Testimonials from Students:
“Virginia Talley is the best Spanish teacher EVER! You would think someone with a Ph.D in Spanish might make things complex or difficult to understand. She is the opposite. She makes everything fun, and brings it down to my exact level. And because she has taught hundreds of people she knows exactly what we are trying to say (no matter how ineloquently we sputter it out!). Her lessons are creative, fun, and engaging. She makes everyone feel safe to try . On top of her warm and inviting nature, her knowledge of Spanish language and culture world wide is astounding. What a fabulous learning experience!” -Julie V., Durango, Colorado
“I had a wonderful time taking a Spanish class with Virginia this summer and am going to continue taking classes with her in the fall. Virginia is an effective teacher, while leading a class that feels casual and fun. Virginia's classes are very conversational, and I found that I improved my rusty Spanish really quickly with her approach. A lot of planning goes into each class, so on the student end it's a very easy and seamless experience overall.” -Kari S., Austin, Texas
“Virginia is LOVELY. I sought out private Spanish lessons to improve my conversational Spanish and potentially progress to fluency. Like others in the current social distancing climate, I suddenly had more free time on my hands and figured now was as good a time as ever to pursue my goal of bilingualism. It has been many years since taking / studying / speaking Spanish, and I was really nervous about not being able to convey my current level of understanding, but Virginia is a total professional and knew exactly how to get a baseline on me. She has small classes at many different levels, but I opted for private lessons since my goal is fluency as soon as possible. The lessons are conducted on Zoom, and she is always very prepared with activities, materials, etc. It's actually quite fun and feels more like having a conversation with a friend while learning Spanish. After each session she emails me a follow up with notes from our session, vocab and verbs for the upcoming session, and other resources and materials (videos, podcasts, etc.) I've now been meeting with Virginia weekly for about 3 months now and my progress has been tremendous. I am so happy I took the leap and signed up for Virginia's services. She has been so understanding, organized, easy to work with, etc. Really could not recommend her more. 10/10” -Kayla H., Austin, Texas
“My significant other and I had been planning and putting off taking formal Spanish classes for some time. We struggled finding a convenient location, time, and setting that we were comfortable. After discovering The Language House ATX and speaking with Virginia, we immediately started private lessons and it’s now our favorite hour of the week! Virginia’s style and order in presenting the material has been extremely effective in quickly (just a few months!) taking us from knowing little to hearing, speaking, and understanding the grammar far more than we anticipated. The online homework each week is very engaging. Virginia is patient, funny, and pleasant to work with each class. We appreciate all she has done for us and plan to continue learning!” -Susanne M., Austin, Texas
“I began taking Spanish classes virtually in March as the COVID lockdown began. Virginia Talley is an exceptional teacher and always keeps learning very interactive with presentations and links to continue practicing on my own. I had NO previous experience speaking Spanish and improved tremendously over the last 8 months while taking hourly classes two days a week. I HIGHLY recommend Virginia Talley and The Language House, and look forward to continuing my Spanish classes.” -Josh W., Austin, Texas
“I started taking Spanish classes with Virginia after a recommendation from a friend, and I'm so happy I did because it ended up being exactly what I was looking for! I came in having taken some Spanish years before, and Virginia was great about working with me to find a good fit for my skill level. The classes (online during the pandemic) are focused around conversation and class sizes are small so everybody gets plenty of practice. Virginia is a great teacher, always patient and encouraging, and she provides additional materials for practice after each class (no need to buy additional textbooks or workbooks which is a big plus for me). I highly recommend Language House for other adults who want to learn to speak and understand Spanish. The classes are engaging, fun and relevant, and I genuinely look forward to them every week.” -Katie Brynes, Austin, Texas
“I started taking Virginia’s virtual classes in September, and have thoroughly enjoyed them! Prior to starting the class, I had a phone conversation for Virginia to determine my placement. I feel very comfortable with it. I look forward to the class each week. Virginia facilitates a great Zoom class. She is very good about asking each person directly for an answer to a question. That way, there is no talking above another person, which can be a distraction of Zoom. In each class, she will first ask us, in Spanish, about our week. It is a great way to learn and speak practical Spanish. Then she will delve into the lesson, and screen share with slides, video, or her own notes based on what we talk about. She is very good at explaining new concepts, and reinforcing what we have learned in the past. After each class, she will email the summary document of the class, as well as links to practice throughout the upcoming week. If someone can’t make it to class, she will record the lesson. Additionally, she will send vocabulary that we will use in the next week’s class. We have several ways to prepare for each class, and to learn even more. While most of the people are taking the class virtually, from Austin, I am taking it from St. Louis. It is so nice to have the opportunity to take Virginia’s class. For me, taking the class has been one positive outcome of having to stay home! In summary, I highly recommend Virginia's small group class. She is a great and patient teacher, and I look forward to continuing the classes!” -Laurie B., St. Louis, Missouri
