Portlandia International School Of Languages

Negative experience: I do not recommend this school for anyone for is neurodivergent or has learning disabilities. Neither private lessons nor public ones met my needs, and moreover Walter has said infantilizing comments about autistic people in private. When I tried to communicate my boundaries with him, he made a huge deal out of it. While I could go into private details, for the respect for the man I will not. What I will advise is that you do not sign up for this class if you are neurodivergent in any way.

Fantastic experience: Walter has been my Spanish teacher for several months. He does a great job getting to know his students, and helping them feel at ease. Bonus that he gives us cookies! I enjoy his classes, and the other students here, very much.

Negative experience: I took language lessons for about 2 months from Walter. I paid for the 10 private 1 hour sessions and I always tried to get the lessons scheduled in advance and confirm them with Walter. Despite this, Walter was almost never on time and on one occasion he actually double scheduled and "allowed" me to use one of our private lessons by sitting in on another person's private lesson. After 5 of the 10 sessions that I paid for I let him know that I was going on an extended vacation and that I wanted to continue when I returned. He agreed to this and I thought everything was fine. When I got back I messaged him to continue classes, he was not responsive the first time so I kept trying and he eventually set up another session. Long story short, after the 6th class he ended with a long rant about how ridiculous it was that I expected him to honor his agreement to do all 10 classes after being away for 2 months. I stopped going after that. I do think that Walter is very passionate about his work, but that his work style and personality clashed with mine. This, combined with poor communication skills, made for a very bad experience on my part.

Fantastic experience: Walter is a great instructor who cares, is engaging, fun and is very devoted to the students and the building up the community. I got connected with school through the Portlandia School Meet Up groups that Walter hosts. I felt so welcomed, met great people, and my Spanish improved!

Negative experience: I am about to tell you my honest experience with Walter and this "school" and explain to you why you should completely avoid it altogether. 3 Weeks ago I called this school seeking Spanish lessons. A man named Walter answered the phone and seemed friendly and enthusiastic, and told me to come in that Wednesday, at 230pm , to do an assessment. I reread the date and time back to him and he confirmed. When i showed up at the time he told me, nobody was there. The door was locked, the lights were off, the classroom was empty. I stood outside his office and phoned him multiple times, and got no answer. I left a voicemail, waited 30 minutes, then left disappointed. 2 Days later Walter called me back. He explained that he forgot about our appointment on Wednesday but got my messages (2 days later apparently). I told him it was OK, things happen, and we rescheduled for the next week. We set the day again for Wednesday, and this time for 2pm. He told me he was writing it down this time and he will be there "for sure". The next week I come in, its Wednesday, its 2pm, just like he said. And low and behold, he isn't there again, the school is locked, the lights are shut off, and nobody is around. I again call, nobody answers, I leave a message, and then I wait outside, in the rain, for 30 minutes. Nobody called me back. Walter wasn't there. And there I was, left wondering what the deal is with this guy. I commuted 35 minutes one way, each time, (over one hour round trip). I set aside time from my busy schedule. And I followed all of the instructions on our meeting time. I was eager and excited to meet Walter and learn Spanish. But both times in a row, my time was wasted. My gas was wasted. Walter lied to me and didn't show up. And chain reactively, I left disappointed and in a bad mood. It kind of ruined my whole day especially the second time in a row that Walter did this. For anyone thinking to use this guy as a tutor or teacher, I would advise against it. He may seem friendly on the phone, but for a "teacher" to not be articulate enough to actually show up to the dates that they themselves set, and not have enough decency to call a person back, not only once but twice in a row, is irresponsible. I see other reviewers have had this same thing happen to them. In my opinion this place should be shut down, because I see this is a continuing occurrence with multiple students. Its irresponsible and unprofessional. For whatever positive reviewers their are, they could either be fake, or just caught Walter on his apparent good days that he actually shows up. I don't know what it is, be this is an honest review that I am providing. If you want somebody that actually values who you are, your time, and is articulate enough to schedule the dates and show up to their own set appointments with you, go to a different Spanish school. This place will constantly leave you wondering, is the guy going to show up? is he going to call me back? Is he going to just take my money and flake week after week? I don't wanna see anyone else go through what i went through this this guy. I cannot urge people more to avoid this place altogether.