Italian Instructor

Francesca L is an Italian native, born and raised in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the most North Eastern region of Italy, right on the border with Slovenia and Austria. Living along the borders means to live in a very multicultural environment, exposed to different influences not only in the language, but also in the food, in the way of life and in every cultural expression. After studying Latin and Ancient Greek at the liceo classico, she received a Master’s Degree with honors in Modern Languages and Literature from the University of Trieste. In Italy she worked both as a German teacher and as an Administrative Assistant, while enjoying her children and family. It was probably not only her husband’s job, but also her love of traveling and meeting other cultures that brought her to California in 2011. After moving to the Bay Area with her whole family, she started teaching Italian to adults at Bechtel International Center at Stanford; this experience as a volunteer inspired her to start a new career as an Italian teacher. Since then, she has been teaching Italian both to children and adults in many Bay Area schools, keeping herself updated with many webinars and courses, such as those offered by ICON (Italian Culture on the Net). Recently she completed an annual Masterclass offered by Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia, specializing in teaching Italian as a foreign or second language. She believes that learning a language means learning a different culture and enriches you as a person, helping broaden your horizons and your perspective. Teaching her language has become for her a mission. She believes that there is no learning without engagement and involvement and she does everything she can to keep her students motivated facilitating their learning process.

Italian Instructor

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Eric did his undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia, where he studied Economics and Italian Studies. After being inspired to pursue Italian from some wonderful teachers, Eric ended up spending two years in Italy, doing a combination of studying in Siena, working as an au pair in Valle d'Aosta, and working as an English teacher in Bologna. A few years after returning to the United States, Eric went back to school to complete a Masters in Italian Language & Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. His MA thesis was titled, “Utero in affitto, bimbi da asporto e donne in vendita: Immagini, espressioni e metafore nel linguaggio sulla famiglia nell’estrema destra italiana” (“Uterus for rent, to-go babies, and women for sale: Images, expressions and metaphors in the language about the family in the Italian far-right”). Upon completion of his MA, Eric headed just down the road to Carnegie Mellon University where he just recently completed his PhD in Applied Linguistics & Second Language Acquisition. His doctoral dissertation was titled, “Learning to play to learn: The emergence of language learning opportunities in expert-mediated, collaborative digital game-based interaction.” Eric has taught Italian to university students, adults, and children for nearly a decade. In his free time, Eric loves playing tennis, hiking, kayaking, and playing with his two crazy kids.

Spanish Instructor

Marcelo studied History and Law in his native country of Uruguay, where he graduated from Universidad de la República with a JD in Law and Social Sciences. He also became a historian and participated in numerous research projects. He is a published author with books and articles on History topics. As an educator, Marcelo started his career at Universidad de la República in 1989. In 1999 he moved to the United States, where he has worked as a Spanish instructor teaching Spanish language and culture at all levels (Spanish I-IV and above) and ages (from middle school to adult students) in one-to-one and group settings. He is a certified ELE (Spanish as a Foreign Language) Teacher and his experience includes designing workshops and teaching special programs (Immersion, Intensive, Traveling, Business, and others).

German and ESL Instructor

Carolyn holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in German from UC Berkeley and a B.Mus. (Bachelor of Music) from McGill University. Her research in the German Department at UC Berkeley focused on the development of German noun inflection since 1350, and, more generally, on frequency effects in language change. Before moving to Berkeley in 2006, she spent two years in Freiburg (Breisgau), Germany, studying German and Scandinavian Linguistics and Literature at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität and exploring the Black Forest. She has been teaching German continuously since 2008 at various institutions in the Bay Area, including UC Berkeley, the German School of Fremont, the Bay Area Kinderstube (BAKS+, an after-school full immersion program for children who speak German at home), and, of course, PLA (since 2019), and has worked with both children and adults at all levels of proficiency. She has also taught English — both ESL/EFL and composition classes for native speakers — and has done a fair amount of proofreading and translating. Since 2018, she has held a part-time position at McGraw Hill Higher Education in the World Languages department, where her duties include creating and editing online activities to accompany McGraw Hill’s many college language textbooks. When she’s not teaching or tinkering with language textbooks, she enjoys taking long walks in the Berkeley hills, singing, playing the piano, watching German detective series, and making things out of yarn.