“I'm about to start my third consecutive session with Virginia at The Language House. The first session was conducted IRL at her space and the second has been conducted virtually in accordance with state shelter in place guidelines. In both settings, her curriculum and approach has been extremely effective- seriously it has been an extraordinarily smooth transition to the virtual space. I have been working at improving my Spanish for the better part of the year, using Rosetta Stone and other self-study methods, but my growth over the last two months in The Language House classes has dwarfed anything I have experienced in that time. My goal of being able to confidently coach fitness classes at the gym that I help to run is looking more and more obtainable with each class. Not for nothing, Virginia is extremely good at presenting material in an engaging fashion and instilling confidence in her students!” -Chad R., Austin, Texas
“Virginia is amazing! I would highly recommend her for any level Spanish class. Her online AND in-person classes are great. She is extremely knowledge and makes learning fun. I was nervous to go back to spanish class after many years away. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.” -Samantha W., Austin, Texas
“I'm so grateful that I found The Language House and have had the opportunity to advance my Spanish learning journey with Virginia! She is an incredible teacher--brilliant, engaging, positive, fun, and thoughtful (I could go on). The class itself is a wonderful exercise, and Virginia provides optional "homework" resources so you can get as much out of the class as you desire. The Spanish class is always a bright spot in my week, and I'm excited to continue taking classes here going forward.” -Chad H., Austin, Texas
“I have been taking classes with Virginia for four months. I was looking for a class that balanced teaching the written rules of the language as well as challenging me to practice speaking in daily conversation. Virginia's classes are the perfect mix of both. She is engaging, encouraging, patient both in person and in the online classes we have had recently. Virginia has a lot of experience teaching both teens and adults. Her classes have helped me really learn practical Spanish.” -Gouri G., Austin, Texas
“I've absolutely enjoyed taking classes with Virginia. I'm about to start my 4th session with her. She is kind, patient, enthusiastic, and professional. You can definitely tell she has a passion for what she does. If you are a working adult these classes are for you. With great options for class times, and no pressure to complete assignments outside of class. After each class all class materials are emailed to you along with optional homework and extra study materials. Push yourself as much or as little as you need. You won't regret having Virginia as a teacher.” -Keanna W., Austin, Texas
“Virginia is a great person, first and foremost, whose experience shows in everything she does. She is knowledgeable and skilled at organizing a class so it is effective and fun while moving along at a nice pace, using a variety of techniques. She also host fun social events. Great choice for any level Spanish learner. You will have fun and learn a ton.” -Deborah C., Austin, Texas
“I really like the layout of these classes. They are relaxed and not intimidating for someone who has less experience speaking Spanish! Virginia does a great job presenting the material in an approachable way and provides lots of time to practice speaking Spanish in every class. I have also been very impressed with her ability to quickly transition to virtual classes during this current time!” -Katie R., Austin, Texas
“Hola! Yo soy una estudiante en la clase de Espanol. Virginia es mi profesora. I have been taking Spanish classes from Virginia for several months now after starting as a total beginner, and she is truly one of the most easygoing yet dedicated teachers I've met. She makes sure to tailor her classes to the level of all students in the room, adjusting to make things more or less challenging as needed, and has been a pleasure to learn from. I've also enjoyed how flexible/accommodating she is with scheduling and the ability to participate in Travel Grackle social events to practice conversational Spanish! Excited to continue learning and improving my Spanish with Virginia's help.” -Heather H., Austin, Texas
“My daughter started high school Spanish four weeks late due to a schedule mixup, and we hired Virginia to help get her on track. Virginia was amazing: after four sessions our daughter had caught up. She loved learning with Virginia, for both her excellent teaching skills and her warm personality. We continue to use Virginia's tutoring to enhance our daughter's Spanish and highly recommend her!” -John B., Austin, Texas
“Virginia has been a wonderful Spanish tutor for my boys this summer. They are learning a lot & having a great time!” -Regan L., Austin, Texas
“Virginia is awesome! She makes learning Spanish really fun and interesting. I hope to join her on one of her trips soon!” -Liz N., Austin, Texas
“I had Virginia as a spanish teacher for three years. It is safe to say that she was the best language teacher I've ever had! She is always organized, disciplined, helpful and kind. I knew every day going into class that I would come out having learned something new. She is an amazing teacher!” -Callie C., Austin, Texas
