I took several weeks of private classes with Tara (the owner) and Mari Carmen this Spring at the Alexandria location and had an AMAZING experience. I highly recommend the school for anyone trying to brush up on their Spanish or even learn from zero. I needed to take my Spanish to the next level in preparation for a new job, so I worked with Tara to customize my classes to focus on my weakest skills. I took her placement test and shared the areas where I new I needed to improve most. She created a custom syllabus for me that covered grammar, culture, common expressions, basic literature/short films...it was impressive. Also, all the student materials are saved and accessed from OneDrive, which makes out of class study really easy. This school is great in general about taking advantage of technology (like Quizlet and OneDrive) so that you can get as much extra study as you want.
Tara was an excellent instructor. Really fun to work with and a solid understanding of Spanish grammar. For example, I've been speaking Spanish for over a decade and for the FIRST time learned that I had been making several grammar mistakes for years and never been corrected. It was crazy! So many things make so much more sense now.
I also had the chance to take a few weeks of class with Mari Carmen, one of the Alexandria private instructors. SHE IS AMAZING. If you're taking private classes, request Mari Carmen. She has decades of experience teaching at FSI, a fun spunky personality, and an incredible grasp of the Spanish language. She is great for learning many of the language nuances that only a native speaker would pick up on (e.g. todos los días vs. Cada día OR the use of pensar vs. creer).
The Alexandria location is clean and cozy with lots of natural light and is always stocked with coffee (big win!). Plenty of street and public parking, so that was never a problem at least for me.
In summary, I'd say to give WorkLife Spanish a shot. Personally, I was really dissatisfied with the customer service of the massive language schools in DC and Arlington, and found WorkLife Spanish to be a refreshing breath of a excellent tailored language education. I know I certainly learned a TON...my Spanish is the best it has ever been. While I haven't taken any of the group classes, I did meet several of the group class instructors at a happy hour event and they also seemed fun and effective (at least the other students seemed to think so!). read more