As the Area Director for San Francisco and Alameda, my goal is to bring quality classes to parents in convenient locations.  But what makes our classes truly successful are our devoted, passionate, and tireless teachers.

Lango's teachers make our classes exceptional. In our selection process, we look for five distinct qualities: native/bilingual fluency, limitless positive energy, creativity, teaching experience with relevant age groups, and outstanding communication skills with both children and families. Beyond these qualities, our teachers bring unique cultural perspectives and professional backgrounds that enable them to create rich, engaging experiences in the classroom.

Cheryl Haga, Director of Lango San Francisco and Alameda counties. Cheryl has worked in the field of education for over a decade in various capacities and settings: she taught high school special education in Oakland, managed the operations of a national intensive summer teacher training program across the country, and was recently the campus director for a post-secondary vocational school in the East Bay. Cheryl's passion for languages developed over multiple cultural exchanges in Italy, during which time she also realized the importance of cross-cultural communication. As a result of her time abroad, Cheryl decided to pursue (and ultimately obtained) a Bachelor's Degree Italian Language and Literature from San Francisco State University. She then went on to obtain a Masters Certification from Villanova and a California Teaching Credential. She is currently working on a graduate degree in Education through Chapman College. Cheryl is thrilled to bring her passions for education, languages, and cultural understanding to children in the Bay Area.

Anna Lee is Chinese and grew up in Korea, moving to Taiwan to study Fine Art at Taiwan University a teaching college. In 1984, Anna moved to Chicago and worked as a Licensed Cosmetologist. In San Francisco, she teaches Mandarin at Lango and works with private clients as well. Anna is finishing her teacher training in Yoga and regards yoga philosophy a way of life. She uses her artistic talent and energy as a way to communicate to the children.

Carolina Flores is a native of Chile and has been living in the U.S for about 20 years. She received her Associate Degree in Computer Business Administration at Heald College in Hayward, CA and obtain a Certificate for Travel Industry Courses at Vista Collage in Berkeley, CA. She enjoys dancing and participates in two folkloric groups; one from her native Chile and the other from Bolivia (El altiplano). She is a creative, passionate instructor, and loves to work with her Spanish students. Carolina brings energy to her classes; her students enjoy playing, singing, dancing and reading in Spanish as well.

David Lang is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and developed a love for foreign languages after growing up in a bilingual household and travelling to Italy ever summer as a youth. All four of his family members are educators, and he has worked with students since volunteering to tutor middle schooler students at the age of 15. David received his Bachelor of Arts in American Studies at Tufts University, and has been pursuing a career in education ever since. He has taught Spanish for two years at Arlington High School, and for one year at Boston Collegiate Charter School. David loves to teach Spanish because it is a fun way to learn about new cultures and to express oneself.

Jung-Chieh (Clair) Ma, a native Mandarin speaker, is dedicated to teaching Mandarin to young children and adults. After gaining her Master's degree in language education at the University of San Francisco, she has been working as a preschool teacher in San Francisco as well as a language teacher in a neighborhood community center. She loves kids and believes that good language teachers should not merely “feed” students with vocabulary. Instead, they should give students a fun and inspiring environment in which they become active, successful learners and discover language through play.

Kelly V Numerov is a certified California teacher with a Bachelor's degree in language teaching from the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia. She loves teaching and has worked with children and adults since she was 16, constantly acquiring more training in the field of education. Her first teaching experience was volunteering to teach reading, writing, chess and volleyball to elementary school children in rural areas of her country. Later, while in College, she participated in several exchange programs and internships teaching foreign language to children and adults in both Colombia and the US, which gave her profound understanding of many cultures. After settling in the US she has volunteered in a public school as a teacher's aide and has given some private Spanish lessons. Kelly is delighted to be part of the Lango team and give her best to her students. She proudly says: “I have seen first hand that giving kids the chance to learn foreign languages and introducing them to other cultures improves their awareness and confidence, and that benefits them greatly as human beings”.

Robertha Hernández is a native Spanish speaker of Chile and has been living in the US for the past two years. She received her degree in Fashion Design while in Chile, and has spent the past two years teaching Spanish to both children and adults. Robertha is extremely charismatic and brings her incredible creativity and energy to every Lango class she teaches.

Judy Wu has been taught languages and trained language teachers throughout the country. She designed and taught language programs for such programs as 100 Families Programs Oakland: Art & Social Change, ABC Language Exchange and the Silkroad Institute. Judy began her career as an ESL teacher in New York in 2000. A native of Taiwan, Judy holds a BA in Studio Arts and Anthropology from CUNY Hunter College and an MFA in Ceramics from California College of the Arts, and she brings her artistic flair and passion to every class she teaches.

Paula Gil is originally from Spain, where she earned a BA in Communication, but has spent the last 10 years in Germany and the US working as a foreign correspondent for several Spanish media. She discovered that teaching was her real vocation with her daughter, who is now a 3-year-old bilingual kid. "Teaching Spanish to children is much more rewarding than any other professional activity I have done before". Paula also works as Spanish head teacher at Beresford Montessori Preschool in San Mateo, where she is in charge of the after-school program.

Sebastian Carrasco Pulgar grew up in the south of Chile, then moved to Santiago to study philosophy at Jesuit Unversity Alberto Hurtado de Chile when he was 18. During his studies, he worked as a teacher assistant for a variety of classes. After college, Sebastian moved to the Bay Area when he began teaching Spanish to adults and children. Upon joining Lango, Sebastian found that our method was as exciting to him as it was to the kids!