World Language Instructors

I am from Yemen and grew up in Toronto, Canada. I hold a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in Arabic. I attended the Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies and completed the Tennessee Language Center’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certification program in 2011.

While working with various nonprofits and serving the immigrant and refugee community in Nashville, I realized the need for people who speak Arabic and started to teach my colleagues the Arabic language. I later had the opportunity to spend a year and a half teaching in Saudi Arabia, and I have continued to tutor Arabic language students upon my return to Tennessee. I also love teaching yoga and studying holistic health.

I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. I have more than 23 years of experience in general teaching and 15 years of experience teaching Arabic. I received my bachelor’s degree in teaching ESL from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, and taught English as a second language for nine years. In 2005, I was trained to teach Arabic for non-native speakers and became an Arabic instructor.

While working for the International Language Institute’s International House in Cairo, I obtained my Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language Certificate. I taught Modern Standard Arabic and Colloquial Egyptian. I taught a wide range of levels and group sizes, both online and in person. I taught a variety of students, diplomats and university students as well as Defense Language Institutes.

I enjoy teaching Arabic, as the more we can communicate, the fewer barriers we have. Learning Arabic can be eye-opening to the richness of the culture and literature, especially poetry. I also enjoy reading and gardening.

I was born and raised in Hong Kong and am fluent in, and currently teach, both Cantonese and Mandarin. I moved to New York to pursue a master’s degree and graduated with a Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. I have since developed a passion for teaching and currently instruct Chinese. While living in the U.S., I regularly travel all over Asia, and I love sharing my experiences with Eastern and Western cultures. I am also a ballet enthusiast, certified yoga instructor and a cat lover who constantly thinks of expanding her cat family!

My sense of fulfillment in teaching is achieved when my students are able to mix their own experiences in culture and heritage with a new perspective that comes along with a new language.  

I primarily work with adults and college/high school students with varied language backgrounds. I recognize that students learn differently, and my teaching style is sensitive to individuals’ needs. Therefore, I customize and implement classes based on students’ interests to improve their language skills. This may include daily real-world conversation or goal-orientated topics like covering their needs for travel, business or the creation of personal statements for college applications. Adapting to this era of fast-changing technology, I implement real-time instructional technologies and tools to enhance the learning experience via reading, writing, role play, reflection and more. 

I grew up with an unpronounceable (to Anglophones) French last name. Unfortunately, my French-Swiss great-grandfather did not deem it necessary for any of his progeny to be bilingual, and he never taught any of his 10 children or 25 grandchildren French. So, I began studying French as a freshman in high school and carried on my studies throughout college.

I completed my initial training in English and French Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I went on to earn a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University. I completed the Tennessee Language Center’s (TLC) Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certification program in 2016. While I have spent a large part of my career in higher education administration, my first love is language. I like to use a communicative approach in my classes with the goal of getting students to use French in everyday situations, reinforcing our lessons with a variety of games and activities designed to aid retention.

I have had the opportunity to travel several times to France and Switzerland, and I keep up an ongoing electronic correspondence with a Swiss-French friend whom I met nearly 20 years ago via a travel website. We think that we might be distant cousins!

As a native Tennessean, I started learning French by coincidence, as I happened to grow up across from a girl who had just moved here from the French-speaking region of Belgium, Wallonia. Though she and her family moved back before we started middle school, we’ve remained close friends ever since.

In high school, I was invited to spend a semester living with them and going to school in Namur, as they knew I had a passion for travel and that it would give me the opportunity to learn some French. The five months that I spent there initiated and cemented my love for learning languages, and it's what gave me the drive to learn French and to become as fluent as possible.

I continued my education post-high school at Pellissippi State Community College, where the French professors were hugely influential in maintaining my interest in language learning and later deciding to pursue it as my career. After transferring to UT Knoxville in 2021 as a linguistics major with a minor in French, I fell in love with learning about languages and how they function in my phonetics, descriptive and historical linguistics classes. But I kept thinking about my French classes and how much I enjoyed speaking and learning it. I then switched my major to French, which led me to study abroad in Paris in the Spring of 2022, an unforgettable experience that shaped me as both a language learner and educator.

As I finished my master’s degree in French and Francophone studies at UT Knoxville in 2024, my focus for the last few years has primarily been on French. I'm now learning some Spanish, as I spent 2024-25 teaching ESL in Madrid, Spain, and became infatuated with it.

