I have spent 30 years helping my college students overcome their fear of making mistakes and sounding silly so they can embrace the adventure of learning a foreign language and experience the joy of communicating authentically in Spanish.

Now that I’ve retired from the classroom, I teach folks who don’t have enough extra hours in the day to enroll in a Spanish class at their community college and commit 5-10 hours to completing homework every week. And the truth is, for some people, taking a traditional Spanish class is not the most effective way to learn a language. In fact, many of my students at the college likely forgot their Spanish after the course concluded because they ceased to practice it regularly.

Learning a foreign language is a life-long process that is best achieved by regular, on-going exposure to the language and consistent practice. Shorter but more frequent and consistent practice sessions will help you retain what you learned in a course or on a trip to a Spanish-speaking country. 

If you are just starting out, establishing a daily Spanish practice can help you build a foundation and get you ready for regular practice with native speakers in your community or on your next trip abroad. The trick is to engage with the language daily in authentic contexts. Doing grammar and vocabulary activities on an app will only get you so far!

I have found that students learn best when they feel safe enough to take risks, have fun, and use Spanish to communicate authentic messages about their own life in meaningful ways with their family and friends. I would love to help you establish a daily Spanish practice, so you can start your journey to becoming a Spanish speaker!

My Philosophy:

Education

Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from Trinity University and a Master of Arts degree in Hispanic Literature from the University of Texas Austin. She also completed graduate course work in the Foreign Language Methodology in the College of Education at U.T. Austin.

 

Teaching

Cynthia has taught Spanish at the college level for 30 years, serving as a faculty member at Berkeley City College, Santa Barbara City College, Allan Hancock College, The University of Texas at Austin, St. Edward’s University and Concordia Lutheran University.

During a two-year residence in Mexico City, she taught English at the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas.

For six years, she taught in the Spanish Teaching Institute’s summer immersion program in Guanajuato, Mexico and at STI’s teacher training workshops throughout the state of Texas. 

In addition, she served as a certified rater of the Texas Oral Proficiency Test in Spanish, a simulated oral proficiency interview required by the Texas Education Agency for candidates seeking certification to teach Spanish or Bi-lingual education in that state.

 

Publications

Cynthia is a co-author of three Spanish textbooks published by McGraw-Hill-- Pasaporte: Spanish for Advanced Beginners (2009), Metas comunicativas para maestros (1999), and Metas comunicativas para negocios (1998). She recently worked as a consultant to update the seventh edition of the intermediate text, Punto y aparte (forthcoming in 2025).

Testimonials

  • "Cynthia understands how to introduce new concepts so that our minds don’t rebel but, instead, happily accept them. Her methods enable us to make swift and steady progress. Cynthia is a master teacher - she makes it fun and interactive so before we realize it, we are speaking Spanish. "

    Nanou M.

  • "Cynthia is particularly good with concepts that are difficult for English speakers such as the use of the imperfect and preterit tenses, and the use of the subjunctive. She assigns interesting reading and other materials in Spanish that build vocabulary and reinforce grammatical understanding, followed by interesting discussions in Spanish. Cynthia has helped me improve my Spanish and increased my conversational confidence."

    Bob B.

  • "Love Spanish on the Patio! It's fun and engaging! And it doesn't require a huge chunk of time. 10 mins a day for fun activities/homework and we get links to some music too! Perfect for a busy schedule. Can't wait to start the 2nd module."

    Gail H.

  • "Cynthia empowers students of all levels to overcome obstacles and have fun while learning. I’ve taken several classes with her over the last 15 years. She creates a safe and enjoyable environment in which students can go beyond grammar to truly enjoy making conversation. As a credentialed teacher and mid-level Spanish student myself, I highly recommend Cynthia. You won’t be disappointed."

    Simone B.