Mission
Vision
Valori
Quality
Let’s Speak operates with commercial honesty, advising and directing students in a targeted way to achieve the final result.
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Flexibility in payments and lesson times are an integral part of the service.
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The school’s materials have a low environmental impact because it is essential for us to contribute to the sustainability of the planet.
Let’s Speak is committed to satisfying the human need for contacts and social relationships, bridging the language gap, helping to break down intercultural barriers by creating a link between people. It trains future professionals and provides an additional tool for those already in careers.
“For every new language that you approach, a great opportunity arises.”
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Accessibility,
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Respect
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Dedication
Courtesy -
Honesty
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Flexibility
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Sustainability.
We are in the process of certification for EduQua certified school and our teachers are FSEA certified adult educators. We assess the quality of lessons by receiving feedback from our students at the end of each course. We regularly carry out peer-to-peer evaluations.
We aim to put students at ease with accessible and effective teaching, to achieve the goal, in full respect of cultural differences, dedicating ourselves completely to the learners with dedication and courtesy.
Team
Dominique La Montagna
Head of teaching and teacher.
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Born in England and raised in Switzerland, foreign languages have always been part of my personal journey. After studying German, English, and Arabic at the universities of Turin and Damascus, I worked in various fields before turning my passion for teaching into my profession. In my free time I love climbing, yoga and motorbike riding, as well as playing the piano and writing novels.
Carmine La Montagna
Administration
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Originally from Campania, after high school I embarked on a military career. After training at the recruiting school, I mainly held the position of quartermaster, and this allowed me to acquire various management skills. Over the years I have also participated in several international missions. Since 2011 I’ve been married to Dominique and since 2014, I’ve lived permanently in Ticino. I took a course as a staff assistant and attended Supsi for 2 years. I had a little parenthesis as a broker. Since 2020 I have been following the administrative part of the language school. My passions are marital arts, that I’ve always practiced, cooking, birds, orchids, and anime.
Lucia Tenaglia
English, German, and Italian teacher.
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Yes, I have a weakness for languages! Hi, I’m Lucia, I grew up bilingual, Italian and Swiss German and thanks to my work in the tourism sector I lived in La Gomera (Canary Islands) and Edinburgh (Scotland). After returning to Ticino, I obtained the CELTA teaching diploma and undertook the training of FSEA adult trainer.
Each language opens up a new fascinating and vibrant world of new colours, cultures, people, traditions and music.
In my free time I like to travel, read, and learn new languages. I play the pan flute.
Maike Pfund
German and Italian teacher.
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Hallo! My name is Mike, I teach German and since 2021 I have been part of the Let’s Speak team. I was born and raised in Berlin and learned Italian in middle school in Ticino. Thanks to this experience, I realised that learning a language also means acquiring new ways of thinking. Each language gives us the opportunity to explore the relationships we have with the world and with ourselves. With pleasure I will accompany you too to discover new horizons.
Céliane Maissen
French and Italian teacher.
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Primary school graduate teacher, of French mother tongue and Italian at C2 level.
I am creative, empathetic and will help you effectively achieve your goals, thanks to decades of experience as a teacher in private courses.
My aim is to always keep the motivation of students high with personalised courses and particular attention to the culture around the language.
Sara Perboni
Italian and English teacher.
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I graduated in linguistics from the University of Bologna, and I have cultivated my passion for languages through academic and working experiences in different countries. I then specialised in the field of adult education where I teach English and Italian. Transplanted in Ticino for love, I have lived here for five years with my family and a couple of cats. I like cinema, especially science fiction and, since I have a garden, I enjoy growing vegetables.
Camila Koller
Insegnante di spagnolo, inglese e italiano.
Sono nata a Santiago del Cile, ma sono cresciuta a Losone. Dopo il liceo linguistico mi sono trasferita a Londra, dove ho studiato recitazione alla London School of Dramatic Art e, in un secondo momento, Songwriting all’Institute of Contemporary Music Perfomance (ICMP).
Ho sempre voluto seguire un percorso artistico, ma la fissazione per Londra e per l’Inglese la devo a Harry Potter: oltre ad aver letto i libri più volte, a tredici anni avevo anche imparato a memoria (e recitavo) quasi tutte le battute del primo film, cercando di imitare l’accento e di intuire la grammatica, per poi poter creare le mie frasi. È stato in quel periodo che ho deciso che Londra, un giorno, sarebbe diventata la mia seconda casa.
Dopo diverse esperienze in campo teatrale, cinematografico e musicale (il mio album di debutto è uscito nel 2016 sotto una piccola casa discografica londinese), ho deciso di ristabilirmi in Ticino e nel 2019 ho ottenuto il certificato FSEA1 come formatrice per adulti. Ora insegno teatro, songwriting, inglese, italiano e ogni tanto anche spagnolo. Inoltre ho co-fondato la Compagnia Teatro Thalía e faccio parte dell’organizzazione del Cambusa Teatro di Locarno. Nella mia esperienza ho avuto la fortuna di imparare una lingua straniera attraverso un’attività creativa ed espressiva come la recitazione e la musica e ora mi piacerebbe proporre questo “metodo” anche qui.
Livia Somkuti
English teacher
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I was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a Hungarian family. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Music (Opera) and Italian Studies at Bucknell University in 2018 and am currently completing a Masters in Management at USI in Lugano.
My love and passion for languages stems from singing opera as well as the ability to connect and communicate with people in different parts of the world. I grew up speaking English & Hungarian, learned Italian during college, and am now learning French and German. From 2018-2019, I spent a year as a native English teacher at a high school in Legnano, Italy. It is a joy and privilege for me to help others discover speaking and learning about the English language—I look forward to joining you on your English language-learning journey!
Tatiana Floris
English and russian teacher
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Hello, my name is Tatiana! I’m originally from Russia but since April 2022 I’ve resided in Graubünden, Switzerland.
I started my teaching career in 2012 while doing a Master’s degree at Samara State University, which I graduated from in 2014. I’ve been dealing with various age groups starting from 6-year-olds up to seniors. These days, I’m mainly focused on working with teens and adults, helping them master their language skills.
Teaching is my passion. I truly love what I do. I love my students. I like watching them work and make progress. But most of all, I’m inspired by the idea of contributing to their personal and professional development and well-being.
Kayo Hatakeyama
Japanese teacher
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Born and raised in Yokohama, Japan. Graduated from UCLA, USA. Since then, I have worked in Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Hong Kong, mainly in the fields of sales and marketing and translation.
Now settled in Ticino and enjoy teaching Japanese. I’m also a Japanese presenter for BiblioBaobab, introducing Japanese language and culture to school children. Besides languages, I like teaching in general, including scuba diving, table tennis and cooking.