Hatfield Language Lessons

Xavier University University Chorus; 2004-2009; Xavier Concert Choir; 2004-2009; Vocalist with Recording Artist: Josh Jones Nu Horizon, New Orleans, Louisiana; Vocalist with Recording Artist: Bishop Alvin Davis & Company, Baldwin, LA; Greater St. Stephan Gospel Choir and Praise Team; Background Studio Vocalist for Ebony Lockett (2009), Community of Faith Praise Team, 2012-2013

Currently, I sing at many venues and with various groups throughout Houston area. In addition to all of this, I also perform a great deal of gospel music on the praise team at the Community of Faith.

As you can see I have a great deal of experience and expertise different genres, and I look forward to sharing my knowledge with my students.

*** Lesson Details ***
To my future students:

I sit down at our first lesson to make a Custom Lesson Plan for what you want to study and goals you want to achieve.

I want to help you reach your goals and make you happy as a singer, so I am open to teach you anything no matter how little/much experience you have.

Next, we will pick a fun area to work on, and a challenging area to conquer. For example: we will work on a fun song then we will work on reading and/or rudiments.
I am also very patient and flexible to those students whom have special needs, or need to accelerate at a slower pace.

“Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.”- E.Y. Harburg

*** Studio Equipment ***
Living room: keyboard, stands, music books, additional seating for parents.

Vocal Studio: Practice room, piano/keyboard, music stands, chairs; waiting area with television for parents/guests; security system; recording equipment

*** Specialties ***
CLASSICAL MUSICAL, GOSPEL, NEO-SOUL, JAZZ

imal Planet. Her vast theatre credit highlights include “Tango Fever”(TeatroLaTea, NYC), “Buried Child” (Aaron Davis Hall, NYC); ”Objectivity”(FischHouseThtr, SF), ”Scheme of Things”(El Portal Thtr, LosAngeles), ”Light in the Shadow”(The Complex, Los Angeles).
Prior to returning to New York in the Spring of 2012, Teresa dedicated her dance career to a tango dance partnership in Warsaw where she performed, toured, taught, and also stepped in as a dance consultant to the 2011 winners of the Polish edition of "Dancing With The Stars."
After her time abroad,Teresa taught/choreographed/performed full time in NYC until 2015. She is now based in her homestate of Colorado. Frequently she is a guest judge for Dance Competitions across the country.
In addition, Teresa has launched a series of specialized dance programs (“Slippers to Heels: Ballet Technique & Tango Stylization”), Choreographic and Acting intensives, and specialized workshops for professional/pre-professional dancers. She is a proud member of the Actors Equity Association.

out.

If primarily you just want a good grade in your class, any tutor would probably suffice, including myself. However, I am really excited about teaching ones who would really like to learn to dominate the language in a short period of time. I really believe that in 14 weeks if you have the right attitude I can give you all the tools you need to be able to become a fluent Spanish speaker without the need of a tutor anymore. Just to give you an overview about the difference in the way I would teach you and the way most others would is that I will focus on helping you to be able to CONJUGATE verbs in all the various necessary tenses as quickly and easily as possible so that you can get to the conversational stage of Spanish quickly. Once you can conjugate verbs, you can converse, and from there you will naturally be able to learn other things (the alphabet, numbers, time, phrases) that most teachers spend a lot of time on in the beginning. This error in most people's method of teaching is part of the reason why it is extremely rare to find an American who can speak Spanish to the point that many native Spanish speakers can't tell he or she is American. I know exactly how everything connects from English to Spanish and the best way to explain it because I've already been through it and have succeeded.

I'm 29 years old and have been tutoring/teaching for over 10 years. I've tutored at Barkely Elementary School in Phoenixville PA, at Phoenixville High School, at Barnard College in the NYC, and for a company called "Ivy League Tutors" in NYC where the only tutors were students of an Ivy League university. My approach to teaching Spanish is different from most. Most harp on the fact that memorization is not the most important part to learning a language, that you can learn by conversation instead. However, if you never memorize the verb conjugation patterns in the beginning, you will never reach the conversational stage of Spanish. That's why in other countries there are jokes about Americans speaking Spanish that center on two things: 1) their terrible accent and 2) their inability to conjugate verbs correctly. So, instead of focusing on teaching you numbers, phrases, and vocabulary in the beginning of our lessons, I will focus on teaching you to do something that rarely Americans learning Spanish can do, conjugate the verbs in ALL the various necessary tenses. Once you can do that, you will actually be able to form your own sentences and practice the language by speaking, that is, more naturally learning the other parts of Spanish. But it all starts with the verb conjugations.

Reviews

Featured Review

Hands-down, the Best Tutor I've Ever Had!

