Sweet Home Floripa, Florianópolis, Brazil

If you are new to Floripa or to Brazil, you may be looking for a pleasant place to learn Portuguese. Located in the heart of Lagoa da Conceição, The Language Club is a well-established language school with over eighteen years in the business, with many, many happy students from all over the world. Not only does The Language Club (or TLC) offer excellent Portuguese language instruction, but the school also provides the documents necessary for obtaining a student visa.  And if you need it, TLC offers foreign visitors that extra tender loving care: they can find a place for you to stay and even help negotiate your rental contract in the process. Read the rest of this entry »

Many parents moving to a new country face a perplexing problem:  their children, who were doing well in their old school in their home country, now find themselves struggling with a new language, a new educational system, and new pedagogical methods.  Worst of all, many schools are premised on the idea that all students of a similar age must learn the same curriculum and advance at a certain pace.  Those who can’t keep up must stay behind and repeat the year.   Well, what of students who are only just learning the language for the first time?  How do they fit into this scheme?  Are such students, no matter how intelligent, doomed to frustration and poor self-esteem?   Read the rest of this entry »

 We all know that getting ahead and growing professionally as a teacher means linking up with others and exchanging ideas that work. Here in Brazil we are lucky enough to have an English teacher’s association called BRAZ-TESOL that holds a conference every two years and in many different cities all over Brazil.

Founded in 1986, BRAZ-TESOL is Brazil’s largest association of teachers of English to speakers of other languages. A not-for-profit organization with a membership of over 2,000 professionals, BRAZ-TESOL is an affiliate of TESOL International (US), IATEFL (UK) and a member of Southern Cone TESOL (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay).  Read the rest of this entry »

“Observe, value and understand your own experience.” — Adrian Underhill 

In 2005 Kyria Finardi and I founded the New Eyes Teacher Development Group.  What we really wanted when we thought about starting a TDG was to basically gather together like-minded teachers, who were hungry to learn, grow and exchange ideas. Teachers who were searching for something special – a hands–on and practical development group where they would feel supported and motivated and at the same time, a place where they could improve not only their English but also their teaching techniques and where they would learn new skills that could instantly be used in their classrooms. Read the rest of this entry »

So you’ve moved to Brazil in part because you want your kids to experience the richness of another culture and master a second or third language.  But now you worry as your childrens’ reading and writing abilities in English begin to lag behind.  It can keep you up nights…. all that worrying.  What if after all your investment in helping your child integrate into Brazilian culture and speak Portuguese, what if your child fails to learn to read or write in English?  What if–despite all your financial and cultural resources, despite your illuminated global perspective–what if yourchild is illiterate in his or her mother tongue?  

For all you worriers out there– good news! 

This month Escola Sarapiquá is launching an afternoon pilot English literacy program for native English speaking kids.  Taught by Silvana Gili, a specialist in bi-lingual literacy and experienced teacher in early education the classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  Read the rest of this entry »

Are you bilingual?  Trilingual?  Multilingual?  What difference has speaking another language, or not, made in your life?  In today’s globalized world, there is a growing awareness of cultural and linguistic differences and similarities. 

Reynaldo Macías, from the University of Phoenix, Arizona, explains that “nations across the globe are becoming more linguistically diverse as a result of the transnational migration of peoples. Others are experiencing an increase in their language diversity as a result of differential growths of their populations, resurgence of language and ethnic nationalism, language revitalization movements, and the official recognition and promotion of multiple languages.”  Regardless of the reason, the fact is that more and more people are becoming aware of linguistic diversity and the impact that it has in society. Read the rest of this entry »