I am taking Chinese Mandarin classes at Language Doors.. instructor Janie Golden is warm, kind and very patient with each student. I like this place and I will continue to perfect my Chinese Mandarin. Thank you to all the people at the Language Doors. read more

I don't know what kind of business they are running, but I know that their customer service virtually doesn't exist. I had requested ESL info via email for my visiting mom. I had made an attempt twice by the phone and twice by email three weeks before my mom arrived. Nothing came of them. When I called the school the woman who answered the phone told me that she had emailed me the info. I told her that I hadn't seen anything even in my Spam box. I gave her my mailing address and asked her to mail me the info. Nothing. Well, no thanks to them, the church down the street offered an ESL class for free. My mom attended there and had a good class. Hallelujah. read more

I was very skeptical about learning Mandarin at first, but that quickly changed. This is a wonderful place for beginners and experienced speakers. My instructor was very nice and patient with me. She reviewed and talked about the different accents in China and the many differences between culture here and there. She focused a lot on pinyin and the Chinese alphabet. This was very helpful and excellent to remember. The class schedules were always perfect to fit my schedule, and the teacher always showed up on time or 10 minutes earlier to prepare for our lesson. I took one on one lessons at first, but then I starting taking group lessons, I have to recommend the one on one lessons. I do believe those lessons helped me build a great foundation for my future in Chinese speaking, I greatly recommend going. read more

I love my korean class! my teacher Kelly is a great teacher who makes learning enjoyable. The classes they have here are not only taught by native speakers of the language but by teachers who love to share their culture with their students. I always enjoy coming to my class and the fact that there is only a maximum of 8 student per class makes the teacher focus a lot more on my strengths and weaknesses. Overall i love my class! and I am excited that i am on the path of learning a new language that could open many doors for me in the future! Thank you Language Door, you rock! read more

We have been taking Italian language classes with Andrea at Language Door for a little over a year. Andrea is a fantastic teacher, and has been extremely accommodating in creating a lesson plan to works for our schedule and pace. He has made learning a new language feel accessible and fun. I highly recommend anyone who is looking to learn Italian to work with Andrea and Language Door. read more

I have taken one semester of Spanish at Language Door School and just signed up for another one. The teacher, Irma Medrano, is phenomenal! She makes sure I REALLY understand a concept and makes learning fun.....and even easy. With the small classes and personal attention, I feel like I am learning more than ever. Highly recommend the school! read more

I took a Spanish course with Irma and i would recomend her as your Spanish teacher. She is very helpfull and all the envirment was very nice and private. Well done!!1 read more

For the last year, I have enjoyed learning Chinese (Mandarin) at the Language Door, Encino Location. Janie Golden is a wonderful teacher and makes learning the often difficult language of Chinese very enjoyable! It is always a pleasure to see how attentive and kind the instructors and staff of the Language Door are with all of their students. read more

I take a one on one French class with Omar and he is the best! It is VERY hands on and I love how fast I am learning. The school always has fresh coffee on (always needed) and Sherrie and Kelly who work the front desk are both super sweet and accommodating! Not to mention they have great and affordable pricing!! Recommended! read more

I'm now well into my second session of Spanish classes with Constanza, and it's time to write this review. Her approach to learning Spanish is encouraging, extremely positive, and very conversational. She creates an environment that is free of fear or condemnation, and we all have become very chatty, in Spanish, in her class. When we struggle with a particular concept -- indirect objects, for example -- she readily changes her teaching approach to help us figure it out. She assigns creative homework outside of our textbook that really solidifies for me whatever we are currently learning. She's enthusiastic, has a wonderful sense of humor, and I'm learning Spanish AND having fun. If you want to enjoy learning Spanish, she is the teacher for you. read more

I had a great experience with Language Door Encino. Liz was a great instructor in Spanish and I was sorry to see her go, because I was going to continue with her. I will still continue with another instructor to advance my Spanish. And Valary has been a great coordinator, always trying her best to accommodate the students and set us up with the best learning experience. I can highly recommend Language Door Encino. read more

