning experience, which was stellar under Simple, has continued to be equally as good under District, probably because Gerardo has been my teacher the entire time. He's energetic, friendly, patient and very receptive to feedback, which is important in a small class setting where people may have different learning styles and preferences. He also takes the time to point out when certain phrases/words are used more commonly in Spain vs. Latin America. Classes are held in a WeWork space. If you're not familiar with it, a bunch of different companies rent out glass paneled office spaces on the same floor. There's a lounge/kitchen in the lobby area that's accessible to all, which is nice because they always have free coffee and tea, along with plenty of space to hang out and study or eat.

The Writer's Center is such a special place, a great resource for writers or wish-they-were-writers…read morein the DMV. They offer creative writing workshops (in person at their Bethesda location and via Zoom), events for writers, and other opportunities and resources for writers. I've taken one or two online course or workshops, but yesterday, I attended an in person, all day event on publishing (everything a writer needs to know about editing, getting an agent, submissions, etc.). It was a great event. I met a bunch of interesting, smart, creative people who are or want to be writers, learned from each of the four panels I attended, and had a great overall experience. I would absolutely attend another event or workshop as I continue to explore whether I have some writing in me (still a maybe)! What a great resource for DMV writers!

Great classes with good professors, very welcoming and warm environment. I learned how to write…read moregood dialogue there! You can also use their facilities to write, a great addition to the writer's very solitary 'job' life.