Sam is a highly curious and enthusiastic individual who grew up in south Florida and attended New College of Florida. They lived in Madrid, Spain for two years while earning their Masters in Teaching Spanish from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares. They are passionate about learning and personal development and are currently pursuing their Master’s in Social Work. They live in Minneapolis, MN with their best friends and two cats.

I grew up in a monolingual household with very few bilingual friends, but in my late teens, I became fascinated with languages, traveling, and learning more about the world around me. After studying and assistant teaching Spanish throughout college, I moved to Madrid, Spain where my language skills had the opportunity to flourish. For two years, I worked as an English teacher for children and teens and pursued my Masters in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares. During and since this time, I’ve continued to teach both Spanish and English as foreign languages remotely to teens and adults. 

For me, speaking Spanish has become my greatest pride. It is a means to communicate with a huge portion of the world that I was previously unable to access. It is the most difficult and rewarding subject I’ve ever studied. It allows me to form magical, warm relationships that would otherwise be stilted and awkward. It lets me sing along to some of the best music (looking at you Bad Bunny!) in the world. If these experiences sound like something you’re looking for, ¡Vámonos! I can’t wait to start learning with you!

Learning a new language is a complicated feat involving grammar, pronunciation, phonetics, culture, history, modern uses of the language, and the list goes on. Choosing the right teacher for your purposes is an important consideration when embarking on new language classes. My experience consciously learning Spanish allows me to explain the language in ways that are easily accessible for native English speakers. As a non-native speaker, I went through the exact process that you’re about to embark on. I made all the same mistakes that you’ll make, and I can tell you exactly why we made them! 

My expertise in the Spanish language is perfect for the novice and intermediate learner (check your level here). Still not sure of your level? Take this free test (A1-B1 is my expertise).  I can help you go from a few words at a time to expressing yourself and your opinions. 

Tripped up on conjugations? I’ll help you start speaking fluid sentences in no time. 

Headed to a Spanish-speaking destination? I’ll teach you all the vocabulario y expresiones you’ll need. 

Never studied a word of Spanish? ¡No te preocupes! We can start from the beginning. 

Still unsure? Schedule a free 30-minute session with me to see if we’re a good fit. ¡Hasta pronto!

As a teacher, my role is to guide your educational journey providing opportunities for you to learn and reach your goals. In our classes, your learning is our only focus. In the context of teaching adolescents and adults second languages, I have identified two key principles that guide my work.
First, communication is the basis and the ultimate goal of language; it is both our porque and our para que. For users of any language, our daily communication does not require knowledge of gerunds or direct object pronouns, so why are language classes frequently just a series of grammar rules? My goal as a teacher is to help you communicate–not just conjugate a verb. So, how do we do this? I focus on functional language teaching with specific goals and activities geared towards your comprehension of and expression in Spanish. From day one, we will focus on understanding and expressing Spanish in context rather than isolated chunks of the language. Instead of conjugating ser, our first goal is introducing yourself, and you’ll be able to do so by the end of day 1.
Second, everyone learns differently! One reason you don’t remember any Spanish from high school is that the classes probably weren’t taught in your learning style. The primary benefit of individual classes is the tailoring of all classes to you. Do you learn best by reading novels? Hearing song lyrics? Speaking? Listening? Reciting vocab while you do jumping jacks? In our 30-minute introductory class, we will discuss your experience with learning, what has and hasn’t worked, and your goals for the language. By the end of our first meeting, we will have both a specific, measurable goal and plan for how to achieve it.

Sam is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns in English.

The majority of Spanish spoken around the world utilizes only masculine and feminine pronouns without a gender neutral option. That said, there are movements in several countries towards the adoption of more gender inclusion in the language; feel free to read more here or here. While progressive social movements are driving the usage of emerging gender neutral language, many language regulatory bodies oppose the incorporation of these changes in the language (more info here).

My purpose of teaching Spanish is to provide my students with the ability to communicate in the language. While I support the continued efforts to popularize Spanish that is more gender inclusive, I believe it is more beneficial for my students to prioritize the usage of Spanish as it’s most commonly spoken around the globe and to adopt she/her pronouns for our classes. If any students are interested in learning gender-inclusive Spanish, I am more than happy to incorporate this language into our classes upon request of the student.