I've been having tutoring sessions with Austin for the last couple of weeks now and I can already see an improvement in my ability to understand and speak Spanish. He's a highly knowledgeable and patient tutor, and even when I make a mistake, he'll explain what to say and then connect it back to what we're already talking about. In that way, Austin is also really thorough, and makes sure that I understand a concept before moving on to something new. I also found his teaching style to be unique and really helpful, in that we'll actually have a conversation in Spanish, which would lead to a lesson or how to fix this or that. Although somewhat unorthodox, I found it extremely helpful, since I not only learn grammar, or verb conjugation, but I actually get to practice what I learned in real conversation. Since I've always been one to focus on the real applications of things, using real conversation is really helpful and makes the lessons all the more engaging and exciting. The pacing of lessons is also really nice and I'm often surprised by how much we actually cover in an hour every week. He's, hands-down, the best Spanish tutor I've ever had and I'd highly recommend him to anyone trying to learn or become better at Spanish.
— Shadman, 51 lessons with Austin

More reviews from Austin’s students

Austin was Knowledgeable and Patient with this Parent Too!

Since my 7th-grade son was unavailable for his second session, we discussed my son's year-end school progress report for Spanish instead. Austin explained several strategies to enhance his grammar development, and some challenges with his current school's approach with which I agree. We are planning to continue with Austin to further my son's Spanish during the summer. My son thought very highly of his first session with Austin too.
— Lorri, 2 lessons with Austin

Great Student Tutor

My son has been working with Austin for the last 5 months learning Spanish. He is a beginner speaker of the language. He looks forward to his sessions with Austin. Austin is very patient and has a great way of working with him to learn to speak basic conversational Spanish. My son can engage in basic conversation - "Hi. How are you? What are you eating today?" And lately, he's been practicing past and future verb tense which he's still learning but has picked up very quickly. Thanks Austin!
— Daphnee, 17 lessons with Austin

Very Patient and Encouraging

Austin really takes the time to ensure that I understand the material before moving forward. I was able to to put sentences together after just the first lesson. Austin is a really patient instructor who listens very well to his students. The best way to learn a language is by speaking it and Austin expects this during the lessons, but he is far from intimidating. I sincerely look forward to our sessions every week. Would definitely recommend!
— Ronald, 9 lessons with Austin

First lesson very promising

My son had his first lesson with Austin and it went extremely well. Austin's explanations were clear, concise and easy to follow. He made it very interactive and engaging which was extremely helpful.
— Althea, 10 lessons with Austin

Patient, pleasant, non intimidating

First lesson was not stressful at all even though this student is hardly proficient in Spanish. I cannot speak a word of Spanish and now feel hopeful that with Austin's tutoring I will be able to converse in Spanish.
— SHARON, 15 lessons with Austin

Great first lesson

Austin had a great first lesson with our son. He is patient and listens and teaches well. My son enjoyed his lesson and is looking forward to his next lesson with Austin
— Ryan, 6 lessons with Austin

Through, Well Paced, Knowledgable, Encouraging

Austin is a great tutor. I am a teacher and I can see that Austin has a natural flow for teaching like myself. It is refreshing and exciting to work with someone who knows what they are doing. I am mostly self taught up to this point but I believe Astuin will take my learning and language acquisition to the next level. But as I know and as he knows, YOU have to work hard!
— Matthew, 26 lessons with Austin

Great knowledgeable tutor

Austin is a great, patient and very knowledgeable tutor. Not just he speaks Spanish but he can explain stuff very well and totally into detail which is so important. I have had only a couple lessons with him but I'm excited to learn more! Recommend
— Zuzana, 2 lessons with Austin

Great tutor! Very patient with kids!

Austin helped my kids (2nd grader and 6th grader) understand Spanish and he made it seem very easy to learn Spanish! We are excited about our classes with Austin.
— Stephanie, 2 lessons with Austin

Very helpful, passionate and encouraging

If you want to learn how to converse with someone in Spanish, Austin is the tutor you're looking for. I've had 5 lessons with Austin so far and it's been terrific and I certainly look forward to having more "conversations" with him in Spanish. Verb conjugations can be confusing but Austin explains them very well and makes you keep practicing/using those words that at one point you just start saying things without thinking too much and they turn out just fine. Apart from his teaching style, I can also tell that he's a very passionate and experienced teacher who encourages you to be confident and willing to learn more. The lessons are fun and engaging, I would definitely recommend Austin as your Spanish tutor.
— Sojeong, 21 lessons with Austin

Knowledgable and friendly

Austin's classes are informative and clear, and he provides many helpful tips for learning about spanish grammar and sentence structure.
— Meghan, 15 lessons with Austin

So much better than trying to figure it out on your own

So, I come with a little vocabulary under my belt. Nothing too extensive but enough to make my point when traveling. In my first hour with Austin, I refreshed a lot and learned useful points like important parts of conversation that we use often - future tense and verb combinations.

