The People Behind Linguvella
The Linguvella team is made up of linguists, educators and technologists who share a genuine passion for Switzerland's multilingual character. Each team member brings direct experience either living in or teaching across different Swiss language regions, which keeps our content grounded in authentic everyday reality. We are a small, focused group that believes quality and depth matter far more than scale. Our collaborative approach means every course, lesson and exercise benefits from multiple perspectives before it reaches a learner.
Mireille Favre
Co-Founder & French Language Lead
Mireille grew up in Lausanne and spent over a decade teaching French as a foreign language in Swiss secondary schools and adult education centres. She oversees all Suisse Romande content on Linguvella, ensuring every lesson reflects the genuine linguistic character of Western Switzerland. Her particular expertise lies in bridging the gap between standard French instruction and the local French that learners actually hear.
Tobias Brunner
Co-Founder & German Language Lead
Tobias is a linguist from Bern who specialised in Swiss German dialectology during his postgraduate studies at the University of Fribourg. He designed Linguvella's approach to teaching both Schweizerdeutsch dialects and standard written German within a single coherent framework. His work ensures that learners of Swiss German develop practical listening comprehension alongside formal written skills.
Valentina Crespi
Italian Language Specialist
Valentina was born in Lugano and trained as a language educator before working as a translator for cantonal authorities in Ticino for seven years. She brings an insider's understanding of the specific vocabulary, administrative language and social register that Italian-speaking Switzerland uses daily. Her lessons reflect the real texture of Ticinese Italian rather than a generic Italian standard.
Andri Caduff
Romansh Language Advisor
Andri is a native Romansh speaker from Graubünden and holds a degree in Rhaeto-Romance linguistics from the University of Zurich. He is responsible for Linguvella's Romansh content, working to make this minority language approachable and relevant for learners who have never encountered it before. Andri is deeply committed to ensuring Romansh receives the same quality of instruction as the three other national languages.
Selin Kaya
Head of Learning Design
Selin has a background in applied educational psychology and has spent her career designing digital learning experiences for adult language learners across Europe. She shapes the structure, pacing and feedback mechanisms of every Linguvella course to maximise retention and minimise frustration. Her approach is grounded in evidence from second-language acquisition research, translated into practical, human-centred lesson design.