I am still very much a linguistics nerd. I am happy to have long, rambling conversations about the history and development of the French language and its phonetics, French’s sociocultural role in formerly and currently colonized regions, dialectical variations (Acadian and Belgian French are particularly interesting to me!) or any other niche language fact you want to know.

I have been teaching French since 2002. I spent 10 years teaching university and upper high school level literature, composition and French before moving to dual-language immersion. I have a passion for language and world culture. I am originally from California and grew up in a Spanish-speaking home, but French has been my forte since my first trip to Europe in 1995. I have since studied French and pedagogy twice at the Université de Mons-Hainaut, Belgium, and specialized in teaching with technology at CAVILAM in Vichy, France.

I have been married 21 years and have two bilingual teenage boys. I volunteer with the local community theatres and am a senior guest handler for a five-state Comic-Con circuit. I also serve on boards for École Saint Landry, the Louisiana Consortium of Immersion schools, and I do contract work for Louisiana Department of Education—World Languages, Télé-Louisiane and the Council for French in Louisiana.

I grew up in Germany, where I majored in journalism and worked in print, public radio and public television. In the U.S., I worked as a media consultant for Scientific American and International Media Associates. I currently live on a farm outside Nashville with my wife and too many animals, and in my spare time, I write fiction.

I have over 20 years of language teaching and training experience and believe that, to be an effective teacher, one has to keep learning. As a teacher trainer, I have developed and facilitated various professional development courses for Teachers of Foreign Language, ESL and special education. A lead trainer for TLC’s TESL Program since its inception in 2001, I am now mostly retired from all things TESL and ESL (and will forever miss the amazing students).

I currently teach German advanced conversation and German film club classes only. I believe in teaching people what they need and want to learn. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to teaching and learning. I keep up with language teaching methodology, regularly adding new tools to my toolbox but have learned everything worth teaching on the job from my students.

Originally from Pittsburgh (go Bucs!), I spent my formative years in Germany and could not shake the influence! I began officially teaching and studying the language about a decade ago. While I’m currently in 26th grade, aiming to finish my joint doctorate in German this year, the classroom is the space that has always kept me sane.

My goal is to empower language learners of all levels through diverse teaching methods, encouraging environments, multimedia resources and cultural insights to make the learning experience WUNDERBAR! It is an absolute privilege and honor to guide students on their language learning adventures, looking forward to sharing the beauty and intricacies of the German language. Prost to new beginnings!

Born and raised in Rome, Italy, I was passionate about world languages at an early age. When at the tender age of four, I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I simply replied, “I want to talk to the whole world.”  I learned Italian and English simultaneously in an American school in Rome, starting in middle school all the way through college. I also added Spanish, French and some Portuguese to my studies. 

I have lived abroad in the U.K.and France and moved to the U.S. after getting married. In addition to teaching at the Tennessee Language Center, I do translation work, as well as teach creative writing for a nonprofit here in Nashville.

I am a poet, a mother to a junior at Middle Tennessee State University and an animal lover who currently takes care of six rescue dogs and one cat. World languages and the history, arts and culture of different countries are my passion. I incorporate these elements in my teachings, so my students can be exposed to the various nuances of a language by also learning the customs and folklore of that country as well.  

I am an enthusiastic, passionate language educator who enjoys creating a fun, interactive full immersion experience for my students. I believe we learn best through experiencing a culture, a concept which goes far beyond just learning the grammar of a foreign language. I truly enjoy this technology era we are living in and take full advantage of apps as well as other online tools to make my students’ learning experience diverse and fun. I wish to inspire my students just as much as educate them; I believe in the success that is a mutual learning experience!   

I have developed a curriculum and implemented lessons that are always based on my students’ interests. These methodologies have positively challenged my students and allowed them to apply some foreign language concepts to real-world contexts. Additionally, with my teaching I have mastered finding a balance between large group instruction, smaller group collaboration, as well as customized individual lesson plans.  

One of my life’s mantras is “You don’t just learn a world language, you live it!” It’s a privilege to be able to teach others what I was taught. World languages are a gift that open people’s minds beyond any geographical distance or border, and I take my gift very seriously and with humility.

I was born and raised in Genoa, Italy, where I studied until my college years. Then, I ventured abroad. First in Spain, where I was an Erasmus student in Salamanca, and then to New York City. Once there, I decided to continue living in the metropolitan area.

I hold a Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate Center in Hispanic Studies and have taught all levels of Italian and Spanish language courses, as well as content-based classes focused on literary topics, gender studies and film.

I am deeply interested in language pedagogy, especially in exploring new technologies and methodologies to enhance the language learning experience. In my courses, I integrate technological tools to create an interactive and fun environment. I believe that students need to be at the center of the learning process and that with the right tools, clear goals and consistent methodology, and in a patient, caring and encouraging environment, they can gain the proficiency they desire.

I enjoy travelling and discovering new places with my husband and three children. I am passionate about ceramics—especially handbuilding—as well as knitting and cooking. I also love hiking, and I am fortunate to come from a piece of land that has mountains overlooking the sea: the region of Liguria in northwest Italy.

I was born and raised in Tokyo, but I have lived in Tennessee and Ohio for a long time. I have been teaching since 1995 and have had great opportunities to get to know many students. I am thankful for meeting them all. My long career has allowed me to teach in any setting, from a large group class to a one-on-one lesson, beginner to advanced classes, a school-aged student to a corporate executive. I always try to incorporate fun into my instruction, and students seem to enjoy this.

My background is Bachelor of Education, and that helps me to think about education as an instructor, a teacher and a mother. However, I know that my motivation comes from the love of people. Every time I meet and talk to new people, I feel excited and want to provide something fun as much as I can. Through Japanese, I have been able to help people: heritage Japanese American kids, expat international business men/women, people who want to visit Japan and so on. I am very proud of introducing others to the beautiful, interesting and unique Japanese culture. I also wish for people all over the world to like Japan and its culture. As a teacher at TLC, I want to have fun and effective lessons with you.

Food is definitely a big part of Japanese culture. I like to share the food information with students, and I personally love cooking, such as washoku, tonkatsu, gyoza, etc. To prepare these good meals, I use green onions, shiso (a Japanese herb), Boston cucumbers, basil and mints from my garden.

I was born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan, and I have lived in the U.S. since 2008 with my husband and four lovely cats. I studied piano performance and music education at the Chugoku Junior College in Okayama, Japan. After graduation, I worked at a nursing home for severely disabled people.

I started living in Middle Tennessee in 2013, moving from Portland, Oregon. I love playing music, both piano and organ, and am the church organist. My favorite musician is J.S. Bach.

After coming to the U.S., I began teaching Japanese at a Japanese supplementary school, and I’ve taught private Japanese lessons online since 2013. I enjoy teaching Japanese to various students and seeing their progress. My teaching focus is to optimize each student’s needs and goals.

I was born in Hiroshima, Japan, and moved to Oregon to earn a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology with expertise in African American music. I also attended the Language Teaching Specialization program of the University of Oregon with a special focus on teaching Japanese. I moved to Tennessee to be an assistant professor of African American Studies at Austin Peay State University. I have also been teaching Japanese there as well as for the Clarksville Montgomery County School System.

My educational belief is that learning accrues from respecting our differences. I strongly feel that my job is not only to teach the Japanese language but also to share my culture to foster mutual understanding, deepen respect and share knowledge of others who have different cultural backgrounds. I always remind myself and my students that I am helping them to build an ability to appreciate how people in Japan embody the enrichment of the human mind and spirit through their diverse cultural activities rather than teaching grammatical complexities of the language itself. My classroom epitomizes this ideal and features real-life based activities, fun games, Japanese animation films and music.

My hobbies include musical performances (currently I am taking bluegrass banjo lessons), going to concerts, aikido (Japanese martial arts) practice, and road biking. I have publications on blues music written in English, including two books, “Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2011) and “John Lee Sonny Boy Williamson: the Blues Harmonica of Chicago’s Bronzeville” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

I was born on Shikoku Island, the famous pilgrimage island of Japan. Slightly smaller than Tennessee and full of rugged mountains, you can still see white-robed pilgrims make the 800-mile journey to 88 temples on the island today. The mantras chanted by the pilgrims piqued my interest as a child. It is the origin of my interest in language and literature.

After studying Japanese thought and culture with a focus on classical literature in college, I worked as a middle and high school teacher in Japan for more than 20 years, teaching Japanese, Japanese and Chinese classics, and calligraphy. I also have a master’s degree in education from the Graduate School of Education with a focus on school curriculum redevelopment. Since coming to Tennessee, I have continued to teach Japanese to middle and high school students at the Japanese Language Assistance School. I have also taught Japanese to children and adults of all ages.

I enjoy working with learners of various ages, backgrounds and levels. I prepare appropriate learning styles and materials according to the learners’ goals and interests in daily conversation/communication skills and writing/reading and can accommodate specific skill-focused lessons upon request. I am also passionate about using and developing new materials and teaching methods. Language is deeply connected to the culture and history of a country, region or people, and learners will rediscover their native language and culture while learning a new language. It is also an opportunity to think deeply about identity and to know oneself. This is something I experience myself all the time.

Kendo, which I have been practicing for over 35 years, is a traditional Japanese martial art that trains the mind and body. I am a sixth dan and a licensed instructor. I have always been very interested in the process of physical, technical and mental training. I am also an animal lover, and the little 17-year-old dog that I brought from Japan is always my buddy.

I am a native of Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, the home of the beautiful mountains, the Enoden trolley along the coastline, and a big Buddha. Mt. Fuji, capped with snow all year long on its peak, was a fixed view from my high school classroom window. I received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Hosei University in Tokyo. In my professional life, I worked at a company in Tokyo as an event coordinator, where I interpreted for and helped English-speaking presenters and guests who were in Japan for international events. 

After relocating to Tennessee, I taught Japanese literacy, math and social studies to middle school students at the Japanese Supplementary School in Middle Tennessee on the weekends. In 2014, I started teaching beginning to intermediate-high levels of Japanese at the Tennessee Language Center (TLC). I recently completed the 150-hour Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TESL) certification program at TLC. Through this experience, I feel that I have become a better facilitator and communicator, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

I find teaching my native tongue both exciting and rewarding, and I especially cherish the chance to meet so many wonderfully fascinating people from different backgrounds. The experience has given me a window to look deeper into American culture and appreciate the community to which I now belong and serve. 

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two children, who are the source of my inspiration. I also love to read, watch movies, do yoga and go hiking to spend time in nature. 

I enjoy working with adults and adolescents (middle to high school). I have mainly taught adults, and some high school students, at TLC. I do have experience teaching English to high school students in Japan, and middle school students at the Japanese weekend school in Murfreesboro, TN.  

I teach the Japanese language with a communicative approach. I teach the language in the context of real-life experience with the following guiding question in mind: “What will learners be able to do with this language outside of the classroom?” I use authentic materials such as songs, picture books, videos and news articles to address students’ interests and motivate them. I immerse my learners in the language and culture, encouraging them to speak in Japanese as much as possible to express their opinions and share their unique experiences freely while respecting others. 

What’s the veggie that looks like my plump face and has layers of skin with pungent flavor that becomes sweeter when cooked? Yes, an onion! Now, add a really strong accent and say it as if there were one more N in the middle, like O’nnion. Yes, you just said ‘hello’ and ‘bye’ in Korean, ‘안녕[ah’n nyung]’. Every time you see my round face, don’t forget to say 안녕 to me, OK?

Born and raised in Korea, I was given an opportunity to study TESOL at Washington State University. After graduating as Korea University’s First-Class Honor, I became the most popular ESL instructor with the most students in the entire language school. Then, I was offered the position of ESL director for an American school. Later, I established and managed a boarding school in Nashville, servicing after school programs for 11 years.

I've led the Korean American Association of Greater Nashville for four years as the president, providing numerous cultural events. I have liaised the Korean government and Nashville Mayor’s office as the cultural and communication ambassador and helped hundreds of homeless people in the area by providing a shelter for more than 15 years.

The language barrier is formidable for foreigners, and so is the communication deficiency for contemporaries in this ever-evolving world where everybody has to learn to adapt. I have experienced it, myself, as a native of Korea, and I am highly sensitive to the needs of my students. It is critical that there is a bridge to share our love actively across differences and races, through the acquisition of target language and cultural awareness. You, too, can be a rare bridge that will foster better understanding of one another.

Will you join me? O’nnion/안녕

I am from Kingsport, TN, and I have always liked languages. In high school, I was the most enthusiastic Latin student. Latin was far more helpful in learning Russian than I had anticipated! A proud alumna of the University of Notre Dame, I majored in English while studying Russian and Spanish. After graduation, I moved to Russia, where I lived for two years, teaching English and studying Russian. Next, I moved to California, where I completed a master’s degree in Russian translation at the Monterey Institute. I passed the American Translators’ Association exam and became certified as a Russian-to-English translator.

Additionally, I have earned teaching certifications in Russian as a Foreign Language, and English as a Second Language, and I have taken Spanish, German and French classes at the Tennessee Language Center (TLC). Along with languages, my other hobby is ballroom dancing, which, coincidentally, is dominated by Russians.  

I have worked with students across an age range spanning from preschoolers to adults. I actively follow the development of new materials for Russian teaching and eagerly try them out in my classes. I like to bring Russian to life for my students using current pop music, memes and jokes, as well as souvenirs and stories from my time in Russia. Boredom is my enemy. 

I was born and raised in Bulgaria, a country where knowing languages is a must, especially now that it is a member of the European Union. I hold a bachelor’s degree in pedagogy of the teaching of Bulgarian and English as a foreign language and a master’s degree in educational management from the University of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria. I received an academic scholarship via the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Programme to study in Spain at the University of Granada, Spain. The years I studied and lived in Spain as a student marked my life in a way that now I love the Spanish peoples, cultures and language as much as I love my own.  

In my home country of Bulgaria, I taught Spanish and English to adults and children at a private language institute and performed a great deal of translation and interpretation work, some of which was for the Educational Department of the Spanish Embassy in Sofia.  

I have always loved my job as a teacher, and after moving to Nashville in 2007 to get married, my biggest hope was to continue to teach Spanish. I am happy to have been a Spanish instructor with the Tennessee Language Center (TLC) since then and to personally confirm what I had heard about the students and the teachers – they are the best! I look forward to becoming part of your Spanish language learning journey and I am excited about every single step of it! 

I grew up in Minnesota and South Carolina here in the United States. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by different languages and aware of the doors that knowing multiple languages can open to new perspectives, friendships and opportunities. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Furman University and had the opportunity to study abroad in Cuernavaca, México, as well as Cuba during my time there. I later earned my Master of Arts and doctorate in Spanish-American literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a specialization in Spanish Caribbean literature. I have also enjoyed using Spanish to help others communicate as a legal interpreter and translator for various businesses and scholars.  

I have over 12 years of experience as an educator in both higher education as well as K-12, and I am currently teaching fifth through eighth grade Spanish at an independent school. I love working with language learners of all ages. My teaching is driven by my passion for language as a tool of communication that helps build bridges between people. With this in mind, my students co-create much of our course content. Their interests and what they want to communicate drive the class. 

As we get to know each other, we enjoy ourselves while co-creating and telling stories, listening to music, discussing pictures and short films, and playing games, as well as learning about the Spanish-speaking world. By using TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) and other methods for delivering comprehensible input in Spanish, I help my students gain the confidence and growth mindset necessary to enjoy the journey of acquiring a second language. Terrible at grammar? Hate memorizing long lists of vocabulary? No worries! If you can speak a first language, and you have the drive, you can speak Spanish! Let’s get started! 

I am originally from Swainsboro, Georgia, and am a proud graduate of the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!). I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish language and literature but originally began speaking Spanish as a child. I also hold degrees in Russian language and literature, Asian languages and literature, and finance and international business.

While in college, I lived and studied business at La Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid in 2018. After graduating in 2020, I worked for three-and-a-half years as a private tutor before joining TLC. I found that I greatly enjoy working with students of all ages and backgrounds. I’ve seen from my teaching experience that anyone with the time and motivation can learn Spanish. I believe that patience and a supportive disposition are the most important qualities of a successful teacher. I can’t wait to start working with you!

In my free time, I love to read (especially magical realism), crochet, dance and spend time with my two fluffy cats. 

I was born in New Jersey, raised in Colombia, and then, later in life, moved back to the United States. I’ve lived in New York, Florida and now live in wonderful Nashville, Tennessee. I have a degree in teaching English and Spanish from Luis Amigó Catholic University, located in Medellín (Colombia). I also have a TESOL certification from Arizona State University. I have worked as a language instructor for more than 16 years in different universities and language centers. In the most recent years, I have had the opportunity to coordinate a language program in a bi-national center in Colombia that was overseen by the U.S. department of State through the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia.

I have taught English and Spanish to youth and adults in different classroom settings, virtually and in-person. I’ve had the privilege to immerse students in the language, making their learning process as real as possible so that they can become familiar with the sounds, accents and culture of both Spanish and English. I love teaching languages. The classroom is my safe space, my temple, my shelter.

I have a passion for classic cruiser motorcycles. I love reading historical fiction and history, especially everything related to the Roman Empire. I enjoy playing and watching basketball, hiking, and trekking with my beautiful wife and my very smart, lovely daughter.

Originally from Guatemala, I studied at Universidad Mariano Galvez in Guatemala and Instituto Guatemalteco Americano where I earned my teaching degree. I have been teaching Spanish and English for over 20 years. I worked as a TEFL teacher and teacher trainer in Guatemala for 12 years.  

I have been a Spanish instructor at the Tennessee Language Center  since 2002, where I teach beginning advanced Spanish and specialized workshops/courses such as the “Beginning Spanish Medical Interpretation Technique” workshop and the workplace “Spanish for Medical Professionals” course at several hospitals in the Nashville area. In addition to teaching for TLC, I do translation work and serve as a Spanish interpreter for the Metro Nashville Public Health Department. I also put my professional skills in medical Spanish interpretation to use as a volunteer on medical missions to Latin America each year. According to some of my students, I am “the most patient man in the world!”   

I enjoy working with all age groups. Currently, I teach mostly adults and adolescents. I teach conversation classes, tutor high school Spanish at all levels and offer custom classes. I draw from my personal, volunteer and professional experiences in conjunction with my students’ personal, volunteer and professional reasons for learning Spanish to provide them with the most realistic and useful scenarios to make learning more engaging and productive. I keep in mind that all my students learn differently, so I provide a variety of activities during my classes to address different learning styles. 

I am a first-generation Guatemalan American, and Spanish has been a meaningful part of my life since childhood. I grew up with Spanish at home with my family from Guatemala and spent part of my schooling in Guatemala City at Colegio Capouilliez and the rest of my time in Los Angeles. I strengthened my academic and grammatical Spanish later on through advanced coursework at Vanderbilt University during my Ph.D. studies.

As someone who learned ASL later in life and now teaches it professionally, I understand the nerves, challenges and small victories that come with learning a new language as an adult. That journey has shaped the way I teach Spanish, because I know what it feels like to be on the learner’s side. I approach every class with patience, clarity and encouragement so students can build confidence and communicate in a way that feels natural and meaningful. In my classes, I focus on practical conversation, clarity, cultural understanding and supportive feedback. I aim to create an encouraging environment where students can feel comfortable, motivated and inspired as they grow their Spanish abilities.

I was born in Cuba and lived there until 2015. I came to the United States at the beginning of 2016. Languages have captivated me since the very first time I encountered English at secondary school. Very early on, I knew I had to choose a path that connected me with a foreign language, therefore I studied to be a teacher of English as a Second Language. I graduated in 1997 and taught English for more than 20 years. I also learned French and taught it for a while in Cuba. I have learned some Portuguese, Italian and German.

In April of 2019, I got my TESL certification at TLC, and soon after that, I discovered the world of teaching Spanish as a second language. It became an absolute new source of inspiration for me. It has made me reflect on so many aspects of my native language that I had never thought of before. I think it is such a rich and captivating language, and I enjoy every minute of teaching anybody that is motivated to express their ideas in Spanish and learn about the Hispanic culture and way of life.

In my free time I love watching good movies, reading, crocheting and dancing.

I am totally fascinated by the idea of teaching people that are interested in learning Spanish, whatever their age, level or interests. It is very important for me to provide a safe and positive environment for students to learn, express themselves and grow in confidence. I find the class to be an incredibly productive space where we all learn from each other.

Hola, hola! I’m Lorena Tillack, originally from Chile. Currently, I teach high school Spanish and work part-time as an instructor for TLC. My passion for learning about diverse cultures and languages naturally led me to pursue a second career in education after spending over 20 years in the U.S. 

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communication, along with a second major in Spanish language. I recently earned my master’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee. In my free time, I enjoy cherishing moments with my family, discovering new places around Oak Ridge and delving deeper into Spanish literature.