When I first entered Language Door in the spring of '15, I never imagined learning a new language in there for long. Four languages and two years later, I can't think of a better place I'd recommend. I give it 5/5 stars for 3 reasons: Price, quality, and personalization. People who doubt it often drop it off of face value, but even at face value, the price is unimaginable. You can literally take 10 language courses introductory through advanced at Language Door for the price of 1 basic course at other competitors. Based on that, Language Door wins on price. The quality of Language Door is tricky to understand since it depends on you and your teacher's compatibility. I'd say that all the teachers I've met there were unique in teaching style, yet totally professional and more than qualified in teaching their language. The quality of language door comes from its unique teaching style, unorthodox compared to a classroom setting. You sit down for an hour or 90 minutes in small groups of 2-5 and learn by casual conversation and demonstration like human beings, not grades or huge lectures. It greatly improves the way you retain and practice languages in my experience. Lastly, Language Door personalizes your experience from day 1. The management is understanding and very friendly. I've seen two managements in Language Door and I can say that any problems in the old one are a thing of the past. There is no set in stone curriculum, only what best serves you, the customer/student. If you don't like your teacher's style or need a different time, you can simply ask management for a different one, no charge, no hassle, no blame, no problem. They have plenty of qualified teachers to solve your needs. They personalize your learning experience 100%. All in all, I'd recommend Language Door for anyone. read more

I would not recommend this school nor would I ever go back. To summarize my experience I would say that: 1. class began 2 weeks late 2. the teacher always showed up 10 minutes late so class was always 1 hour 20 minutes (I paid for 1 hour 30 minutes) 3. due to a couple of holidays, classes had to be rescheduled (not a big deal) 4. due to the teachers personal schedule, most classes had to be rescheduled (a big deal because it was almost every week) 5. one class the teacher showed up 30 minutes late (which was a rescheduled class from a Wednesday to a Sunday) and she never made up the time like she promised 6. the school didn't have the text book available so I had to order it from Amazon and have it rush shipped so it would be there for the following class (which it wasn't even used until the 4th or 5th class) 7. it took 4 classes just to get through the alpha bet 8. I can't speak the basic language like I was told I would - I know the alpha bet, some words and a couple of sentences 9. the whole experience was a waste of my time and money I would've been better off spending another $100 for Rosetta Stone! read more

I have two kids, 8 and 6, that have been attending Spanish classes with Rachael Garcia for about 2 years now. She has been an outstanding teacher throughout, keeping them both challenged and entertained during class. Thanks, Rachael, for the effort you put in! read more

The Language Door School might be great for certain languages but it is not good if you want to learn Chinese. The first class I attended, the teacher was very late and we rescheduled. The second class, the teacher failed to show. I eventually was provided with a teacher (Jane) who was AMAZING but the classes were inconsistent due to students stopping in to "check it out" and students dropping out. Most of the classes consisted of myself and 1 other student - not always the same person. Eventually I just stopped going pending sign-up by other possible students, but that did not pan out either. The staff and Language Door was great and tried to accommodate, but they could not provide the service they were selling. They did offer a partial refund which was fair. read more

The Language Door School's Encino customer service is far below par. Regretfully, I prepaid lessons, not realizing how unprofessional they are. I left messages regarding my schedule changes more than 24 hours in advance per their policy and they said that he didn't get the voice mails. I paid for one session against my balance that they messed up because of their incompetent scheduler, yet, on several occasions, they have called me 30 minutes before an appointment and asked to rescedule my session; I have accomodated their revised schedule. This is not a professional business and although their teachers are good, they are only in it for the money and don't owe up to their own incompetency. Don't go to Language Door in Encino, you will end up paying far more than you receive in lessons because of their errors. read more

I have taken both Chinese and French classes here and they were both excellent. The Mandarin teacher (Chien Laoshi) is very thorough in her lessons and meticulous about pronunciation. Although a native Chinese speaker, she also speaks English fluently and can easily translate between languages. She is well versed in Chinese customs and culture. The French teacher (Omar) is a great guy and a blast. He always goes out of his way to make classes fun and relevant by bringing movies, videos, poems, songs and other quintessential tidbits of French culture to class. I highly recommend these two teachers and this language school. read more

I´ve been taking chinese for about 6 months at Language Door in Encino. The class with Janie Golden is very interactive and fun and she is always giving us additional cultural insights to have a better understanding and use of the language. The group is small which allows more individualized attention, which is very important in a language like chinese. The staff is always very kind and helpful, this a great language school, which has made my learning experience much more enjoyable. read more

