Lucía Ortega
Spanish · Head of departmentMadrid-born, 12 years teaching. Will make you love the subjunctive.
Ten years of conversations.
Lingua Loft started in 2014 with one Spanish group above a bakery on the Wijnhaven. Today we are 27 teachers, six languages and a community of learners from 60 countries.
Our story
Built by teachers who were tired of textbooks.
Founders Lucía Ortega and Mathieu Laurent met while teaching at a large chain school, where groups had 18 students and lessons followed a script. They opened Lingua Loft with a simple promise: no group larger than eight, and every lesson built around speaking.
We are accredited by Eaquals, an official DELE and DELF exam centre, and a partner of the Goethe-Institut Niederlande. But our favourite statistic is that 71% of students sign up for the next level.
What we believe
Four principles behind every lesson.
Talk first
At least 80% of class time is students speaking — in pairs, groups and role-plays.
Small is better
Max. eight learners, so everybody gets heard and corrected kindly.
Real-world tasks
Order tapas, call a landlord, pitch a project — homework you can use tomorrow.
Measure progress
Fortnightly check-ins and a CEFR certificate for every level you complete.
Inside the loft
Where the magic (and the coffee) happens.
Team
Meet some of our 27 teachers.
Mathieu Laurent
French · DELF examinerFormer radio presenter from Lyon. Runs our podcast club.
Kenji Sato
Japanese · JLPT coachTeaches kana with manga panels and a lot of patience.
Greta Hoffmann
German · Relocation leadHelped 400+ newcomers pass their B1 and survive the Bürgeramt.
Free · 12 minutes
Not sure where you start?
Take our level test and we'll place you in the right group — CEFR A1 to C1, in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese or English.