"For me Bob's passion for opera is a brilliant revelation of his deep appreciation of human values, which inspired all his teaching in class" - Gyula Misi, Permanent Mission of Hungary to the United Nations

"Bob's classes were always pervaded by the things he loved most -and his students felt that love, which enveloped all the language taught, spoken and exchanged." - Jean-Christian Obame, Permanent Mission of Gabon to the United Nations

"I'm sad that Bob is retiring because I think Bob is great! In explaining in class, he always gives us examples from theatre and opera." - Deyanira Ramirez, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the UN,

"I felt so comfortable during his classes and my English knowledge has improved while we were talking about soccer (it was the Soccer World Cup)… He has the confidence of those who have the knowledge, without losing the simplicity." - Elias Martins , Dept. of Peacekeeping

"What I have enjoyed the most about Bob is that he's a very spontaneous teacher. He goes back to the history of England to try to explain concepts or the origins of expressions. I really appreciated when he told his students about his experiences, his personal life. I enjoyed every moment of his classes." - Rosa Funes , United Nations Development Programme

"It is a pity that so many nice and young people suddenly get retired. Mr. Bob Burbidge is certainly one of those who should not retire at all. I enjoyed very much going to his classes… I wish I had had more time for the studying to continue..." - Jana Simonova, United Nations Radio

"For me, Bob is opera in action! He loves opera; he lives for opera; he explains through opera" - Amor Laaribi , Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs

"I remember we always laughed a lot together in Bob's class. And Bob had a nickname for me - he called me "Hoopie-Kinoopie"- --Hobinirina Ravelojaona , Dept. of Peacekeeping

"As a former student of Bob's classes, I am still grateful for the lessons not only in English but also in life experience. Maybe, I could contribute with this short remembrance of those enjoyable lessons: "When I came to New York and started working in the United Nations Secretariat, I wanted to check on my command of English language, so I took a placement test. I was placed into the last level, which was level seven then. I enjoyed the lessons very much and experienced a number of teachers - American, Irish and the last but surely not the least - English - Mr. Bob Burbidge. Bob's English lessons will remain in my memory as a thoughtful transfer of codes, knowledge and culture coded in words in seemingly easy way, but full of meanings, unraveling layer by layer.... but I know that I got a lot from these lessons…"--. Velimir Kovacevic , Office of Human Resources Management

"He was patient with everyone-even with my broken English in his pronunciation class." - Santiago Ramirez , Dept. of Management

"He learned Spanish, French, Russian...and Arabic a little bit...and he likes to travel. He knows about culture. He met his spouse in a Spanish class. They were learning verbs. " - Louis Angah , Mission of Cote d'Ivoire to the United Nations

"He is an excellent teacher because...first, he feels very responsible for his work. He teaches very seriously. I enjoy his work spirit very much. " - Shusen Li , Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations

"It's very easy to be with him. I am familiar with his voice because I have attended two of his courses, Pronunciation Skills and regular Level 7. He's very familiar with the textbook and the work he teaches us. I think he has a very successful marriage. He's only been married once, but he doesn't know why." - Liangfu Zhang , Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations

"He's very easy to deal with. He has a big sense of humour. I appreciate the fact that when he explains something to us in English, he refers to an equivalent in French or Spanish or Russian depending on the student. Also, he travels a lot and brings that experience to the classroom." - Ibrahima Faye , Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations