Reviews

Here's What My Clients Say About Working With Me

“I enjoyed the diversity of the materials used in the SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course. The texts and videos were never too long and always pertinent to the topic. What I also greatly appreciated is that the conversations flowed naturally and were not interrupted by grammar explanations or too much vocabulary development.

Thanks to the course I made progress in different areas:

I learned a lot of general and specific vocabulary, especially related to societal problems.
I was prompted to read articles and watch videos that I would not have watched or read without the course. In this way, it triggered some reflections on certain aspects of each topic.
Doing the weekly writing tasks has undeniably helped me to better organize my thoughts. Before my C2 exam, I tried hopelessly to improve my writing skills but to no avail. Thanks to the thought-provoking and engaging subjects and Bistra’s tireless encouragement and feedback, I am now more confident in my writing ability.

I would undoubtedly recommend the SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course to people who want to improve their English speaking and writing skills."

Isabelle Altenbach, France

(Speak Your Mind)

"I´d like to express my happiness for participating in the SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course. It exceeded all my expectations and went beyond learning a list of vocabulary and practicing speaking. It was a safe space to share our deepest thoughts without being judged. As Bistra usually said, there are no right or wrong answers, only points of view.

I´ve learned so many things that opened my eyes, issues that I was not aware of, and stories that sometimes broke my heart. The best part was that I was lucky to share my thoughts with some brilliant, caring, incredible people.

Now I'm more aware of things like coercive control, religious fundamentalism, racism and white supremacy, and the gender pay gap. Because of this course, I am now convinced of the importance of diversity and that all of us need "me time".

The materials chosen for each session were perfect; full of amazing expressions and words to use during the discussions and incorporate into our active vocabulary. The writing tasks and Bistra's feedback have helped me to write more quickly in English, and now writing is no longer a tedious task, but quite the opposite."

Lucia Lozano, Spain

(Speak Your Mind)

"I had the opportunity and the good fortune to have Bistra as an English teacher, and it was a wonderful experience.

She is a competent teacher, very well prepared, available, and very patient. Even the most complex topics become clear, as she explains things in a simple but clear and precise way.

Finally, mistakes are dealt with in a constructive way, as they become an opportunity for learning and deepening knowledge.

Bistra is one of the best teachers I have ever had. With her help, I managed to obtain a C2 Proficiency English certificate."

Desiree Di Raimondo, Italy
(1:1 Exam Preparation)

"Bistra is THE English teacher. Thanks to her, my passion for English took off. Her competence, her dedication, her engaging lessons, her wisdom, and her advice were what helped me not to lose my motivation all those years.

Since the very first lesson we clicked and the thing that impressed me the most was her capacity to put me at ease and to boost my confidence.

Over the years, she has prepared me for three Cambridge exams (A2, B2, and C1), which I passed brilliantly, and these results, in addition to my commitment, are certainly thanks to her. Now, she's helping me ace the C2 Proficiency exam.

Bistra's lessons are engaging and interesting and with her, time passes quickly."

Miriam Rizza, Italy
(1:1 Exam Preparation)

"I have known Bistra for about two years and she was the teacher who prepared me for the achievement of the IELTS certification for the admission to an English university. Given her very high skills and above all her methodology aimed at satisfying the specific needs of any student, I highly recommend attending her courses to anyone who intends to obtain a certification or simply improve their language skills. Personally, I received an incredibly targeted preparation both in terms of the exam tests and in terms of the score I set myself to achieve. I was also provided with remote support via email. Furthermore, the immediate friendship that has been established and seeing her great satisfaction in my progress is what makes Bistra a model teacher most of all. I highly recommend her."

Angelo Frasca, Italy

(1:1 Exam Preparation)

“I feel more confident and more comfortable expressing myself now and I understand authentic videos more easily. I noticed that my listening skills have been improving.

The materials Bistra sent during the Speaking course were very helpful, meaningful, and interesting. We discussed various topics from different angles and more deeply. I liked that she highlighted expressions in articles that we can pay attention to and encouraged us to write them down and use them in the discussions. It was also very helpful that we had the recordings of our lessons which we were able to rewatch after the sessions.

I really like Bistra’s teaching style; she always explains everything clearly and gives extra phrases which are very useful. She fully engages me in learning. She’s a highly professional and dedicated teacher.”

Ramune Mikulskiene, Lithuania

(B2 Speaking Club)

"I wanted to resume and deepen my English and thanks to my sister, I met Bistra, a competent, nice, and fun teacher.

During the lessons, time flies. They are not the usual boring English lessons made up of grammar rules and nothing else. Bistra lets you discover the English culture and helps you to bring the English language into your everyday life. Her lessons are like having a coffee with a friend chatting exclusively in English and, without your noticing, you learn vocabulary, grammar rules, and idioms.

I really appreciated her teaching method and I found it very useful. Whatever Bistra does, she does it with love and she is the first one to believe in you and in your abilities."

Chiara Mallia, Italy
(2:1 B1 Speaking and Writing)

Magdalena Kleppe, Norway/Bulgaria

The SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course delivered on all fronts - content, interesting topics, vocabulary, and a great atmosphere! We had some really engaging conversations, and I found myself devouring the materials and looking forward to the sessions every single week.

The biggest benefit for me was that I was intellectually and linguistically stimulated and got to reflect and discuss deeper topics of interest. I also enjoyed spending time with great discussion partners and got to read and listen to materials that were engaging, exciting, and interesting.

I would highly recommend this course as well as working with Bistra. She was truly an inspiration and offered a wide variety of materials, with content that was engaging and stimulating.

Bistra is an excellent professional and a warm and caring person who genuinely strives to elevate her students' learning experience.

Talita N. Rochetti, The USA/Brazil

I had always struggled to share my opinion, especially on controversial topics, so I felt that the SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course was the safest space I could find to take a step into speaking my mind. :)

The course went beyond my expectations mostly because of the people - Bistra and all my classmates - who were kind, respectful, open-minded and knowledgeable. I loved all the resources shared, which made me eager to learn more.

Now I feel better equipped to talk about certain topics I used to feel really uncomfortable about. My biggest benefits are the people I've met, the new insights I've gained, and the increased confidence in discussing controversial/difficult arguments in English.

I highly recommend SPEAK YOUR MIND as it was a transformative learning experience for me. It gave me much more confidence to participate in deep discussions on deep topics.

Judit Bajnai, Hungary

I joined the SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course to have the opportunity to talk to like-minded people on interesting topics, to improve my English-speaking skills at an advanced level, and to broaden my vocabulary and view of the world.

The course met my expectations 100%. It was really informative and educational. I'm so glad I could find the time and energy to delve deeper into all the topics we discussed.

An extra benefit for me was that I've become more confident in finding and using authentic online resources for my own English lessons.

During the lessons, Bistra conducted each discussion really smoothly, guiding us through the questions gently and without any pressure.

She provided a great model of using the language naturally and professionally.

Yasmin Biavatti, Brazil

I chose the SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course because as an English teacher, I don't have the opportunity to discuss deep, often controversial topics in my classroom, so the vocabulary and structures related to them could have never been learned and used if I hadn't enrolled on the course.

Not only did the course meet my expectations, but it was even better than I was expecting, due to the quality of the suggested materials and the level of discussion during classes. I feel great about it and I am going to miss it.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone who would like to discuss topics that, unfortunately, cannot always be brought into a regular classroom.

Advanced English speakers would learn tons of new vocabulary and greatly improve all their language skills by enrolling in this course.

Livia Borba, Brazil

I joined the SPEAK YOUR MIND Advanced Discussion Course because I needed to feel challenged and linguistically stimulated as an English teacher myself.

I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in speaking English at an advanced level in a judgment-free environment.

As the topics are thought-provoking, the language to be used is likely to be challenging and even the most proficient language user may feel insecure at first.

That's when Bistra will step in to help and make sure we feel confident to keep speaking.

Bistra is a high-level professional whose language skills are outstanding. I feel that she strives to make everyone feel comfortable to speak their minds about even the most controversial of topics.