Vanessa Lara
About
[4.93 rating over 162 reviews from another lesson platform]
I am a hardworking and passionate ASL teacher! I have my degree in Sign Language Interpreting which has given me the opportunity to expand my skills with ASL. I have been able to work with a wide range of students. From children who are non-verbal, to students and working adults. I am committed to teaching you ASL and will make sure that you are getting the most out of every single lesson with me. All lessons are 100% personalized!
I started working with ASL as a Sign Language Interpreter in 2015. I started teaching ASL in 2017. I have worked at local schools, as well as virtually with schools across the country. I have worked as a private ASL teacher and tutor since 2018. I also started teaching ASL group classes in 2018. I love working with all ages and with people of all backgrounds! I have been able to start with students who have zero knowledge of ASL basics and progressed with them to the point that they are fluent in ASL.
Reviews from Another Lesson Platform
Simply amazing - great teacher and super helpful. Has made this all an amazing experience. Thanks so much Vanessa.
Vanessa was great - super helpful and patient with us both. I am looking forward to our next meeting.
Very good first meeting
Vanessa was terrific! She took the time to understand my goal with the course. She explained things very well and is flexible with the cirriculum. I really enjoyed being able to learn and use sign language to communicate with someone directly versus just watching videos. Looking forward to more lessons with Vanesssa.
Very good teacher!
Vanessa is a great teacher! She is very encouraging, friendly and patient. I highly recommend her.
Vanessa was great working with my two kids. They enjoyed their lesson and are looking forward to the next one!
First session and already feel like I’m learning so much and teacher is very helpful and patient.
Vanessa is a great teacher
Vanessa is wonderful. She is patient, knowledgeable about the language and deaf culture. If you would like to learn ASL in a fun and engaging way, Vanessa is your teacher.
First Lesson went well, Vanessa is a calm and patient teacher that is very knowledgeable.
Great first lesson thanks! Feel very comfortable with Vanessa!
Being an educator myself I highly recommend Vanessa. She does an excellent job on teaching sign language. She is patient and she knows her signs very well and explains it very well.
I am blessed to have found Vanessa as my tutor. She is so patient with me. She makes the lessons fun and I understand her teaching techniques! I hope to continue taking lessons with Vanessa for many months ahead!
Very helpful
Vaness awesome. Great teacher. Looking forward to more lessons! She gave hints as to how to remember signs (very helpful).
Great teacher! She's very patient and reviews everything in the lesson for you, which is helpful.
Vanessa is amazing, patient and sweet. Very knowledgeable. Will definitely continue to take lessons with her.
Vanessa is patient with me. Knowledgeable, positive and friendly. I look forward to take lessons with her!
I had a first great lesson! Vanessa made me feel very comfortable and look forward to learning more at each lesson.
So far, so good
Vanessa was amazing! I can't wait to work with her more and learn as much as I can. She's very down to earth and easy to communicate with. I look forward to more lessons.
Vanessa is the most easy-going instructor. She’s patient and explains concepts in relatable terms. She also makes learning fun!
Very good teacher
I love Vanessa! She is so kind and allows for a comfortable learning environment.
Vanessa is the best!
Vanessa is an excellent teacher! She is very knowledgable and was very patient with all of my questions. I am excited to continue our work together and have the highest of hopes for my learning.
Vanessa is wonderful, and absolutely worked with me. I was fluent as a child, so some things I know, some things I don't, and she quite deftly modified the lesson plan on the fly to fit my needs. Am returning!
Great lesson
We loved Vanessa! Looking forward to continuing the lessons.
Wonderful experience & just enrolled in 5 more clssses
Great lesson
Great first class.
She was so flexible and helpful and made it so easy!!!!
Great first lesson! Can't wait to keep learning!
Vanessa is great! She catered our lessons to my specific needs and made me feel comfortable to ask all questions without feeling rushed. She is kind and patient. I would recommend her!!
She was very helpful.
Vanessa is an AMAZING teacher. She customizes the curriculum based on what I need/want to learn and goes whatever pace works best for me. She's great at teaching and I've learned so much from her in just a few months!