Unprofessional teachers, unprofessional/ irresponsible Owner/manager. First of all, yelp said get the 50$ coupon and print it out and give it to them, but you can't sing up in person, it has to be online or over the phone. And when I signed up online it didn't have a place for the coupon or voucher... so I paid the full price. When I go and ask, they say: yeah it's not gonna work like that, we don't know how, you had to call us.... but we will ask around and let you know... The teacher doesn't really know what's he/she is doing, looks up spelling/ grammar on his phone. and doesn't go with book, instead asks you what you want to know In Spanish so he can translate.... which even the google translate could do that for me.... And the most stupid thing ever: So I went for my second class, as soon as the elevator opens I see the unit is empty !!!! no desk, no pictures or posters on the wall; nothing... I look around ! Am I on the right floor ! wait a sec maybe I'm dreaming ! ( I actually thought that ). I walked inside to look around to see if I had ever been to such a place ! or It was all A dream ! I could see the tape and marks that the posters and pictures had left on the wall so it was not one of those weird scam movies ! I searched every inch of the building / unit/ elevator hoping to find a sign or note saying something about their new location or what had happen ! but nothing ! are you serious ! what the h*ll is this ! nobody called me beforehand to tell me something about this or NOT EVEN A NOTE ON ANYWHERE !!!!! how stupid is that ! I read so many reviews saying they are irresponsible and teacher doesn't show up or cancel and stuff but THIS !!!! wow ! I decided not to take any classes in college on my winter break and get a little behind but I could attempt learning a new language ! They wasted my time, energy, and hopes to learn something new. I want my full refund. Through the court if necessary as I have already spoken to the police department. read more

Language Door was a great resource to help my son improve his ASL skills. His teacher was very engaging, and he enjoyed the classes. I would heartily recommend Language Door to anyone looking for foreign language instruction. read more

I have had years with learning languages and with having my children and nieces learn languages in different language schools or programs, so I have experience knowing the difference between good and poor instruction, and excellent and horrible business practice. Unfortunately for Language Door -Encino, I have received service that is less than desirable from the newest reception staff at Language Door- Encino. The previous staff in the Fall of 2014 were amazingly helpful, communicative, and sent emails and phone calls whenever anything was in question, or to communicate information. The NEW Spring 2015 staff, however, leaves a VERY BAD TASTE in my mouth. Not only is the receptionist during the weekdays absolutely rude and dismissive, she refuses to allow for us to make direct contact with the owners or settle the issue through them. My child was in a class with another child that ran as a small group weekly on the weekends. When the other child could not return to the class, it opened up one spot. We were told initially that if the class of two children could continue on Saturdays, the other language instructor would be happy to take that class on. I recruited another child into the Language Door program for the same language at around the same beginning level. He started an ADULT class mid-session with only 3 sessions left. He knows my son and was happier with doing the same class with my son during the weekends, which would not only accommodate his schedule, it would also allow him to FILL the EMPTY SPOT in the language class that was to have met on Saturdays at 9 am. The main receptionist refused to budge when both of us contacted her with this idea of having our boys study together on Saturday. She stated that she refused to allow for another Teen class on Saturday, even though she had originally been the person to state that there would be that allowance for a Teen class on Saturdays with my son. The main receptionist added, "We only opened it to you and the other child in order for him to come back." Excuse me? If it had not been for OUR FAMILY, this other NEW teenager would not have learned about the Language Door-Encino and he would have NOT joined. Having this class on the weekends for both boys will allow for our kids to learn the language, but also, to RETAIN YOUR CUSTOMERS without having bad reviews on the Internet exist that will inevitably overshadow any of the good instruction that exists in at the Language Door. There are so many problems that have existed since the hiring of the newest receptionists/managers at Language Door-Encino, including not communicating the class times correctly with the families who were involved. I perplexed as to how the Encino Office can run so badly and still have enough income to exist. I must point out that not only am I having issue with the Encino Langauge Door office, I have spent my spare time trying to contact the owner Natascha Damman and also Frank, who apparently run the Language Door from Irvine. Apart from writing to them on FB, which I will only do as a last resort, I have already left multiple messages at the Irvine office. I have a feeling that my messages are not reaching the owners at all and would like for them to contact me to resolve these issues. I am not certain if this will be resolved, but I do know this: Our family is well-known for being busy, involved in the community, and in touch with many students and families who refer to us for advice on schools, activities, sports, and more recently, language instruction -- as many schools now are not offering languages. As much as I would love to give kudos for a patient, educated, and lovely instructor (the one that we had in the Fall and Winter), I am reluctant to make any recommendation to attend ANY class at Language Door-ENCINO due to its ill-mannered, negative, and non-responsive administrative staff. I had high hopes for Language Door-Encino especially during the better months with the previous staff members, who were communicative and mindful that this was both a school and a business. If the current staff has managed to do anything, it has been successful in making me SHUDDER at thinking about contacting them again or even referring the numerous families who have only this week asked if they knew of teachers who taught specific languages that do not currently have a Saturday Language school, and one that would allow for their ids and teens to join. Language Door- ENCINO has casted so much doubt in my mind about whether or not I should return, and unfortunately is influencing those who wished to have studied with my son on the weekends. I doubt that that child will return after this session is finished unless the Language Door can accommodate our boys' request to be in class together. Language Door-Encino - You are a language broker. If your teachers are good, but your reception is unwilling to hear our concerns as paying customers, you will lose our patronage. read more