Beginner Plus Spanish Online

About the Instructor

Elissa McLean
Founder, Director, and Spanish Instructor

Elissa holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and is a licensed Pre-K–12 Spanish teacher in the state of Vermont.

She began teaching Spanish in 1998 and has since worked with students ranging in age from 3 to 85. Her travels throughout Latin America inspired her both to learn and to teach Spanish. Prior to founding Express Fluency (formerly Escuelita Spanish School) in 2009, she served as curriculum director on the founding teams of two innovative high schools (The Shackleton School and Watershed School) where she developed Spanish immersion and travel programs for students. She led high school students on expeditions to study border issues in the United States and Mexico for six years and currently leads Express Fluency’s travel programs in Central and South America. She has taught students in grades pre K-12 in public and independent schools. In 2013 she lived in Costa Rica, teaching Spanish in a high school semester program.

Elissa is trained in Comprehensible Input (CI) methods including Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling® (TPRS®).

She brings to Express Fluency her passion for travel and cultural exchange as well as her firm belief that anyone can acquire another language—even those who have given up.