”I have been learning spanish from Virginia this summer and it has been a great experience. She is a very thoughtful teacher who puts a lot of thought into how she presents the material. Her lessons were engaging, useful, and she was very patient with everyone in class always encouraging her students to try. I would highly recommend her to anyone interested in learning spanish.” -Danelle C., Austin, Texas
”Virginia is the best Spanish teacher I’ve ever had. She created the most thoughtful, detailed, and understandable PowerPoint presentations for everything we went over in class. You could tell she was passionate about teaching and about the language and culture. The things I learned in her class without a doubt set me up for success later on as well.” -Chloe L., Austin, Texas
“I had Virginia as my Spanish teacher for 7 years. She is one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had, mainly for her teaching skills and overall knowledge but also as a friend. Over the years, it became clear that Virginia had an incredibly wide range of experiences across the Spanish-speaking world. I remember specific examples she had from Spain and Argentina that were relevant to what we were studying. She knows a ton about the culture, politics, and history of many places throughout Latin America and Spain. My Spanish-speaking skills benefited immensely from taking her classes, as she perfectly balanced encouragement with taking advantage of grammatical teaching moments. However, I would say that the best thing about Virginia as a teacher is the way she takes surface-level information to a more interesting, more analytical level, leading to richer conversations. When we studied Spanish literature and poetry, she presented analysis that made her students think about connections to societal movements, historical events, and mythology. She carries this same principle to discussions on history and modern immigration, allowing ideas to flow from a multitude of sources and experiences. I cannot recommend her enough.” -Jacob H., Austin, Texas
“I feel like I have learned and understood more about the Spanish language in 7 weeks with Virginia than I did in high school and college classes in the past. I was looking for a class to improve my Spanish speaking skills before taking a mission trip to El Salvador. I am glad I found Travel Grackle's class, she makes it very easy and fun to learn the words and then practice using them in everyday conversations. I feel more confident in my ability to speak the Spanish I’m learning as opposed to just the reading and writing side of it. I highly recommend her!” -Sara B., Austin, Texas
“Virginia is an a fantastic person and teacher! It has been over 20 years since my last Spanish class so I was feeling quite anxious about speaking it again. Virginia's lessons are fun and relaxed, she has definitely given me confidence that I remember a lot more than I realized.” -Kacie J., Austin, Texas
“I had a lot of fun in Virginia's 6-week Spanish class. She was excellent at challenging students without intimidating. She built a good rapport with the class quickly and kept us engaged. She offered various well thought activities in her class and they made me think about Spanish conversations even after her class was over. I feel more confident about my Spanish thanks to her. I hope I can take her class again!” -Eishi A., Austin, Texas
“Virginia is a great teacher that makes learning a new language accessible and fun! I took Spanish in college and never really felt that I was able to master the material. My experience in taking classes with Virginia has completely changed my mind about my abilities to learn a new language and I look forward to continuing my Spanish classes with Travel Grackle!” -Stephanie P, Austin, Texas
“Dr. Talley was an amazing Spanish teacher for me from ages 13-17! I went from barely being able to express myself in Spanish to confidently having complex discussions about Latin American poetry and literature. Dr. Talley is able to explain grammatical concepts in tangible ways that explain the complex rules of the language. For example, she easily taught the Subjunctive mood, a tense that barely exists in English, but is very prevalent in Spanish. The Subjunctive is used under many specific circumstances, and not every use of the tense is justified under a rule, but instead a feeling. Understandably, this topic is most difficult to teach, but Dr. Talley pushed her students to follow her explanation. After practice (with her beautifully crafted worksheets), we all grasped the concept. In short, Dr. Talley provides the explanations and personalized support for each student to succeed. May I also add that we almost never opened a textbook.” -Ali S., Austin, Texas
“I can honestly and proudly say that Dr. Talley is not only the best spanish teacher, but the best language teacher, in general, I have ever had. I have had many great experience with Dr. Talley, starting my freshman year of high school when I was in her spanish 1 class. Teaching a language in difficult by nature, but teaching a language to a group of students who only know the word “hola” seems impossible. But not for Dr. Talley. She taught our class magnificently, pushing me to learn more material in a shorter amount of time. When we struggled, she found ways to drill the material into our heads using creative techniques. Once, we played spanish basketball, a game in which we needed to answer a question in spanish and land a crumpled piece of paper in the trash can in order to receive a point for our team. My experience with Dr. Talley, luckily, did not stop there, and I got to enjoy a month long summer immersion program in León, Spain, under her leadership.” -Brooke S., Austin, Texas
More testimonials can be found on my Google Business, Yelp, NextDoor, Facebook pages below:
