Our Story
Speak Up began in 2013 with a small team of three teachers offering private English lessons in Haifa, Israel. Over the years, we grew steadily—expanding to preschools, after-school group lessons, online classes, and public elementary schools across our region.
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Today, our team includes 30 dedicated teachers who serve over 600 children each week. Speak Up is known for its outstanding customer service, passionate educators, and a proven method that delivers real results.
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For the past 12 years, we’ve been refining and perfecting our unique teaching method in the classroom. Our founder, Anna Reyes, developed the Speak Up curriculum and pedagogy based on her passion for helping children speak English confidently. Her husband, Cesar, is the artist behind the thousands of original illustrations found throughout the program.
Example Lesson Materials
Our Teaching Method
What Makes Our Curriculum Unique?
6 Key Elements That Build Real Spoken Fluency
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Fluency First:
Our fluency-focused curriculum is taught entirely through oral instruction, reinforced by vibrant images matched with each word that bring meaning and context to the target language.
Why that matters - Printed texts and books, though standard in the West, can sometimes complicate learning in the Global South, where a majority of the population rely on orality-based communication and education.
Full Sentences:
The target language is always presented to the student and elicited from the student in full sentences, not one word at a time.
Why that matters - Learning a second language by meaningful chunks gives students a jump-start into speaking, increases self-confidence, and secretly teaches the grammatical structures of the language without the child realizing it!
Speaking Games:
The lessons consist of a series of playful, fluency-focused speaking games, matched with colorful original artwork that conveys meaning for the target language.
Why that matters - Fluency games promote enthusiastic participation and make the journey fun! Students learn quicker and retain more material when they are captivated in engaging activities.
WiFi & Electricity Not Needed:
The full-color, laminated learning materials we provide are all the tools needed to guide students toward becoming fluent English speakers.
Why that matters - Our method works seamlessly even in remote areas with limited internet and electricity.
Early Start:
The curriculum is designed for use with children as young as 4 years old.
Why that matters - Students who start learning a language early develop a better accent, have fewer inhibitions in the learning process, and gain more self-confidence—the secret ingredient for fluency!
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Reading Not Required:
Spoken fluency is the primary goal of the learning program, so reading takes a secondary place and is not a requirement for advancement in the program.
Why that matters - Similar to how all of us acquire our mother tongue, we learn to speak before we learn to read. Reading (as needed, depending on the culture and context) would play a secondary role and is most strategic to teach once a learner has a vocabulary base of 1000+ words, approximately 2 years into the language learning journey.
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The fluency-first curriculum is a 3-year (30-unit) learning program. Each year consists of 10 thematic units that teach key vocabulary words embedded into target sentences. The target sentences in each lesson organically teach the needed grammar and sentence structure without the child ever needing to memorize grammar charts—in fact, the student may not even realize they are learning grammar at all! At the conclusion of each year, students will have learned to speak using 500 new words and 120-150 target sentences.
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