iHola Sra Hawkey! I wanted to write you a quick note after our online class tonight to say that I’m so glad to be working together again ️ Your energy and love for languages are inspiring, and I think that you’re an amazing human   iHasta pronto! 

Kimber is not only an expert teacher — she’s a force of nature.  She will light up your day with her sense of fun, her laughter, and her engagement in your learning.

Kimber, is simply outstanding!!!  We have formally studied Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin Chinese in our lifetimes, involving nearly two dozen teachers, and she is, hands down, THE BEST!  She makes class FUN and INTERESTING, and she adapts her daily lesson plans to ‘students’ needs and interests…Her personal enthusiasm for languages makes us enthusiastic to learn them too!

Kimber is knowledgeable, charming and engaging. I enjoyed every lesson. She helped me prepare for my international aid work so that I could better serve my patients.

Kimber was my instructor for a 40 hour immersion course in beginner Spanish. She was absolutely incredible, not only because of her knowledge of the language, but thanks to her passion for our class to learn and love what we were learning!  While having fun, we acquired a broad base of vocabulary and forms in Spanish so that I was proficient when I went to Mexico later that summer.   I could actually communicate with people! She was always available after-hours for help or questions, and most importantly, her personal investment came from that fact that she is one of those teachers who cares and loves what she does.  She really wants you to learn and love Spanish as much as she does.  !Con gustol

Sra. Hawkey has worked with my daughter who had been struggling because she was bumped up a level in Spanish.   As a parent of a child receiving her services, I have to say that.Sra. Hawkey is an amazing instructor.  My daughter  raves about how effective she is in bringng the language alive and in helping her learn exactly what she needs to know for her Spanish class this year.  Thanks to her, my daughter’s grades changed to all A’s..

Kimber injects loads of energy into her classes, making them fun. There is lots of laughter and lots of talking. You work hard without realizing it. Even though our intensive, immersion class was four hours long, I left feeling energized, not exhausted. And I also found myself trying to think in Spanish the rest of the day.

I highly recommend Kimber Hawkey who was my French Professor at PVCC in two beginning French courses (101 and 102). Previous to these courses, I had spoken Spanish and was quite anxious about being able to differentiate between the two different languages. Her demeanor is such that I was quickly put at ease in the classroom environment.  Indeed, her perfect level of fluency in the three languages also allowed her to easily explain and compare even complicated grammar topics.  She doesn’t just stand at the blackboard. She engages students to participate. There are songs, group activities, skits, and food. She makes you feel as if you have been to Paris and back.  Even now, even though she is no longer a professor of mine, she will always write me in French, so I am actually still learning from her.

One of the best things about Ms. Hawkey as a teacher is that she truly loves the language and culture and is incredibly enthusiastic about teaching.  Her enthusiasm is infectious, and as a student, I could feel her passion for teaching.   She came into class everyday happy and prepared to conduct the lesson with pertinent activities back by solid knowledge.  What also made her classes so interesting was that she had personal stories from living in France to reflect what was in the textbook.   She doesn’t only teach you the language; she is able to explain cultural realities both in depth and on a personal level.  Her personal experience with the people, the food, the wine, the geography brings life to the course and allows students to better understand the French culture.  In the end, students are motivated to travel in the Francophone world themselves.

Additionally, I would like to say that I have even used her language learning and study methods to excel in my other classes.  As a student who has been in many classrooms, Mme. Hawkey truly stands out amongst her peers.  In closing, I can honestly say that Mme. Hawkey is by far the best professor I have ever had the pleasure of learning from.

As a professor, Mme. Hawkey is extremely organized and caring with regards to her students’ learning goals.

Here are some helpful attributes of her class:

1. “Fiches de vocabulaire”: she’s developed her own system to maximize student mastery of vocabulary. This system involves repetition, writing, and consistent self-testing. She checks these self-tests as part of homework.  By the time the test rolls around, students have learned the vocabulary, rather painlessly, in my view.

2. She assigns note-taking and written exercises, both of which help codify and cement learning. This makes discussions and review more helpful, in that it allows her to concentrate on fine points of grammar in addition to the basics. She often knows the history or tradition behind certain words or phrases. This enhances meaning. Also, she often shares slang, favorite French expressions, or cultural idiosyncrasies.

3. Her Blackboard site offers a variety of links to online tools, photos, links to funny or serious videos.

However, the most effective element of the class is Mme. Hawkey herself.  She has a unique way of communicating her lessons.  In the first class, she brought to our attention the particular way the French “kiss the air,” as they speak, and showed us online videos illustrating this.

Her presence in class is dynamic, energetic, and completely French. Her impeccable French flows from the moment the class starts until it ends. She constantly checks our learning to ensure that our comprehension is where it needs to be, and that no one is falling behind. She emphasizes the need to “think in French,” and I really found that to be true.  By using her vocabulary method, completing the grammar exercises, and paying attention/participating in class, I really started to think in French.  She always encourages us to interpret our daily lives through “French-colored glasses” …in the grocery store, for example.  So, now I always repeat the French words for food to myself while shopping.

Outside of class, she is always there for students as well to suggest further ways to practice.   For example, she suggested helpful techniques, books, and conversation opportunities: she showed me French Netflix films, gave me a plethora of online practice sites, and invited me to her “Cercle de Crèpes” meetups to practice speaking.

It’s obvious that she loves France and the French language; she also loves teaching and sharing this culture. She “positively infects” her students with this enthusiasm for “getting into the skin” of people from another culture. I feel more grounded in French culture and language than I ever thought I would after taking her class.

Betty Joyce Nash

Our class came to the conclusion that KIMBER is an ER verb meaning “to TEACH ENTHUSIASTICALLY”!  So we conjugated her like the active verb that she is!

In Spanish:                                      In French:
yo KIMBO                                         je KIMBE
tu KIMBES                                        tu KIMBES
el/ella/usted KIMBE                        il/elle/on KIMBE
nosotros,as KIMBEMOS                nous KIMBONS
vosotros,as KIMBEIS                      vous KIMBEZ
ellos/ellas/ustedes KIMBEN         ils/elles/ KIMBENT

Previous to my French courses with Mme. Hawkey, I had spoken Spanish and was quite anxious about being able to differentiate between the two different languages. Her demeanor is such that I was quickly put at ease in the classroom environment.  Indeed, her perfect level of fluency in the three languages also allowed her to easily explain and compare even complicated grammar topics.

One of the best things about Ms. Hawkey as a teacher is that she truly loves the language and culture and is incredibly enthusiastic about teaching.  Her enthusiasm is infectious, and as a student, I could feel her passion for teaching.   She came into class everyday happy and prepared to conduct the lesson with pertinent activities back by solid knowledge.  What also made her classes so interesting was that she had personal stories from living in France to reflect what was in the textbook.   She doesn’t only teach you the language; she is able to explain cultural realities both in depth and on a personal level.  Her personal experience with the people, the food, the wine, and the geography brings life to the course and allows students to better understand the French culture.  In the end, students are motivated to travel in the Francophone world themselves.

Additionally, I would like to say that I have even used her language learning and study methods to excel in my other classes.

As a student who has been in many classrooms, Mme. Hawkey truly stands out amongst her peers.  She doesn’t just stand at the blackboard. She engages students to participate. There are songs, group activities, skits, and food. She makes you feel as if you have been to Paris and back.  Even now, even though she is no longer a professor of mine, she  always writes to me in French, so I am actually still learning from her.

In closing, I can honestly say that Mme. Hawkey is by far the best professor from whom I have ever had the pleasure of learning.