Mandarin Instructor

Chenchen Liu is a first generation Taiwanese-American, born and raised in Taiwan. Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese are Chenchen’s native languages. Chenchen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese Literature from Soochow university in Taiwan, a Master’s Degree in Education from Syracuse University and a Master’s Degree in Linguistics from San Jose State University. Chenchen has had a passion for literature and language since her teen years. After completing her first Master's, Chenchen went back to Taiwan and worked for Far Eastern Economic Review in Taipei as a journalist and translator. Then, she relocated to the Bay Area with her husband and worked as an interpreter at National Hispanic University in San Jose. It was at this time that she began to pursue her second Master’s and realized that teaching Mandarin Chinese and culture to different groups of people was her calling, with  her love of being a bridge between English and Chinese languages. In the past 3 years, she has also been a Mandarin Chinese language contractor in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. With more than two decades of teaching experience, she has worked with a variety of students of different backgrounds, ages and levels of language mastery. Chenchen herself enjoys reading, writing, listening, and speaking Chinese and English very much. In her free time, she loves translating and analyzing the two languages. Besides languages, Chenchen likes to spend her time hiking in nature, watching documentaries, gardening, playing piano, spending time with her family, and playing with her dog.

Russian and French Instructor

Olga Zalivko was born and educated in Belarus. She got her Bachelor’s Degree in French and English Languages at the University of Mogilev in Belarus in 2008, Master’s Degree in pedagogical sciences at Minsk Linguistic University in 2009. She holds ABD in Belarusian Language and Literature (Dissertation title: „Actual style traditions of women’s Russian-speaking literature of Belarus (late 20th – early 21st centuries) “). Olga speaks Russian, Belarusian, French, English and she also studied Latin. She has been teaching English and French to non-native speakers since 2008 at various educational environments and several language universities in Belarus. Her areas of research interests include Russian Language, Belarusian Language and Literature and foreign languages. Possessing a wide experience in traveling and working with different cultures and backgrounds, Olga is motivated, energetic and enthusiastic person.  

Mandarin Instructor

Xin has his bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Yanbian University of Science and Technology where he taught College English Reading and Writing Courses, the first master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he taught Academic English Writing Courses, and the second master’s degree in Chinese Language Pedagogy from Indiana University at Bloomington where he taught Integrated Chinese Courses. As a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese with more than 10 years of language teaching experience and a linguistic and pedagogical researcher, he believes that pedagogical approaches such as linguistic comparison and Task-Based Language Teaching can empower language learners to achieve a high language proficiency.

ESL Instructor

Reese started teaching English as a second language to students in Bogota, Colombia and currently holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, a minor in linguistics, and a TESOL certificate from the University of Michigan. His teaching experience continued as an English teaching assistant at the University’s Writing Center, where he worked extensively with international students. In his research assistantship, he examined the impact of the Flint Water Crisis on immigrant populations and their relationship with English health literacy. Reese’s passion for linguistics and anthropology led him to pursue studies in Central and South America where his interests included indigenous languages and their representations in cultural and global contexts. He has also taught English to university students, business professionals, and politicians interested in advancing their English language skills through conversational practice and intensive grammatical instruction in Costa Rica. In his free time, Reese enjoys traveling and writing about his experiences immersing in new cultures.

Mandarin and Japanese Instructor

Li Zhu was born and raised in China. After residing in Japan for over seven years, she currently resides in Florida, USA. She earned her B.A. in Japanese Studies from Shanghai International Studies University, her M.A. in English Translation from Xiamen University, and her Ph.D. in Chinese and Japanese language and literature from Nagoya University. Her dissertation, "New Insights about Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s Views toward China: From a Perspective of the West in the Same Era," explores cross-cultural perspectives in Asian studies.

Following her B.A., Li worked at a Japanese bank as an account officer for over five years, during which she volunteered to teach Japanese to her coworkers in her spare time. Her passion for language and literature eventually led her to resign from her job and pursue her dream in Japan. She completed her Ph.D. at Nagoya University over a six-year period, during which she also taught Chinese language and literature. Her research interests include modern Japanese literature, traditional Chinese opera, and travel literature. Her research on cross-cultural communication equips her with a broader perspective for teaching, enabling her to not only offer language lessons but also help students gain a deeper understanding of China or Japan. She customizes lessons based on students’ specific goals and current proficiency level. Additionally, she enjoys swimming, running, cycling, and is skilled in cooking. (Watch her self-introduction video for Japanese teaching: https://youtu.be/YnaAckmJ2lM)

German Instructor

Anja, a German native from Münster, started her teaching career in Germany after completing her BA. and M.A. degrees in Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature. In 2005, she moved to North Carolina and completed her Ph.D. in German Literature. Since then, she has stayed in the academic world and taught German language, literature and culture classes. Anja believes in a communicative, student-centered approach to teaching, in which students not only feel comfortable using the target language but also engage with the language creatively. Anja enjoys designing personalized lesson plans in which humoristic elements always find their way. In her free time, Anja enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures, especially trying and replicating specific cuisines. Since she loves mountains and lakes, Austria is frequently on her travel list. One of her favorite holidays was a hiking tour through the Wachau area, which she topped off with a visit to Vienna. On her travel bucket list is her newfound passion for Montenegro. She hopes to visit the old town of Kotor and Budva and indulge in the original produce at the weekly farmer’s markets. 

