My reasons for coming to the Language School were twofold. The first and primary reason was to learn to speak Spanish with my clients and the second was to speak conversationally with my friends. A small confession: when I first spoke with Karen Rolfini-Beckenstein, my Spanish instructor, by phone and she said I'd be conversant in three-four months, I thanked her politely but hung up the phone thinking, "yeah, ok four months after 20 years of not speaking Spanish, I don't think so." I am happy to say she proved me wrong! I had taken a couple classes over the past several years but it just didn't stick and I still could not put the sentences together that I felt I should be able to, and worse, I could not put my clients at ease by speaking with them in their native language. All that changed day 1 of my class at The Language School. I can honestly tell you that I walked out of my class on day one and used what I had learned the very next day with my clients. It was a great feeling. What's the difference? The class format is unique and tailored to each student. So, my classes were tailored for my field to help me communicate right away with my clients using the relevant terms in my business. And it works! Oh sure, we conjugated verbs but using only the conjugation I would use in speaking with my clients. It helped me to communicate quickly and effectively with the people I needed to reach. My victory came when one of my clients turned to me and said, "you know a lot of Spanish"! Kudos to la profesora Karen! Karen is warm and welcoming and she is a high energy, engaging instructor. Karen's methods are successful because she gets to the heart of what you need to know. I needed to speak Spanish to clients as well as with my friends and I am thrilled to say that is exactly what I'm doing! read more

Last year my son became engaged to a lovely young woman from Colombia. My future daughter-in-law spoke fluent English but many of her family members in Colombia did not. I was determined to be able to communicate, on a basic level, with my future in-laws and their extended family. About 4 months before the wedding I met Karen. I was immediately drawn to her "can do" attitude and she assured me there was enough time to learn basic phrases. This was especially important because the wedding was to be in Cartagena. My prior language experience was two years of high school Spanish (ages ago) and 8 weeks of group lessons a few months prior to my experience with The Language School. The group lessons and learning from a book just weren't relevant to my needs. I needed to focus on the language relating to the wedding, family relationships etc. I started private lessons with Karen. First, there was no Spanish course book. We discussed situations I was likely to encounter and the language I would need. Karen used props, pantomime, drawings and a white board. She is a very creative instructor! We practiced pronunciation and used memory tricks to remember words. I had the goal of giving a toast or "brindis" in Spanish at the wedding. Working closely with Karen for several weeks allowed me to stand before the wedding guests and speak like a native! The wedding is in the past but my lessons with Karen continue. We talk about scenarios from everyday life, cooking, gardens, weather, books, my hobbies etc. Karen makes it too much fun to stop! read more

Summer of 2019 I was accepted into a Master's degree program that included a language requirement for graduation. Specifically, I needed to demonstrate an intermediate proficiency in a language other than English by completing a language placement exam or an ACTFL or IETLS recognized qualifying exam in the language of chosen proficiency. During high school, I took a few years of French and Latin but I decided that I wanted to learn Spanish instead, a language I had no experience with; that is when I contacted Karen at the Language School. Karen was awesome from the beginning and I think felt almost the same pressure as I did. She was committed to ensuring I was prepared, and we spent 4-6 hours per week for 6-months together. She was always very flexible with my schedule and made me enjoy learning the language. The classes were completely catered to me and what I needed to learn. Karen was always enthusiastic and I was always excited for our sessions together. I had never been taught a language in the ways Karen teaches, her methods are very effective and unique. I took the test just before the winter break and I am happy to say that I passed the test with flying colors, surpassing intermediate and reaching an advanced level! I could not have done this without Karen's support, I would highly recommend Karen and the language school. I went from no knowledge of Spanish to an advanced level in 6 months, it was an amazing experience. read more

I may have stumbled upon The Language School through a chance Google search, but I couldn't be more happy that I did! I am a very busy travel nurse - if I'm not working, I'm adventuring, but it has always been a goal of mine to be able to more effectively communicate with my Spanish speaking patients. I found The Language School online and called Karen from Alaska (knowing I'd be back in CT in the fall). From her warm greeting over the phone, her enthusiasm for my adventures and my desire to learn, and quick conversation about details, I was convinced I was about to be embark on a special learning experience! Karen understood I had little time to waste and quickly assessed what my learning needs were and how to most efficiently direct my lessons. She was able to accommodate my busy schedule, and flexible if I needed to adjust my lesson times. The lessons were comfortable and content specific to my most frequently needed medical scenarios. Karen was always smiling, positive, and encouraging even when I'd get frustrated with myself throughout the learning process. Coincidentally, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in such a time that in three short months of practicing my Spanish with Karen I was ready and able to volunteer there and felt very comfortable communicating with the local people! I'm very grateful to Karen for helping me accomplish this! read more

I just wanted to let you know how much enjoyed taking Italian classes at The Language School. My father was born in Italy and moved to the United States when he was 15 years old. He and most of my family spoke Italian in everyday life. I was immersed in Italian culture and went to Italy on a fairly regular basis with my dad. Unfortunately I never learned the language and, frankly, when I was younger that didn't bother me. As I got older my desire to learn Italian grew. Most of my fathers family still lives in Italy, including my aunts, uncles and too many cousins to count. I still travel to Italy every few years and one of my goals is to be able to have a full fledged Italian conversation with my relatives. Knowing how I learn, I knew that the only way for me to make any progress towards that goal was by one on one instruction. The Language School was exactly what I needed. The ability to custom tailor classes to my style and speed of learning is pivotal. In addition you and Laura are warm, accomodating and helpful people who make the experience very enjoyable. Although I had to stop lessons for a while due to work obligations, I have every intention of continuing my classes very soon. Best regards, Michael Ippoliti read more

Having arrived in Paris after a month and a half of 2-hour French lessons twice a week with Nathalie, I feel prepared and excited to engage and learn with my friends and colleagues at my new job. I had never studied French before, so it must have sounded crazy when I asked Nathalie to take me on as her student so close to my departure date. However, I can safely say that my comprehension and ability to communicate has grown and matured faster than I could have ever imagined. Nathalie's approach to the lessons was guided with patience, but fueled with an overall urgency that allowed us to fly through the textbook she chose and land gently on the subjunctive for our last class -- which is generally reserved for second year language students. I'm excited to be here, but I'm definitely going to miss those classes that ranged from coffee-filled, sleepy mornings blessed with croissants from her favorite patisserie in Ridgefield giving us a real mess to talk about (no one can eat a croissant without making a mess), to fast-speaking videos that challenged my comprehension. Merci beaucoup Nathalie! Sean, Student read more

My children (aged 5 and 9 when we first enrolled) have been taking weekly French lessons with Mohammed for nearly a year. Within less than 6 months, they were chatting to each other in French. As a Canadian citizen raising children in the US, I had always wanted my children to learn French, and I wanted a refresher too. We had tried after-school and online programs but they weren't effective. I had not realized private French tutoring could be within our family's budget and am so happy we found The Langauge School in Ridgefield. The quality of engagement available in a personalized one-on-one setting simply cannot be beat. This remains true, and has become even more important in the COVID lockdown as the kids have had far less challenging school assignments, and less engagement from their school's teachers. Mohammed does a fantastic job with kids - he is patient, fun, and always positive. We plan to be enrolled in our weekly program for years to come. I cannot recommend The Language School highly enough - don't hesitate to ask Karen to customize a course offering for your family! read more

If you are looking for a customized class that will get students speaking and engaging with the language, The Language School may be the perfect option for you. Karen taught Spanish and English classes to a group of farmers and agricultural workers this past Winter Season. The group of students had mixed levels of formal education and traditional literacy. Karen did an amazing job customizing classes and made each lesson relevant to the students by developing content around agricultural vocabulary, verbs, and phrases. She has a popular education-style approach that worked well, which made classes interactive, engaging, and accessible. Prior to being in class with Karen, all students had been in language classes. Though they had improved in comprehension, many were very hesitant to speak in the language they were learning. In Karen's class, students regularly practiced speaking. She has a knack for getting people to talk without overthinking or feeling ashamed. read more

I traveled to the USA as an Au Pair from Switzerland to improve my knowledge of English and French. I came across The Language School in Ridgefield, Connecticut and I could not be happier. Karen and Nathalie understood that I had little time to waste and quickly assess my learning needs. She was able to handle my schedule and was very flexible. Nathalie, my French teacher was very competent and always well prepared. She always encouraged me when I was frustrated with my French. She adapted the teaching plan to my needs. Thanks to The Language School in Ridgefield, it was possible for me to use my free time in the US intelligently and pass my entrance exam for the university in Switzerland. I can only recommend this language school. read more

My 18 year old son was going to attend a fashion design program in Paris this summer and wanted to learn enough French to get around the city. The Language School found a wonderful native Parisienne with a knowledge of fashion to instruct him. She taught him language and culture...helped his learn about getting around in Paris. In 10 weeks time, Sam attended his Paris program with the ability to get around Paris comfortably - and was complimented on his accent! Best of all, Sam truly enjoyed his lessons and found studying fun and interesting, thanks to the approach and methods of The Language School and their fine instructors. He loved the experience so much, he hopes to return to attend the program full time this fall. Magnifique! read more

At Ann's Place, we wanted staff and volunteers to greet and welcome our Spanish-speaking clients in their native language. Some of us were downright terrified of learning another language. But having cancer is hard enough, we didn't want our clients to also have to be overwhelmed with language barriers. So, we all buckled down to do it. What surprised us was that The Language School made it FUN. She came and worked at just the right speed, gave us ways to remember and plenty of time to practice. It was a safe place to learn. She also created a curriculum just for us and our clients so what we learned could be used right away. It was a great class and we highly recommend them! read more

This was a great experience. Karen made learning Spanish so interesting by using everyday life easy to remember examples that enabled me to learn the language faster than I had anticipated. Her humor, laughter and appreciation of the student combine to make learning an awesome journey. The lessons were also tailored towards my needs. Thank you for the special work you do. Mary read more

I learned more (and retained more) in a few months here than I did with 2 years of Spanish in old school. The lessons are interactive and tuned to your specific needs. And it does not feel like a classroom lesson. It feels like you are just hanging out and having fun, all while learning. I'm looking forward to going back. read more