Italki has a lot of Spanish tutors and searching through profiles can be daunting. I am so happy that I found María. Book a class with her. You won’t regret it. Here’s why. The first thing you’ll notice is her kindness. Maria is patient and encouraging. Classes feel relaxed and fun. I look forward to them. Maria listens carefully and is fully attentive in our lessons. She provides gentle corrections and is careful never to distract or interrupt. Our classes have the perfect balance of conversation, passages to read, and gentle guidance.

Maria is very easy, patient, and comfortable. I especially like that she shares her knowledge of familiar ways to communicate.

That was fantastic!! I warned her ahead of time that I was kind of shy, but she kept the conversation going and asked questions (like "what are your favorite fruits?") that made it easy to know what to talk about and keep the conversation going. She was very encouraging and positive, and gave useful feedback/corrections without it disrupting the flow of conversation. Great lesson!!

Stop looking for a teacher and try Maria. My Spanish was awful when we first started. (Apps teach you words, verb conjugations, and grammar—not how to think and speak in Spanish.) My pronunciation also was very gringo. Maria had me review the alphabet. We worked on diphthongs and how to divide words into syllables—something apps and many teachers never cover. And boy, is that boring stuff important! I also began reading out loud. (Just finished Charlie y la Fábrica de Chocolate.) I went to Mexico recently and received a lot of compliments on my Spanish. Best of all, I’m speaking without fear. After years of fumbling around, I’m FINALLY on my way to fluency.

I really enjoyed my lesson with Maria. She is a very friendly person, and I plan to schedule more lessons with her.

What a lovely and interesting discussion: I'll be back!