Tagalog Instructor

Janice is a licensed professional teacher with 13 years of teaching experience in Tagalog Language and Philippine Literature. She earned her Master of Arts in Panitikang Filipino (Philippine Literature) from Cebu Normal University, Cebu City. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy Major in Filipino Language at the University of Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines, she also holds a certificate in Early Childhood Learners from De La Salle University.

Since 2018, Janice has conducted in-house reviews to prepare students for the Licensure Examination for Teachers. In 2016, she served as one of the Regional Trainers for the Department of Education during the Regional Training of Senior High School Teachers in the Academic Track for the K-12 Basic Education Program.

She actively participates in seminars, training, workshops, and conferences to enhance her knowledge and skills in research and her field of expertise. Notably, she presented her research at the International Conference on Multidisciplinary Filipino Studies, sponsored by the University of Hawaii at Hilo, held in Cebu City, Philippines.

Currently, Janice teaches Tagalog Language and Philippine Literature at Father Saturnino Urios University, where she has taught hundreds of students each semester. Her expertise includes crafting engaging lesson plans, assessing student progress, fostering a positive classroom environment, and adapting teaching methods to meet diverse student needs.

Swedish Instructor

Birger is a Swedish language instructor born in Sweden who moved from Sweden to the United States at the age of 21 on a scholarship for Track and Field at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oral Roberts University, a master’s degree in special education and a Certificate of Advanced Study in School Administration from The College of Saint Rose. Birger spent his teaching career in special education, working in rural and inner city public and private schools, in the Adirondacks and the Bronx, New York. The past few years he has returned to his bellowed native language to teach Swedish full-time to adult students. He has also studied Finnish, Russian, German, Spanish and Portuguese and he currently is a digital nomad in Brazil. During his free time, he likes taking walks on the beach with his dog, Luna. Birger is a passionate runner that once competed for the Swedish national team in the 800 m in the European Championship indoors and also won the North American snowshoe running championship.  

Portuguese and Spanish Instructor

Michelle was born and raised in the Caribbean and developed a passion for languages at a young age. She continued to dedicate her studies to Spanish and Portuguese in college. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Foreign Languages at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and studied abroad in both Brazil and Portugal. She then went on to pursue her Master’s Degree in Spanish and Portuguese Linguistics from UCLA, where she also taught Spanish and Portuguese college courses. She has worked with many different students at different levels while teaching and tutoring, to help them achieve their learning goals. She loves to travel and learn about different cultures. In her spare time, she likes to read, cook, watch movies, go to the gym, and travel when she gets the chance.

Japanese Instructor

Kayo was born and raised in Tokyo and earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in English in Tokyo. In 1995, she moved to the United States to earn her Master’s degree in English at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut, where she also taught Japanese language while concurrently pursuing a teaching certificate in Japanese. While at Southern, she redesigned the Japanese curriculum to reflect current pedagogy on the intersection of language and culture. She taught at Southern for more than 20 years. Kayo has also taught university-level English composition and literature in New Haven, mostly recently at Gateway Community College where she has taught for 15 years. Her literary area of interest is twentieth-century poetics, and she has written and published on the topic.  In her teaching, Kayo is a firm believer that art, food, and music connect a diverse student population in the language classroom. She looks forward to sharing and exploring the rich language and culture of her native Japan.  

Korean and Japanese Instructor

Jenna received an M.A in Korean Studies, Teaching Korean as a Foreign Language and a B.A. in Japanese Language and Literature. Throughout her career as a language teaching professional for over 10 years, she was fortunate to deepen her insight in language education and meet learners with diverse backgrounds and needs.  She is also a co-author of Korean language textbooks. She believes that learning a new language opens doors to new possibilities. These could be career opportunities, travel possibilities, making friends, learning about cultures, expanding a student’s horizons. She is excited to guide each student on their own language learning journey.

Tagalog Instructor

Joy was born, raised, and educated in the Southern part of the Philippines, where she got her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Communication Arts in Filipino, and was a Language Teacher in a public school before moving here in the USA. Since then, she became a sub-contractor (and sometimes an independent contractor) to Language Services companies on the East Coast, serving military officers as well as Foreign Service Officers. Joy has passion! With more than a decade of experience in Tagalog Language Training, whether it is teaching/training Tagalog to diplomats heading to the Philippines, developing language curriculums for contracting government agencies or companies, or creating standardized test materials for language testing, she does it all with enthusiasm, perfection, and love for her work. She believes that language is a tool to understand a culture, and culture is what connects people.

