Our Faculty

Our Faculty
At the Intensive Language Institute, our faculty is our greatest asset. Our instructors are all hold advanced degrees and years of teaching experience. These dedicated professionals are personally committed to your progress in learning the language and to making your language learning experience productive and enjoyable. 

Marta Bret
Marta I. Bret received an A.B.D. in French and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of California, Davis, and an M.S. in TESOL from Florida International University. She taught French and Spanish at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and French at Southwest Missouri State University, and Concordia College, where she even used fencing as a means of learning French in the Concordia Language Villages.
After arriving in Miami, Ms. Bret became Executive Director of the Council for International Visitors. Ms. Bret has given numerous workshops and presentations on innovative methodology in English as a Second Language instruction, such as Strategies for Conducting Interactive Synchronous Distance Classes Online, Confident English Communication Through Civics, and Integrating Community Service into the Curriculum. She has organized and led field trips to Tallahassee and Washington D.C. so that ESL students could meet with representatives and directly experience the workings of the U.S. government. Ms. Bret currently is the Program Coordinator at the ILI.

German Pavia
Germán A. Pavía received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN with a major in Latin American economics, political science, sociology, geography, and history. He earned his M.A. at Vanderbilt in History with minors in Spanish and Education. Mr. Pavia taught at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY, but returned to Nashville to become the first male to teach at the prestigious private girls’ school, The Harpeth Hall School. He also chaired the Southeastern Private Independent Schools Board for several years during his tenure at Harpeth Hall. In addition, Mr. Pavía was appointed by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville as the dual evaluator of the foreign language program at both Cumberland High School and at the Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA).Mr. Pavía has studied and evaluated language programs both domestically and internationally.

Mr. Pavía joined the University of Miami in 1989 and has held the titles of Spanish Coordinator and also Lead Spanish Instructor in the Master of International Business program at the School of Business. He has attended seminars and forums for Business Spanish and attended language workshops on communicative methodology at Dartmouth under the tutelage of professor John Rassias. As Spanish Coordinator, Mr. Pavía engaged the adult student community by bringing speakers from the Hispanic business world and diplomatic corps to the University of Miami campus. He has also led Spanish language and methodology workshops for such private institutions as Saint Thomas Episcopal Parrish School and Miami Country Day School.

Esther Tillet
Esther M. Tillet received a B.A.  in Spanish from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras and an M.S. in Modern Language Education from Florida International University, Miami. She also obtained a Professional Educator’s certificate from the State of Florida Department of Education. Ms. Tillet has worked for the Head Start Program as a pre-school teacher in Miami. This federally funded program works with organizations to promote school readiness by enhancing social and cognitive development of children.

Ms. Tillet  taught ESL and Spanish for Miami-Dade College. She also was the coordinator for the Foreign Language Department, where she taught and supervised a variety of language programs and faculty, and attended seminars and workshops on methodology.  She currently teaches both Spanish and English as a Second Language at the ILI.