Cactus Language

I took a beginner level class at their gleaming new Brooklyn Heights location, with its sweeping views from the 34^th floor. My instructor was excellent — friendly and highly skilled thanks to many years of teaching languages here and abroad. Based on instruction and facilities alone, this could be a 4 or 5 star rating.
However, it can be extremely frustrating to continue on to the next level at Cactus for less popular languages. While I understand the need for minimal enrollments, the staff at Cactus does little to encourage current students to book the next levels. Simple queries to staff regarding the next session’s dates are met with such passivity and uncertainty as to discourage immediate enrollment. In a city with plenty of language school options, Cactus needs to step up its game or seriously contemplate eliminating less popular languages from its curriculum if it isn’t genuine about facilitating students’ development.

I started speaking in French during the first week, greatly impressing my French friends. My Level I teacher, Paul, (who incidentally is Italian) responded well to the needs and requests of the class and kept it interesting, while giving us a nice base to work from. I noticed improvement in each of my classmate’s pronunciation as well as in mine. I took the 5-​week class with 2 classes per week, and I have already signed up for Level 2. Naturally there a lot of intricacies that will come up as I continue learning, but it has been an impressive beginning.

I took a Level 1 Portuguese course and really enjoyed it. The price is the most reasonable of all schools I’ve found – no hidden registration or additional fees for a book. My instructor Camila was really great. She was always prepared with additional exercises to supplement the book. The class size was small which was perfect for encouraging speaking and interaction. The facilities are also really nice.
My only complaints are that the text is not very thorough, so it’s difficult to go home and do a lot of studying on your own. And I was really disappointed when I registered for Level 2 and the course was cancelled because there weren’t enough students. I understand why they have class minimums, but I also can’t go back if they don’t offer the course that I need. So if you’re looking to take languages that are less popular, be prepared that you may not be able to advance. This is the only reason I wouldn’t give it 5 stars.