SF Language Services

All our teachers are highly qualified native speakers with substantial teaching experience in an international environment. Our goal is to provide the most effective language program possible whilst making learning an enjoyable and memorable experience. We use the latest methods and approaches combined with the latest technology to suit the needs and learning styles of all our students. The most important personal attributes of our instructors are patience, responsiveness and a sense of humor.

Maggi Hrkalovich

Maggi Hrkalovich has a degree in Business and Organizational Communication and more than 11 years of experience in teaching ESL, most of which was gained in Japan where she taught general and business English to learners of all ages. On her return to SFLS with her husband and two children she joined SFLS where she teaches business English and family ESL.   

Cathy Mehling 

Cathy Mehling has taught Business English and Family ESL courses with SF Language Services for over one year. Cathy has extensive experience working with students who are at various stages of their language learning. She has lived and worked in Japan teaching English as a Second Language.

Simone Giles

Simone Giles, a native of Brazil, has been teaching all levels of Portuguese Language for more than 10 years. Her objective is to give her students confidence in speaking, writing & reading. She has neen teaching Portuguese for SF Language Services since 2004.

Conceicao Fonseca

 Conceição Fonseca holds a Master's degree in Education from the University of Lisbon. She has over twenty years' experince of teaching Portuguese at all academic levels from elementary school to adult literacy. After arriving in the United States in 2005 she began teaching and tutoring at SFLS and she is very pleased to be doing what she loves most.

Juanita Furtado

 Juanita is a perennial student of languages including French, Italian, and Spanish. She teaches ESL for SF Language Services in California. She has traveled throughout Europe, the Mediterranean, Central America and the Philippines. Her goal as an ESL instructor is to improve the student’s communication skills and enrich his or her cultural experience as well.

Cynthia Helene Chenut

 Cynthia currently teaches French for SFLS. Fluent in four languages, French, Italian, Spanish and English, Cynthia has studied, lived and worked abroad, offering her language expertise to several different organizations from Univision to the Greek Consulate. In her free time, she enjoys art and traveling.

James Bostick

 James has lived and worked overseas in Venezuela, Indonesia, Cambodia and Mexico. He has also traveled throughout Southeast Asia, South America, Western and Eastern Europe and Russia. Besides teaching ESL for SFLS, James teaches public speaking, small group communication and intercultural communication at Bakersfield College.

Judy Clayton

 Judy moved to Argentina as a child and did not speak a word of Spanish. She returned to the US and earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a graduate program in education earning two teaching credentials. She has traveled to Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Egypt, France, Patagonia, Australia, Italy, and Peru.

Mayada Al-Douri

 Mayada has been an Arabic instructor for SFLS for over two years in Houston, TX. She has a B.A. in Education with a major in English and a minor in art. Born in Iraq, Baghdad, she immigrated to Canada in 1991 where she became a citizen of that country, then immigrated to the United States. Mayada taught English and Arabic in Iraq, Canada and the United States. Having lived in and traveled to different parts of the world has exposed Mayada to different cultures and people.

Mark Bolding

Mark Bolding joined the SFLS team in the summer of 2007. He has over 20 years of experience in healthcare administration, social service and education. From 2003 to 2005, Mark taught middle school English in Eastern China. He is married to a Chinese native and personally understands the immigration system and the challenges of being an expatriate.