Vanessa has been able to teach me exactly what I needed! I had signed in the past but needed a refresher and to learn updated and professionally relevant communication. I’m looking forward to more lessons with her - they are both fun and informative!!!
Vanessa is a fantastic instructor. Her lessons are well planned out, fun and informative.
I've been taking ASL lessons with Vanessa for over a year. She is patient, friendly, personable and has creative lessons with different themes. She's also very flexible if there are random topics I want to cover.
Mrs. Vanessa is my go to teacher! I am new to signing and she helped me when i messed up. We did ASL conversations and all i could do was "my moms hair is black." She is very engaging! I HIGHLY recommend her. Or join her FREE CLASSES that happen almost everyday!
Really reliable and easy to talk to, really helps to make signs rememberable.
My 6-year-old daughter and I love attending Vanessa's classes! Her attention to student participation and questions is outstanding and her energy makes every moment exciting! We learn so much and have so much fun doing so! we highly recommend her classes!
Vanessa is so awesome! She's very helpful and explains things well. I just started learning ASL and will go to more of her classes!
I always have a ton of fun and learn vast amounts of information. Vanessa is patient and very kind.
Vanessa is an outstanding teacher! She is so patient and kind while teaching and always makes our lessons fun. She also has been customizing our lessons to topics that are relevant to my life and job--which is extra helpful! I would highly recommend Vanessa as an ASL instructor. I always look forward to our lessons and will be working with her for a long time!
I am learning so much! I look forward to this lesson every week. Vanessa is so encouraging!
Vanessa tailored the lessons to my background and experience. She is a wonderful teacher!
I had a great time!
A FANTASTIC teacher! Not only very friendly, but incredibly knowledgeable and great at helping me understand all of the signs and topics we cover. She starts with the basics but sneaks in grammar in a way that you don't even notice you already know it! Highly recommend to anyone looking to learn ASL!
Vanessa is great. I've learned a lot in the few lessons I've taken. She's very personable and patient with me. I look forward to each lesson.
Best teacher for my Girl.
Amazing session! Definitely recommend for beginners who want to learn the ASL language.
I have enjoyed my lessons with Vanessa. As a first time student, Vanessa is making it easy to learn and so much fun! She is an amazing ASL teacher!
Nice to see you again. I am anxious to re learn ASL.
It was a great first lesson and I can't wait to learn more!<3
I've been taking lessons with Ms. Vanessa for almost a year now. She is an amazing teacher. So far, she has taught me very interesting and useful things that I would actually use to communicate with someone. I've learned so much! Totally recommend. 👍
Vanessa is wonderful! I’m 31 years old and just learning for my job and other opportunities. Vanessa is super patient, very intelligent, and mellow. I have several lessons left and plan to have more with her. I feel comfortable asking her any questions that arise. **she customized a lesson for my husband and I because one of our lessons fell on his day off! It was amazing, she catered it to things that interest him and now he is practicing with me at home all of the time. Vanessa is highly recommended by me.
I have zero background in sign language. This lesson was fantastic! Vanessa is very personable and a great teacher. I can’t wait for my next lesson.
My daughter loves working with Vanessa. Said she is learning a lot of signing as well as learning about the deaf community, which she is very interested in
My daughter loves working with Vanessa! She does it weekly.
Making great progress in signing. Thanks so much
Vanessa is an excellent teacher. She presents a mix of vocabulary, explanations of grammar and Deaf culture, and combines it with practice in finger spelling. The lessons fly along and I am learning faster than I thought I would.
Vanessa is the top of the top of teachers ! My 13 year old loves ASL lessons, likes Janet so much, and I can’t believe what my kid has learned !! I can’t recommend Vanessa enough!!
Vanessa is a great instructor; she has taught before and you can tell. She is eager to see you grow in your language skills and will help however she can.
Thank you Vanessa. Looking forward to learning more!
Thank you Vanessa. I like how we are stacking the basics to be ready to move on to more conversational concepts. The concept of "setting up" is very helpful. You are a clear and supportive teacher.
