I help people communicate successfully
in their own language, a foreign language, and across cultures.
Testimonials
“Exceptional bilingual teacher”
It is my pleasure to write this letter of reference for Renata Urban of Urban Training and Services, who has been my German language teacher for over 5 years. I have been taking two courses per week with her—a conversation course for advanced beginners and an advanced course for those who are relatively fluent. I learned German in Austria as a young adult, taught English there as a second language, and work on keeping up with my acquired language.
Renata Urban is an exceptional teacher. In addition to the fact that she is flawlessly bilingual, she is an extremely experienced language teacher who tailors each hour to the needs of the group as a whole, as well as to the needs of the individual student. She accomplishes this during the instruction and afterwards by sending lists of unfamiliar words and phrases as well as grammar reviews and tables as needed. Her tailoring is perfect — semi-structured for the conversation group, and largely unstructured for the advanced group, with intermittent completions or corrections for each. In our groups, we have discussed everything from German short stories, song lyrics and current affairs to culture, recipes and even slang expressions. She has a remarkable ability to explain grammar and vocabulary in a clear and accessible manner. Most importantly, she gives us the opportunity to converse without interrupting. Renata is always punctual, has an active imagination and a wonderful sense of humor. She has been kind enough to help me individually when I requested it. I can’t praise her enough, and I plan to continue with her classes, not only for instruction, but because they are enjoyable.
Please feel free to contact me for confirmation of, or additional information about the above recommendation.
Jane Harris, PhD., Licensed Psychologist, Lic: PY #10080
“Compassionate teacher helping me grow and maintain hope during tough times”
First of all, I want to say that I like all of our lessons with Renata. Every time we meet, I learn something new from the meeting. My level of English has increased so much! The tips she gives me about writing and reading I am using even outside the lessons (such as repeated words or structure of sentence in my own language). Renata and I have studied TOEFL exercises, we have completed many tests and I think that I also have improved my skills in this kind of tests. Moreover, I want to say that I have also learned many new vocabulary words and improved my pronunciation. One of my favorite parts of the lessons is when I have conversations with Renata; I can practice my own skills in speaking, especially with a native speaker such as Renata. Glad that I can share with her some stories and then we can continue to discuss. She is a very great listener and always tries to focus on my topics. With our preparation for the TOEFL exam, we also work on reading, listening and writing. She has given me many good tips and great advice that I am using outside the lessons. I can give a very positive recommendation about Renata as a teacher and as a person.
Anton Rusakevik, Ukraine
“Language Lessons and Global DISC Coaching”
Initially, I just wanted to learn basic German. Renata did it in a very special way. She showed me a new world. Unknown to me, a new culture, and a different way of thinking. That was so appealing that I started asking her to talk with me about communication in English and interaction with people in management. Later on, this converted into a much larger project. Renata was invited to give presentations to people I’m working with, conducted Global DISC assessments, and provided coaching about differences in culture, personalities, and how to utilize best our diversity. She employed a lot of her skills in preparing and conducting (perfectly) those trainings, focusing on every single person of our big team. It was very beneficial then, and still is today, because we are utilizing those tools every day. I cordially recommend interactions with Renata. Even a short discussion with her will convince you quickly that you absolutely need more.
Remi Kaleta, Miltenyi
“Incredibly valuable coaching experince”
Working with Renata over the past two years has been an incredibly valuable experiences. Our sessions covered everything from business and everyday English to pronunciation and public speaking, all tailored to my specific needs. Her coaching gave me more confidence in meetings, presentations, and everyday conversations, while also guiding me in communication and leadership skills. I am truly grateful for her professionalism and patience. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to improve their communication, leadership, and overall professional growth.
Deborah Li, WHB Group, Canada
“Public Speaking and Communication Skills Coach who delivers real results that make a difference in people’s lives”
I approached Renata to improve my public speaking skills and ended up with so much more above and beyond my expectations. I am very comfortable working with my clients one-on-one. But I needed guidance on how to put together effective presentations for webinars and how to improve my public speaking for events promoting my business. Working with Renata has been wonderful. She is an expert in her field, knows what she is talking about, and has provided me with a tool box and insights I can now apply to all my future presentations. Renata is very professional, always on point, and a master of her craft. I feel so much more comfortable creating presentations on my own now, have gained priceless knowledge, and feel more at ease setting up promotional events in the future. But the coaching sessions with Renata have also shown me that there is always room for improvement when it comes to communicating effectively with others and she has given me some great ideas of where I want to be in the future. I look forward to working with her on more topics soon and can highly recommend her services.
“Very competent coach with a versatile skillset”
I have worked with Renata for several months now and I can really recommend her! We have had some English grammar lessons, where we have talked about reported speech, passive voice, tenses, conditionals and phrasal verbs. Renata always prepares her lessons very thoroughly and provides highly useful teaching materials. Besides grammar, we have used our lessons to prepare myself for job applications and the interview process. We went over job descriptions and worked on my cover letter and resume. During this process, Renata has always been a competent and reliable coach and has given me great advice. What can I say: I got a job! In preparation of my first job in the US, Renata and I have had some lessons about business idioms and presentation skills. Furthermore, we have spent some time on intercultural training about working in the US and cultural differences between Germany (which is my home country) and the US. Overall, I can highly recommend Renata! She has taught me important intercultural skills and with her training, I felt much more confident and prepared during my application process. In addition, she is a true expert when it comes to linguistics.
Anna Z. W.
Novi (MI)
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
“Very helpful and insightful coaching experience”
Renata is a wonderful and engaging trainer. She led the staff of our International & Postdoctoral Services Office through the Global DISC training. The session was interactive and informative. We not only learned about how we work together as a team, but about how to better communicate with others by making an educated guess about their DISC profile. Since we work with students, employees, and scholars from all over the world, we found her training extremely insightful and useful. We thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. We spend too little time on our own personal development and self-understanding. The DISC profiles were a great tool to begin to explore our commonalities and differences and to consider how to work better together. Renata is an excellent and engaging presenter and facilitator of discussion.
LD Newman – Tiffany Takahashi – Beverly Tarver
Augusta University (GA)
https://www.augusta.edu
“Amazing Keynote Speaker”
Renata presented an inspiring key note at my company’s annual virtual International Practices and Technology Conference. She captivated over 100 higher ed professionals. As a small business owner, I was so proud to have Renata present. She was flexible with her keynote speaker services and I am forever grateful that she was willing to be part of making our conference an amazing experience. She carefully tailored her presentation to fit our international education audience. I had some key takeaways that have boosted my communications skills with not only people from other cultures but also with my fellow Americans. The scientist in me loved learning about the dimensions of culture and personality and how to make some objective calculations that can help me communicate more effectively. It was especially interesting to learn about the people who developed the theories over the decades and tools like Global DISC. If you are looking for a presentation about cultural awareness for a conference or team event, I personally recommend Renata!
“The best advice I have ever got”
Renata has been my Communication Skills Trainer and Intercultural Coach for the past two years. As an engineer working for multinational financial services companies, my daily job routine requires me to cooperate with professionals here in Hong Kong, but also with people from around the world, e.g. the U.S., London, India, Budapest, Sydney, Taiwan, or South Korea. Considering the cultural differences in the various regions, Renata has provided training session and coaching that has significantly helped me in navigating the challenge of direct and indirect business communication in an international setting.
Given Renata’s previous experience, she is able to comprehend well the challenge in the corporate world and is able to give me to-the-point advice that has helped me and has allowed me to grow over time. I really appreciate Renata’s timely and candid feedback, because this is the only way to increase awareness of my behaviour and avoid miscommunication in the future. This value-added consulting service is one big bonus that makes Renata stand out, as well as distinguishes her training from communication trainings generally available in the market.
Renata continues being my advisor for intercultural communication including topics such as giving feedback, influencing, negotiating, presentation skills, engaging the audience in remote settings, adapting my communication style, and learning how to better read and understand the behaviour and communication style of others.
I have recommended Renata to a number of my peers who are working in similar settings and they have also found her advice very useful. I highly recommend Renata as a communication skills trainer and an intercultural coach. Thank you very much!
Wing-Yan Tam
Hong Kong
“Trusted Trainer and Coach”
As the President and CEO of Song Chuan USA and the Managing Director and CEO of Song Chuan Precision Europe GmbH, I am responsible for the Song Chuan teams in the USA and in Europe. Since Song Chuan Precision Europe GmbH is based in Germany and since I spend a lot of time there, I decided to start learning German. Renata was recommended to me and has provided me with German language training for business and daily life since July 2018. Renata is a highly educated, trained, and experienced trainer who is passionate about languages and cultures. She made me realize that language and culture are undeniably connected and has become my cultural consultant on all things related to German culture as well as other cultures in addition to being my language teacher. Renata has also provided intercultural team building events, such as our annual sales meetings, and has continued supporting me as a language trainer and as an intercultural coach. Her intercultural training is remarkably diverse as it covers North and South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, which is exactly what we need as a global company. Renata is an extremely versatile, flexible, and reliable consultant who adds value to my business and provides customized resources. I can highly recommend Renata as a teacher and a coach to any business that operates internationally, needs to build or manage diverse teams, and is looking for language, intercultural, diversity, and communication skills training.
“Highly recommended Public Speaking and Presentations Trainer”
As the President of Ragold Concepts, the Country Manager for Naturkost USA, and the Sales & Marketing Project Manager of SternMaid America, I am often invited to events as a speaker on the Food and Supplement industry and strategies for the German and the US market. Renata helped me prepare for an important event. She provided valuable input on content and structure for my presentation, worked with me on language and culture specific components of my speech, and refined my delivery by video taping my speech, analyzing it, and making suggestions for improvement. Her professional input has revealed important points I was not aware of, has helped me improve my presentation skills, and has allowed me to gain a totally new perspective on public speaking and presenting in front of an audience. I can highly recommend Renata as a Public Speaking and Presentation Skills trainer. The fact that she is bi-lingual German/ English and has in-depth understanding of cultural differences was immensely helpful, too.
https://ragold-connect.com
www.naturkost-usa.com
www.sternmaid-america.com
“Multilingual Lessons”
Renata helped me over the course of a few years with both German and French. I am an advanced speaker of German and Renata helped with many of the nuances, subtleties and on many cases just general errors that I never learned correctly the first time. As a beginner in French, she was extremely helpful in pronunciation and the use of a number of verbs. Her knowledge of French culture was an added benefit. I would highly recommend Renata, no matter if you are a beginner or advanced language learner.
Mike Gourley
Illinois (USA)
“Deutschkonversationsgruppe”
(German conversation group for intermediate to advanced speakers of German – this group meets on Zoom almost every Friday: 11am – 12pm ET; please contact me, if you would like to join the group)
Renata Urban’s German Conversation Group is thoroughly enjoyable, with a combination of language instruction and conversation. She’s a great teacher, explains things beautifully and is totally bilingual. I have been in many foreign language classes, and this is one of the best.”
Jane Harris
North Palm Beach (FL)
I so much look forward to my Friday German Conversation Course with Renata! Renata has that unique blend of knowledge, passion, humor, pedagogy, and patience that make an exceptional German “Lehrerin”! I also so much appreciate her occasional email answers to my questions. She helps me unlock (“grok”, actually) those pesky German words and expressions. She makes me feel more a collaborator in a project than a student.
Monte Joffee
Brooklyn (NY)
Renata is a very good German instructor as she is very precise and disciplined in her German/ English language building skills using sentence structures, sounds, and comparisons. Renata also, as part of her instruction program, provides her students a post recap of all of the words and key comparison discussed during the session along with follow up learning and practice material to better prepare for the next session. This is invaluable in an online language program and is a great value for the student that normally is not provided by other online programs. Renata has a wonderful Friday group conversation session with all of her advanced level German language students that is fun and informative. There is an extra cost involved but it is nominal. Great value and much fun to be with the group discussing topics in German.
