I have been studying with Alba now for approx. 1 month. I am a lower intermediate lever speaker and am seriously working on improving my Spanish as I need it for work. Alba is by far the best instructor I have ever had. She is very honest and very disciplined. It is obvious that she prepares for each of my sessions. I study with her for 4 hours per day and am usually exhausted by the end of class. If you are serious about learning Spanish, I think you would be hard pressed to find a better teacher. ALSO Alba has raised her price to $6.00-hour.

I am a medical doctor from Austria and I wanted to learn Spanish fast for working in a rural missional clinic in Southern Ecuador. When I arrived in Quito I couldn't speak one word of Spanish, but after 4 weeks of lessons with Alba I was able to communicate quite well and speak with my patients. Besides it was a real pleasure to be with Alba, she is so warm and friendly. And I didn't only learn the language but she gave me an understanding about Ecuador, the Ecuadorian people, history and culture. So if you are looking for an excellant teacher and a wonderful human being I highly recommend Alba.

I remember when I first used this site to find a spanish teacher, I was a little bit skeptical of the ratings for Alba because, although they were overwhelmingly positive, there were only a few of them. But my experience with Alba over the last four weeks has been absolutely phenomenal and has shown the glowing reviews to be entirely accurate. Alba, first of all, is a very warm and kind person. I saw that someone else mentioned that she is very ethical - that´s a great way of putting it. She always makes sure everything is clear, fair, and she never backs off a commitment she has made to you. She also values your time highly so, unlike what I understand can happen at some language schools, she never takes a break that you don´t ask for, she doesn´t kill time with language DVDs, and she takes advantage of every minute of scheduled class time - often beyond that, as well. My experience with her has been so positive that I am currently arranging to extend my time with her beyond what I had originally planned because it is time well-spent.

I know I´ve written a lot but I hope my enthusiam has shown through. The bottom line to me is that there is absolutely no reason to take classes through a school instead of going with Alba. At a school you will pay at least as much money or more, the school takes at least half of what you pay for administrative costs, and the teacher gets the other half - a pittance, really. And it shows in the quality of education you recieve. Or, with Alba, you pay a rate as good as or better than anywhere else, you get a teacher as good as or better than those at any school, and you get one-on-one attention and scheduling flexibility of a private teacher.

As a final endorsement: if you are worried about arranging getting oriented in Quito during your first days when, like I was, you are a bit overwhelmed by it all, don´t think that´s a reason that you need to flee to the security of a school. Alba´ll pick you up from the airport, take you to where you will stay, and all the while she is extremely welcoming and warm. You won´t get a better reception.

I studied with Alba for 6 weeks. She is incredibly professional, punctual, and nice. Even though she has over 10 years' experience, her teaching style remains fresh and full of energy. She took me from a floundering beginner to a solid intermediate speaker within 6 weeks. She is extremely ethical. Her office is a 5-minute walk from Gringolandia. The attention she gave me was easily worth $10 an hour.
Finally, communicating was very easy through her website. Take care and happy learning!

I lived in Quito for a year and studied with Alba for the majority of my stay. She not only has a great teaching technique but is very punctual. She has so much knowledge, using materials to fit any level. We went to many museums and cultural sites as part of my lessons, along with excursion outside of Quito. Ecuador is a wonderful place and Alba is not only a professional teacher, but a very warm person.

I have just finished 10 days of studying Spanish with Alba. I cannot speak highly enough of her, she was a wonderful tutor. She is always able to explain things that I don´t understand, is punctual, and has such a warm nature that puts you completely at ease in her presence. I would highly recommend Alba, and as I´ve shown it is not necessary to study for months, she is really flexible. I also met her family and used her taxi-driving husband, which is really handy.

I also think she is really good value for money, and I am so glad I chose Alba. In 10 days I have learned so much, and am so grateful to Alba for this.

A truly excellant and professional teacher. I found Alba after much searching and attending various schools and lessons with other private tutors. I cannot say enough about her. She is a truly gracious and wonderful professor. There was no question that I posed to her regarding Spanish that she did not answer with great detail. I am very grateful to her patience and dedication to such a high level of quality teaching.