Vannessa is encouraging while doing review of each lesson before we sign off. I like to be able to look back at our recorded sessions as well.
Vanessa is a positive, patient, supportive teacher who makes it fun to learn and supportive in your efforts. This has been a great experience and I highly suggest her style, especially if you are timid and worried about learning -- and over 6o. Thanx Vanessa.
Vanessa is great! She’s patient and thorough. She also provides a lot of insight to the deaf community and situations.
Our very first lesson!!!
She was really patient and helped me when I forgot what to sign.
My daughter loved her first class !!
I can not say enough good things about Vanessa. She has been great with my eight year old son and has taught us both so much. I highly recommend her to anyone and I will continue with her live classes as well. Thank you Vanessa and ******!!
I love ms. Vanessa!
Vanessa is great during every lesson. She is great with my son and is so easy to learn from.
Love it, Vanessa figured out quickly I was not exactly a beginner and was able to adapt the lesson to fit my needs.
Vanessa is great! In just a few lessons, I've already learned more than in local classes I've taken. I can't wait to learn more!
Wonderful teacher!
Exactly what worked for me. Great teacher.
Amazing lesson. My son and I loved it!!!
Amazing first lesson. Very happy!!
Vanessa is a great teacher. i enjoy working with her to learn more about American sign language.
Vanessa is a patient and positive teacher. She structures classes to your style and speed. I am enjoying these lessons more than I expected. She is also flexible if something comes up.
Wonderful teacher. very fun
I recommended that you choose Ms Vanessa .
Your the best ASL teacher I ever had
i love miss vanessa
She was very patient with my inability to connect with her. Then when we did she was friendly and encouraging. Cannot wait for next lesson.
My daughter Lizabelle raved about her first lesson with Vanessa. She's looking forward to the next sessions.
Super helpful! Would definitely recommend.
My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her first lesson with Vanessa and looks forward to taking more ASL classes with her.
I
Just had my first lesson, very happy with Vanessa's organisation of lesson plans!
Very much enjoying the lessons.
Thank you so much!
Shes amazing she has her own ways on how to teach and have the students learn in her own unique ways. Shes the best teacher I love her
Mrs. Vanessa has very good people skills, lots of patience, and gives very good instructions, very clear, and very fun stories and analogies to help remember signs
i love my teacher
Vanessa is an AMAZING teacher!! She is so patient and understanding she knows what it's like to start learning ASL and teaches it so well. I look forward to every class with Vanessa!! HIGHLY recommend her!!!
i like my miss vanessa
I Love American Sign Language Class!
I love my teacher
Vanessa has been a great instructor. Even though we sign up through ******, my computer was acting up from the site and she worked hard to connect with me through zoom. She's on time, explains what we're going to study, gives examples and makes the lessons easy to learn. She's very encouraging, listens well and has a lot of experience, in my opinion at least. I really enjoy being tutored by her.
We really enjoyed Vanessa's ASL class.
Very good on explaining and helping
Vanessa is a great teacher. I really like how this all works :)
she breaks down all the words for me an and she is the best I highly recommend her to everyone
Good so far. My children got right to work and were happy to show me what they'd learned in just one 30 minute lesson.
This was such a great class. I need to get in touch because we had to FaceTime as I could not get into your site. Vanessa was terrific. I can’t wait u til my next class. So glad I found this program. It’s perfect for me
Love her, just need to have video for a less jumpy affect, and so I can hear her better.
My daughter had her first sign language lesson with Vanessa and so far, so good!
Vanessa has been so patient in teaching my six year old. We have both learned so much in just the first five lessons. I love that we can record the lesson and use it to review and practice in between lessons.
I can’t believe how much I learned in one hour. She is so patient and encouraging. Definitely looking forward to studying what I already learned and our next session.
Vanessa is the best!!!!
Vanessa is amazing. So much structure and preperation in her classes.
this is my first lesson with vanessa but I switched teachers because i was not happy with my first instructor and already I love how structured she is and i'm so glad i switched.