Heinz MacSwain
Glen Allen (VA)
The training Renata gave was excellent. She helped me get better in German conversation and in public speaking. I have to speak in front of 1000+ people in Germany and she was so helpful. I feel like I am a native. Our group conversation with others like me was very helpful.
Roy Igersheim
Rockville (MD)
German Beginners Group (Meetup)
I had a free German Beginners Course on Meetup in 2021 & 2022. Here is what some of the participants had to say about the group course:
Loren
If you want to learn German properly, Renata is your best instructor! As a native-speaker, you’ll get her expertise to help you improve your skills from the basics and beyond. The classes are enjoyable, and the instruction materials used are most helpful in learning this challenging language. Renata is top-notch and highly recommended 🙂
Marjorie
I love Renata’s German beginning classes!!! She is very patient and lets you ask any questions about the lessons. She sends out a review after each lesson. Since I feel very intimidated in learning the German, she makes me feel comfortable and encourages me to keep on trying. I find that her way of teaching is very clear and understandable. Thank you!
Sandra
Absolutely love taking classes through Renata. She is great at answering questions and going at a pace that isn’t overwhelming. Very knowledgeable and welcoming.
Isabel
I’m very pleased with the level of professionalism, knowledge and patience that Renata has. I really enjoy attending her virtual classes and look forward to learning more German with her. I highly recommend her class.
Anna
Wonderful instructor. Amazing learning experience as the classes are well thought out, interactive and the materials sent via email were very helpful for practice. I strongly recommend this class for anyone looking to learn German language.
Ning
Renata is an excellent teacher in German language teaching. Professional, patient, highly organized and welcoming. Enjoy learning with her.
Kimisha
Renata is an exceptional teacher and I love her classes! She’s patient, professional and highly balance in her methods. In her class, she’s always pleasant and encourages her students to learn as she guides them along. I wish we met earlier, I would have had more interest in learning new languages and definitely would’ve mastered German by now. You’re amazing! Dankeschön!
Lawrence
Well focused language training with clear examples emphasizing learning through use. Patient and clear instructor packing a lot in a little time. Good value for the time involved.
“Great online lessons; I learned a lot”
Renata supported me to improve my English for IELTS. This was a difficult goal for me and her lessons have been very helpful for me; I learned a lot. I can notice the big difference between before the lessons and after them. Furthermore, I feel grateful for the knowledge and time she has invested in me. Even though we live in different places, I feel close to her when we have a lesson online. This has been a very positive experience for me. I highly recommend Renata as a trainer and coach, because not only is she a professional teacher but also an expert in IELTS test preparation. I feel that I can achieve a higher score band thanks to the knowledge she shares and her experience in teaching English as a second language. I feel connected with her since the first lesson, which makes me feel very comfortable and confident.
Lourdes Gabriela Campos Quintero
Joliet (IL)
“Language Teaching Expert”
I’m glad I’ve found Renata as my Toefl tutor. She’s very professional and trustworthy. She offered me a number of useful testing skills which quickly improved my testing performance. I believe she devotes tremendous effort to her profession. She’s a language teaching expert.
Jing Z.
Redwood City (CA)
“Exceptional Trainer and Teacher Trainer”
As the Director of Programs and Professional Development for inlingua language schools in Florida, I interviewed Renata in 2010 and hired her as a contract language teacher for the inlingua school in Fort Lauderdale. As a native speaker of English and German, Renata taught ESL group classes for all levels, one-on-one business English and accent reduction courses, and one-on-one German lessons for all levels. Being passionate about languages, teaching, and helping students and having a Cambridge test preparation background from her time in England and Germany, Renata became quickly interested in TOEFL, got trained and certified by inlingua to teach TOEFL, and became one of inlingua Florida’s top TOEFL instructors. According to the Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton school directors, Renata was an exceptionally reliable, knowledgeable, and a highly popular trainer. She took an interest in sharing her knowledge and experience not only with students but also with fellow teachers. Therefore, she became a member of the inlingua Florida professional development team in 2013 and offered teacher training courses on subjects such as Intercultural Communication, The History of Germanic Languages, How to Teach TOEFL Test Preparation Courses, How to Teach inlingua’s GPP and APP Programs, The inlingua Method, and more. Renata was also an approved instructor to conduct New Instructor Selection and Orientation weekends to help select and train new inlingua instructors. Moreover, Renata was an approved evaluator and adjudicator for oral proficiency interviews and level assessments. School director reports stated that Renata was not only a highly qualified, knowledgeable, and trustworthy instructor but also a pleasure to work with. She was known for her passion for languages and intercultural training and equally popular with staff, fellow teachers, and students.
