The Experts

Tonya Stalnaker-Tiggett
Principal / Owner and Resident Grammar Guru

When people ask me what it is I do for a living I tell them that I am an adult, five-foot version of Dora the Explorer; Not only am I born to talk and to teach, but I get to have fun in the classroom, while making it an adventure for everyone. Our company culture is this way too – live versions of Dora – people who love to teach language and who make it really fun for you, our client!

What is unique about me (and many members of our teaching staff) is that I am not a Latina, and yet fluent in Spanish. I am passionate, energetic and have a true devotion to teaching and learning. So if I can learn to speak Spanish like Dora, Diego, and Boots– so can you!

Where did my passion for language come from since no one in my family speaks it? I can thank the children’s TV show Sesame Street where I first made the connection that not only did the word “agua” mean “water,” but it was also a word that other people understood – how cool is that?! This opened up a whole new world for me and I became fascinated with people who did not look or sound like me from that point on.

Fast forward to The Ohio State University where I wisely gave up studying International Business in order to pursue a degree in Spanish Education and, where against all financial aid odds, I somehow managed to study and live in Toledo, Spain for 3 months. I was in heaven – the sights and the sounds truly fulfilled my dream at a young age to live in a foreign land. Several years later I was awarded a 3 month position to manage The Ohio State University study abroad program in Cuernavaca, Mexico while pursuing my Master’s degree in Spanish Peninsular Literature. The Cemánahuac School in Mexico transformed my vision of what a classroom could look, sound, and feel like – an adventure in learning every day! It was that environment that I wanted to replicate for students in the U.S. who want to learn another language locally.

In 2003 I founded Speak Our Language and since then have taught over 3,000 adults and children to speak Spanish. The number of years spent in the public, private, university, and corporate classrooms have equipped me to be an expert in creating progressive and relevant curriculums for Speak Our Language programs that meet our student needs. To date I have authored over 15 workbooks that accompany our lessons and have trained 12 instructors for Speak Our Language to use these materials in an immersion like atmosphere for their students.

All these years later I am still fueled with the same passion for learning and exploring as I was as a 4 year old watching Sesame Street, and again as a 19 year old studying in Spain for the first time. It is that excitement and adventure that we offer our clients from ages 4 to 74... a great experience, a unique way to learn a second language, and the ability to actually communicate – all in another language - ¡qué estupendo!

Contact Tonya by email and receive more information about Speak Our Language.

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