Your host and teacher is Marleen Couwenbergh, a native from Antwerp, Belgium, who has been living and teaching in Ecuador since 2012.

 

 

Marleen is now permanently based in Vilcabamba, where she runs her language school, having spent many years guiding tour groups and traveling through some of the remotest parts of the world, including Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, India, Nepal, Cuba and Latin America.

 

 

In addition to her passion for travel and remote locations, Marleen is an avid writer and reader of Latin American literature. Her academic credentials include a strong background in accountancy and a Masters in Latin American Literature and Language with her major thesis in Ecuadorian literature.

 

 

Her teaching style favours communication rather than traditional reading and grammer, giving her students ample opportunity to learn the basics quickly and move on to intermediate classes within a short time frame. Her fluency in English and Dutch, as well as Spanish, helps give students the essential feedback they need to progress rapidly.