Carolina Hernandez

I feel so fortunate to have found Carolina. She is the best! Works with me at my level towards my goals. She uses really good materials that are very helpful. I am always happy to have had a lesson with Carolina. Siempre cinco Estrellas!

Outstanding. I chose Carolina because of how clearly she spoke in her video, making it easy for me to understand her. I also was impressed that she is a journalist. I could tell that she was a nice person. She was very helpful and knowledgeable in our first lesson. I'm going begin regular lessons with her immediately.

We completed the class--sort of. There were interruptions and connection problems in the iTalki classroom, and in our alternate method of Zoom. We lost a lot of time this week. This is infrequent and not serious. Carolina and I are working onn colloquial Spanish as heard in series and movies. I admit to being very dismayed about being a beginner in this area after 6 years of learning, but I'm not ready to give up yet.

I often say similar things about my lessons with Carolina, because they're consistently true. She works me hard. I feel like my brain is getting a workout. We pick difficult material and it's slow going, but I'm learning steadily. I'm learning about the legal system in Colombia and the standards of evidence, and I'm not involved in police or legal work--these are simply topics that have caught my interest in looking at other aspects of Colombian social life. Wherever you are in your studies of Spanish, Carolina can take you higher, at whatever pace you're ready for.

We're working on audio comprehension of TV series, which has proven to be devilishly difficult, in comparison with other kinds of audio work like lectures or workshops, all of which are super easy and natural at this point. Carolina is a great guide, explaining when necessary. I read her my recent poem, and she said I write better than many native speakers. Last week she said I speak better Spanish than some Colombians and even one of her relatives. She doesn't give praise often, so this means a lot! Meanwhile, she is studying 10 (!) languages at once, so besides being a fantastic teacher, even a miracle worker with me at times, she sets an extremely high bar as a role model in language study. She is an absolute genius!

As I thought, Carolina has more patience with me than I have with myself. I am living the words of a favorite song by Laura Pausini: "Vas a salir a la calle, y comenzar desde cero." You will go to the street, and start from zero. In trying to understand TV series, I am starting from zero. This gifted teacher has led me from impossibility to possibility before, so--I'm following.