“Professional and fun”
Renata was so well prepared. I felt that I had fallen between the cracks, because I knew too much for a typical beginner’s course of study but fluency was still far out of reach. She spoke to me first to determine exactly what I needed and designed just the right fun and interesting activities that would help me. Now I know I’m going to finally get there. I don’t see how I could do it without her. If you need German language instruction, Renata is an excellent choice. She’s a native speaker with an extensive education and experience in language instruction. You will find her to be very responsive to your needs. When you have questions or need clarification she goes out of her way to present every detail you need and lets you take your time to ensure that you fully grasp and gain command of German. She’s very professional and dependable. You won’t find anyone more skilled at language instruction.
“She’s not just a tutor, she’s my coach”
I hired Renata as a public speaking tutor and she not only provides quality public speaking lessons with full of practical, role-playing practice, but also she coaches me on how to speak and behave in professional environment of “Corporate America”. As English is my second language, soon after our 1st lesson, I realized the benefit. I have taken 3 lessons with her so far and plan to keep taking it once a week.
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
Maki T.
Houston (TX)
“Renata is without a doubt an exceptional tutor”
Renata is without a doubt an exceptional tutor. Except being knowledgeable, she adjusted her materials for me for each lesson. Renata helped me get better at presenting technical material to non technical people, organizing my thoughts, and also with grammar. Renata sees where your weakness are and gives you tools to improve them. She is patient and provides honest and constructive feedback. Renata gave me a lot of support and a list of items to work on. I’m using her strategies daily and I will continue using her services in the future.
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
Vicky B. Simsbury (CT)
“Smart and knowledgeable TOEFL tutor”
For students who are looking for advanced scores; Renata is a perfect choice. She Provides you with practical strategies and sources. She is Highly recommended specially for speaking and writing sections.
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
Massood M.
Marina Del Rey (CA)
“Well prepared and very competent”
During my stay in Miami, I had seven lessons with Renata. We practiced on a lot of different materials for IELTS. She detects and finds the weaknesses of your language and usage errors, and prepares the future lessons materials according to them. As well as her competency on intensive linguistic knowledge, she knows how to approach to a student. I am so grateful that I had studied with her.
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
Kaan S.
Boca Raton (FL)/ Turkey
“knowledgeable tutor, extremely helpful”
Renata condensed and improved my letter of interest to a program. The grammar, wording, and message of my memo have improved exponentially with her assistance. Very knowledgeable and understands how attain your educational and professional goals. Thank you!
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
Joseph W.
Norristown (PA)
“Renata is great”
Renata has been helping me with my English pronunciation and she is really great, patient and very knowledgeable. Renata really takes the time to explain and is very detail oriented. I am very happy I found her.
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
Vania M.
Closter (NJ)
“Great Lesson”
Renata is very knowledgable, friendly, and her teaching style is very effective. I really enjoy our lessons and am impressed with her knowledge of grammar and the English language. Highly recommended!
https://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/LanguageAndCommunication
Jiaxin H.
Duarte (CA)
“Amazing tutor!”
From my first lesson, I feel as if I have learned more in one hour than my actual professor has taught me in the last few weeks. She is very patient and allows you to pick the subjects you’d like to go over. She is very friendly and i’m excited to continue working with her! I highly suggest her for a tutor if you’re in need.
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