👌
Great teacher. I have enjoyed every private and group lesson I have taken with Vanessa. She is very patient with me and is willing to answer my many questions. The review sessions, at the end of the lessons, have been a great way to reinforce the vocabulary and concepts covered during the lessons. I am learning a great deal in a short time thanks to teachers like Vanessa.
I couldn’t ask for a better teacher. Vanessa challenges me and is very supportive. I get the most out of every lesson and am looking forward to our next session.
Vanessa was very friendly and encouraging. She really knows her stuff, both ASL and overcoming technology, when it inevitably fails. Looking forward to the next lesson.
I took ASL classes with Vanessa and I really enjoyed it. She helped me to understand everything I was learning and how to properly sign. She makes learning fun and easy. She’s very dedicated in what she does and I would recommend anyone to take Vanessa’s class.
I loved learning ASL with Vanessa! She’s so patient and funny so I was never bored in her class. I really enjoyed the way she taught and she was easy to understand. I highly recommend her, she is one of the best asl instructors!
My name is Ida Vara. I am 55 yoa. I took a sign language class with Vanessa for 2 months. She is professional and passionate while teaching. The reason I provided my age is because Vanessa Is very versatile. She can teach any age group and not only do you learn but she makes learning enjoyable. At my age it is not easy to learn a new language, however with the professionalism,patience and knowledge Vanessa has anyone even someone at my age can learn. I highly recommend anyone taking her class.
I have worked with Vanessa before, and she is a dedicated worker. She is an excellent teacher, you get to learn a lot from her. She will dedicate her work specifically for each student, and will be committed to them. She is not boring! She is fun to learn from and I definitely recommend her to any student!
I have worked with Vanessa in teaching ASL. For starters, she has a lot of experience both as an interpreter and a teacher. She is down to earth and patient in her teaching style. She also works very hard to reach every student individually which enables her to deliver outstanding lessons! I 100% recommend taking lessons with Vanessa!
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Teaching Style
I am a very flexible teacher. I like to adapt to the student's goals. I use a curriculum based on the student's skills. Each lesson is cutomized to improve different aspects of ASL. Lessons will include vocabulary practice, Fingerspelling practice, receptive, and expressive signing practice. Any students looking for tutoring will have customized lessons based on the ASL level that is being taken. All students will have access to curriculum material and files that will be shared with each student.
These are the ASL Concepts that will be covered in lessons:
Receptive: Students will learn to understand ASL concepts signed to them.
Expressive: Students will learn to sign ASL concepts in a fluid, clear manner. Students will also work on their facial expressions. ASL requires certain facial expressions be used at certain times.
Vocabulary: Students will learn many signs used in ASL. The goal is that a student signs and understands these vocabulary words. A curriculum will be shared to keep track of all the vocabulary words that will be covered in an organized manner.
Grammar: Students will learn the differences in ASL grammar compared to the English Language. The goal will be to change English sentences to match ASL grammar. Students will also be introduced to Glossing to better understand ASL and English grammar differences.
Curriculum
Curriculum based lessons with customization. Any curriuculum files will be shared with students. Depending on each students starting level, they will begin with either the ASL Lesson plan or the Intermediate lesson plan.
I will adapt each lesson to a student's abilities and goals. I may spend extra time on a certain concept, if the student is struggling with it. Some students prefer a fast pased corse, to which I will also change to meet their goals.
Credentials & Affiliations
May 2017- Associate's of Applied Science- American Sign Language Interpreter
November 2017-May 2018- Sign Language Success Tutor
February 2018- Present: Online Private and Group Lesson ASL Teacher
September 2019- June 2021- Virtual Sign Langugae Teacher at BCHA
October 2021-June 2022: Virtual Sign Language Teacher at Eagle Charter School
August 2022- June 2023: Virtual Sign Language Teacher at The Lighthouse School
August 2023-June 2024: Virtual Sign Language Teacher at BCHA
June 2024- July 2024: Virtual Sign Language Teacher at Indian River College
