Liz Thrush
Owner
Liz Thrush founded Be Bilingual Language School in 1989. Thrush studied Interpretation and Translation and served as the director for a language school in Mexico before returning to the United States. After re-locating to Houston, Thrush founded her own language school and began working to develop her own conversational method for teaching Spanish. Due to the high demand for individualized language instruction and Thrush’s extremely high standards for instructors, Be Bilingual has grown tremendously. Today, Be Bilingual continues to successfully teach language skills to students of all levels and walks of life.
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Cheryl Witty-Castillo
Language Program Coordinator
Cheryl graduated from University of St. Thomas in Houston with a degree in International Studies. After teaching English as a second language with multiple non-profit organizations, both in the United States and in Latin America, Cheryl joined Be Bilingual as an English/Accent Reduction instructor and Language Program Coordinator.
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Kathryn Pape
Instructor
I am a native of Newcastle, England; I graduated in 2009 from Trinity University in San Antonio with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Classics. I have several years of experience teaching English as a Foreign Language and Accent Reduction to adults. I also enjoy teaching children from different nationalities. I have taught in Texas, London, and Italy and I am able to teach both British and American phonology. I speak both French and Italian, and my international experiences studying in Grenoble and Rome have given me a passion for teaching languages.
Brenda Rosado
Instructor
Ciao! Brenda Rosado joined Be Bilingual in 2008 as an Italian teacher. Brenda earned a Bachelor of Arts in Italian and Classical Studies and a minor in Art History from the University of Houston. During her college years, she also took Italian courses at the Università per Stranieri di Siena. She is definitely passionate about teaching and learning Romance languages, and is thus currently learning Brazilian Portuguese.
Fabiana Xavier-Parman
Portuguese Teacher
I graduated from Santa Ursula University in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a degree in Law. I moved to Houston five years ago and I have been teaching Portuguese since 2008. I love teaching and talking about Brazil`s culture. My goal is to keep my students motivated and to indentify their difficulties, so I can help them achieve the confidence they need to continue learning.
David Huegel
Instructor
David J. Huegel is a third generation native Houstonian who lived in his childhood and youth in several different cities of Mexico, the Midwest USA, and the Northeast. David took his undergraduate degree in History and Spanish from Houston Baptist University and a Master’s Degree from Princeton Theological Seminary with special recognition in public speaking. His love of people, culture, language, and literature is evident in the classroom, and he seeks to enable his students to enjoy their experience of learning a new language, even as he tailors the instruction to their needs and desires. His public speaking experience makes him particularly adept at accent reduction, but he also excels at teaching practical English, writing, grammar, and comprehension.
Natacha Bellargent-Pimpinelli
French Teacher
A native french speaker, Natacha has developed an original teaching approach—which has been greatly praised by fellow; and more experienced, lecturers—while working with a prestigious French language school. Her approach is based on the principle of teaching by playing: the learner—either a child or an adult—is involved in a playful environment, and absorbs the language while acting as in a game.
Denise Larsson
Instructor
Denise is from the German speaking part of Switzerland and she relocated to Houston 4 years ago. She has a degree in Education and Intercultural Management. Before coming to the U.S., she lived in Dubai and helped local students and employees of German companies to master the German language. Languages in general were always her passion. Her teaching objective is to find out about her students goals and learning styles and guide them successfully through the German language culture.
Elaine Tercic
Instructor
Elaine, a native of Brazil, has been working in some form of Portuguese for 25 years, including teaching and writing, or reviewing professional business texts. Elaine’s teaching objective is to identify the needs of the student and address these in a pleasant, easy and efficient manner.
Ernest Arganous Gobran
Instructor
Ernest, an Egyptian descendent and a graduate of Cairo University in Business Administration, has a passion for the Arabic language. His father, a retired school principal and teacher, instilled this love for Arabic literature from childhood. Currently, Ernest is a writer for a number of Arabic periodicals, an author of book series, as well as an editor for a California based magazine. He loves to teach and seeks to bestow the beauty of Arabic to all his students.
Gaby Cabrera
Instructor
Gaby began teaching English in 1994 at a language school in Mexico City. She followed that experience with another position teaching English at Universidad Autónoma de México, focusing mainly on reading comprehension. She then taught in the Language Department at Instituto Politécnico Nacional. After relocating to the United States, she volunteered her time teaching ESL at the Second Baptist Church school. She then joined the Be Bilingual team and has been teaching with us since 2003. Gaby’s students say that they feel confident and at ease when learning Spanish under her guidance.
Gaby Corona
Instructor
Gaby Corona is an innovative educator, with 13 years of solid background experience and record of achievement within the communication and educational industry. She graduated from The University of Texas at El Paso and became certified to teach by Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. She has been teaching Grammar, Writing Courses, and Oral Communication in English and Spanish to students from various levels and ages. She has received excellent evaluations due to her academic development and student’s
accomplishments. Her goal is for her students to be motivated and content with what they are learning, knowing that she will always be able to intellectually challenge them.
Gloria Ginyovszky
Instructor
Before joining Be Bilingual, Gloria Ginyovszky taught English as a Second Language for seven years at a private school in her native country of Venezuela. Upon relocating to the U.S. Gloria began teaching all levels of Spanish, and has continued to do so for the last eight years. Gloria’s objective is to motivate her students to feel comfortable understanding and speaking Spanish.
Helena Nunez-Mestre
Instructor
Born and raised in Barcelona (Spain), Helena finished a Master’s Degree in Humanities while she was learning German in Tubingen (Germany). Since she was young she has been traveling and experiencing the fun of learning other languages and different cultures. In 2002 she was relocated to Costa Rica and there she began teaching Spanish in a Language School specializing in accurate Spanish pronunciation and grammar. She is also skilled in preparing or translating speeches from English to Spanish or Catalan (both her native languages). She arrived in Houston three years ago, and in 2008 she begun working as a Spanish instructor for Be Bilingual. Helena enjoys teaching at all levels and encourages students to feel comfortable with their learning.
Marianne Kramer
Instructor
Marianne Kramer is a native German, and has seven years of experience teaching German and English to students of all ages and levels. In addition, Marianne has experience in international business development and marketing, and has taught business German to small groups and individuals working for many multi-national corporations. Marianne also works as a translator for German companies and an interpreter at conventions for clients of the German Chamber of Commerce. Marianne is an enthusiastic teacher, and her student benefit from her extensive knowledge of Germany and its language and culture.
Muriel Barriol
Instructor
A native of France, Muriel has more than 10 years of experience tutoring all levels of the French language. She especially enjoys the one-on-one interaction with her students, and helping them gain confidence in speaking as well as mastering the French language.
Jorge Saucedo
Instructor
Jorge studied Spanish linguistics and literature in Mexico. An experienced teacher, as well as a proofreader, editor and librarian, Jorge has also published book reviews, poetry and articles in literary magazines and anthologies. Jorge enjoys teaching Spanish to students of all ages, utilizing Spanish literature and culture to make the classes more fun and engaging.
Piedad Alvarado
Instructor
Joining Be Bilingual from Niteroi City in Rio de Janeiro, Piedade has been teaching Portuguese to adults for over 14 years. To obtain the best teaching results with each student, Piedade adjusts to each student’s unique learning style, pace and comfort level. As a result Piedade’s lessons are successful, enjoyable and stress free.
Simone Giles
Instructor
A native of Brazil, Simone studied Modern Languages: Portuguese - English at Catholic University of Minas Gerais. She has been teaching all levels of Portuguese for more than 10 years. Her objective is to give her students confidence in speaking, writing & reading.