Italian Instructor

Chiara was born in Rome, Italy, and is a native Italian speaker, bilingual in both Italian and English. She grew up and spent her formative years in various countries, including Singapore, China, Brazil, Egypt, and Germany, which have enriched her understanding of various cultures. Chiara completed her university education in Italy, earning a bachelor’s degree in law at the University of Rome (Sapienza Università di Roma). She currently resides in Florida with her family. She believes that learning new languages is not only important for communication but can also be incredibly fun and rewarding. Chiara enjoys teaching Italian and is eager to share the beauty and richness of the Italian language and culture with her students.

Spanish and Arabic Instructor

Nadia is a highly skilled and experienced Spanish teacher with a diverse linguistic background. Born and raised in a Kabyle town in Algeria, she is fluent in Berber, French, and Arabic, and her enthusiasm for languages has helped her quickly learn Spanish and English since moving to the United States. After attending the University of California, Davis, where she studied Law and Society and International Relations, Nadia gained extensive experience in legal projects and programs, particularly in criminal defense. Her interest in language teaching and tutoring also led her to teach Spanish to preschoolers and kindergartners and currently, middle schoolers. Nadia believes that learning languages is crucial to understanding and communicating with people from diverse backgrounds, and she uses her language skills to help those who struggle with Spanish. Her passion for travel and experiencing different cultures further enhances her ability to bring a global perspective to her teaching.

German and Arabic Instructor

Ahmed Sallam was born in Egypt and currently resides in Bellevue, Washington. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in German Linguistics and Literature, and a diploma from the Goethe-Institute in Egypt. He also studied Standard Arabic at the university level in Egypt. Since 2008, he has taught German and both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Egyptian Arabic. In his Ph.D. research, Ahmed focused on German and Arabic idioms, exploring their metaphoric meanings in both languages through cognitive metaphor theory and cognitive semantics. He has served as a University Lecturer in the Department of German at Helwan University in Egypt, teaching subjects such as linguistics, literature, culture, conversation, phonetics, and grammar. Additionally, Ahmed has worked as an intercultural trainer for two years in cooperation with Siemens, preparing Egyptian engineers and technicians for their stay in Germany. He has also taught business German courses for doctors and engineers. His extensive experience as a German instructor includes conducting face-to-face and online language courses for diverse groups, from young learners to adults, across levels A1 to C1. His priority is to help learners become fluent in German and Arabic while ensuring they enjoy the learning process.

Tagalog Instructor

Jennifer is an experienced educator with over thirteen years of teaching expertise in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Special Education. Originally from the Philippines, Jennifer grew up immersed in the Tagalog language, which she studied and later taught. Her passion for teaching is complemented by her impressive academic background, holding one bachelor's degree and two master's degrees in education.

Jennifer has taught in both the Philippines and the United States, with ten years of her teaching experience rooted in her home country and an additional three years in the U.S. She is certified to teach in the Philippines, as well as in the states of Montana and Nevada. Beyond her work in English and Special Education, she has also taught basic Filipino/Tagalog language classes, further broadening her teaching expertise.

Currently based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jennifer is pursuing a Juris Doctor degree and working on her PhD in Literature. Her love for reading and traveling fuels her desire to continually expand her knowledge and enrich the lives of her students through diverse perspectives and innovative teaching approaches. Passionate about education and lifelong learning, Jennifer is dedicated to making a meaningful impact in the classroom while advancing her own academic journey.

Japanese Instructor

Mari was born in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo. She graduated from Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo, where she majored in French literature. After graduation, she moved to Toronto to study International Economics. Over the years, she has gained diverse work experience in various countries, including Tokyo, Toronto, Singapore, and Boston, before settling in the Bay Area in 2005.

Mari has a passion for teaching Japanese. For over six years, she has taught both children and adults at a local language school. In addition, she offers ongoing virtual lessons for Japanese learners living in Japan. Recently, she pursued advanced training to deepen her expertise as a Japanese teacher. She enrolled in the Japanese Language Teacher Training Course at Seisa University in Yokohama, successfully completing the program and earning her certification as a Japanese language teacher this year.

Mari carefully tailors her lessons to suit her students’ levels and expectations. She creates a supportive and enjoyable learning environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and are encouraged to progress at their own pace.

Beyond teaching, Mari is a vibrant and adventurous individual who has traveled extensively as a backpacker in South America and Southeast Asia. Her energetic and humorous teaching style makes her lessons both engaging and memorable.