I have been studying with Austin for several months and my Spanish and understanding is so much better. This is an appointment I hate to miss!

This is the first time that I've felt like I will be able to gain knowledge, practice and get better. I like how he teaches - for me I need someone to speak so I can make the association from paper to verbal. I can tell his teaching method is going to be the key to my success with Spanish, along with my dedication to practicing and building my vocabulary outside of his lessons.

I'm glad I went ahead and signed up. If you need help making connections in Spanish, Austin is your guy.
— Christian, 12 lessons with Austin

GREAT!

Austin is terrific. He explains the language very clearly and not in the confusing way of some college/high school Spanish teachers. He is very well-informed on grammar. He's enthusiasm really keeps you focused. I would strongly recommend using Austin!
— Elizabeth, 3 lessons with Austin

Excellent Tutor

Austin is an excellent tutor. I am very weak in Spanish and Austin is setting me up to be conversational. His lessons are strategic and well planned. The order in which he teaches makes sense and builds on previous lessons. In term of personality he is welcoming and makes you feel comfortable. I would recommend Austin without a doubt.
— Andros, 8 lessons with Austin

Really helpful, encouraging and patient!

Don't be daunted by learning Spanish - Austin is here to help. I am really enjoying my classes with him - he explains things very well and seems to gauge the exact speed for my learning path. I recommend him!
— Rose, 11 lessons with Austin

Fun and Challenging

Austin made the subjunctive tense easy to understand.
Lessons are fun, challenging in a good way and have helped to build my conversational skills.
Thanks Austin!
— Hyacinth, 7 lessons with Austin

Best and reliable Spanish tutor!

Austin is my daughter's Spanish tutor. He is a great tutor. My daughter has learned a lot from Austin. Best of all, he is very reliable and flexible with time. I can't be any happier. I highly recommend Austin as your Spanish tutor.
— Lena, 184 lessons with Austin

Great tutor

I and my husband just had our second lesson with Austin and we think he is great. His method is certainly different and he explains things well. Also he is fun and patient. He encourages you. We are happy to meet him.
— Pinar, 6 lessons with Austin

Fantastic Spanish Tutor who really can connect with students

Austin is a wonderful tutor for my 15 year old son. He connects with my son like a big brother, making the lessons fun, but also structured. The hour flies by and everything is covered. My son is doing much better in Spanish due to Austin's great tutoring.
— Julian, 3 lessons with Austin

Knowledgeable and Informative Tutor

Austin has been able to clarify some very troubling areas for me in Spanish 3. I believe that my Spanish grades will definitely improve due to Austin's tutoring.
— Peter, 2 lessons with Austin

Great tutor

I recently started having tutoring sessions with Austin. Our tutoring sessions are online. I live in New Jersey and he lives in Belize. The first session he had me speaking Spanish. I definitely recommend him to anyone looking for a tutor.
— Tamika, 31 lessons with Austin

Excellent teacher

Austin is extremely knowledgeable, patient and encouraging. I spent a lot of money at a private four year university and he is still one of the best teachers I have ever worked with! Highly recommend.
— Jayme, 15 lessons with Austin

Very thorough!

Austin helped me to better understand the verbs "estar" and "ser". As a tutor he desires to help you reach your personal best. I feel like I am on my way to becoming a fluent speaker with his help.
— Angel, 6 lessons with Austin

Passionate, patient and easy to work with

I have been working with Austin for about 5 consecutive weeks now. He is very knowledgeable of the language, very patient, and encouraging His approach is rather unorthodox whereby he begins with verbs and their conjugation and slowly helps you incorporate them into complete sentences. This approach really works for me as I'm the type of student that wants to know the "whys" as I find understanding the "whys" speeds my progress. "This is how it's said so repeat after me" is not the approach that suits me best. Austin's style comforts me as I don't feel stressed by being thrown into speaking Spanish without any background or reasoning. I'd had tutors who force students to speak only Spanish during the lesson. This is a great style of teaching but it doesn't work for me as I found it stressful and not very fun. I am sure Austin and I will get there but understanding that all students are different, he's going at a comfortable and reasonable pace while "pushing" me just enough. As I learn to conjugate more verbs--something he explained the importance of on day one--my confidence increases as I learn more verbs and nouns. I am walking around the house creating short sentences in Spanish something I didn't think I would be able to do or have the confidence to produce this soon. His lessons are engaging and he's very encouraging. I look forward to Austin's continued tutelage and HIGHLY recommend him to help you learn Spanish no matter what your current level is. Austin es un tutor impresionante.
— DeVan, 46 lessons with Austin

and New York. I was an recipient of the outstanding student presentation award at the CMS Great Lakes Regional Conference, 2014.