Bernardo Paz

My classes discussing literature with Bernardo (Don Quijote specifically), have been a wonderful way to acquire Spanish organically. Bernardo is very knowledgeable and extremely patient, which makes the class feel very safe and makes learning seem effortless.

The best teacher I've had on here! Bernardo brought things to work on, and was so easy to talk to. I feel like I learned more in this hour of Spanish than in anything else I've done. Thank you so much! I'll definitely have more lessons.

Bernardo is a patient listener, an intelligent thinker, and a considerate teacher.

Bernardo is an excellent teacher, smart, kind, patient, with a deep interest in literature. We are close reading a short story, El Chico Sucio, line by line, to improve my Spanish skills and pronunciation, as well as to analyze and discuss the craft of writing from a Spanish viewpoint.

Bernardo selects brief passages that provide us a stepping-off point for thinking and conversing. The conversation requires thought and a search for meaning and vocabulary. Anchoring the discussion in literature, for me, makes the vocabulary and content more meaningful and supports stronger internalization of the new learning.

In our first lesson, we discussed goals and interests for how I will use Spanish—where, with whom, in what circumstances, and we made a plan for our next lesson. I appreciated his listening, noticing themes important to me, and slowing his speech a bit to match my speed of processing. I am looking forward to gaining skill and confidence in speaking Spanish!