Teaching Experience (see student testimonials)

Inglês Essencial (owner), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — 2000-present

Inglês Essencial is an English teaching company providing specially tailored lessons to individuals and small groups in Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

  • Individual, small group instruction to professionals, executives, students, young learners;

  • Focus on authentic content use: online articles, TED talks, podcasts; students are encouraged to bring relevant materials of their own to class for discussion and examination, etc.;

  • Classes prepared with individual needs in mind and tailored to target specific aspects of English, whether fluency or precision; speaking, writing, reading or listening;

  • Emphasis on verbal production to help increase confidence and reduce inhibitions while speaking;

  • Averaging 20-25 individual students at any given time, many of them continuing for 2-3+ years, with new students exclusively through word-of-mouth referrals.

 

One World English, Rio de Janeiro — 2013-2015

One World English is a small English language institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, providing superior language instruction and specialization in IELTS preparation.

  • Individual, small group instruction to professionals, executives, students, young learners;

  • General English focus using Face2Face Course Book for intermediate and advanced students;

  • Created situations for students to use relevant English - using Skype to call hotels for reservation information or restaurants for menu information, talking to my American parents;

  • One year focusing on young learners (3 year-olds) using all-English communication, arts and crafts, dance and play.

 

Meuingles.com Online English Lesson Content Production — 2007-2009

Meuingles.com is an online language course designed specifically for Brazilian users. Currently there are more than 25,000 users.

  • English language podcast content production for 500+ lessons ranging from elementary to advanced, in Portuguese and English;

  • Interaction with colleagues to produce audio podcasts, and accompanying written content, to present language topics for each lesson;

  • Audio production and editing for the online lessons;

  • Online live webinar production, including with guest teachers.

 

Centro de Cultura Anglo-Americana - CCAA, Rio de janeiro — 1997-2000

CCAA is one of the most well-known and nationally recognized language centers in Brazil, with hundreds of locations in Brazil and around the world.

  • English Teacher: taught mixed classes of younger learners and adults using CCAA pedagogic material and methodologies;

  • Assisted in teacher training through the Accent Reduction and American Slang programs;

  • Audio Production Director: Worked with other voiceover actors, many of them younger kids, to produce in-house audio content used for CCAA teaching purposes (2005-2007).

 

Other Relevant Experience

Vocalize Language Solutions (Owner) - 1997-present

  • Voiceover actor (narration and dubbing) - Providing English language narration for a wide variety of needs (commercials, presentations, online videos, trailers, case studies, call waiting, etc.) from a broad client base, including Petrobras, Vale do Rio Doce, NBC Universal, Johnson & Johnson, Metrô Rio, and others;

  • Translation: Portuguese to English translation for a wide variety of documentation and also media content, including subtitling of films and documentaries.

 

Professional Dog Trainer - 1997-2007

  • With a focus on behavior modification using positive reinforcement methods. Excellent understanding of underlying animal behavior modification theories and practices. This is relevant because human English students are animals, too! Championed the development and construction of first-ever community dog park in Brazil by petitioning the City government.

 

Education

  • TEFL Certification: International TEFL Academy 170 Hour Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) & Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) 

  • Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ - BA in Spanish Language Studies, 1996-1997 (graduated)

  • Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain - Spanish language studies, 1995-1996 

  • Washington & Lee University, Virginia — general credits, 1993-1995

 

Skills

  • Languages: English (native), Portuguese (fluent), Spanish (intermediate), French (basic);

  • Audio and Video editing skills fluent on most Adobe platforms including Premiere, Audition, Dreamweaver and Photoshop;

  • Excellent on most computer platforms including Microsoft and Apple, with excellent competencies in both’s word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software;

  • Competent web page design and creation, with some HTML coding knowledge.

 

References

Jason Dunham: Employer at One World English

Mateus Moretto: Client from Visorama and Private Student 

Marilena Damiani: Private Student

Isabel Capistrano: Private Student

Ilana Kauffmann: Private Student

PROFILE

I am passionate about teaching the English language. I love how it works, how it quirks, its bits and pieces, its simplicity and its complexity. I have been involved professionally with English for the past twenty years, as a private English teacher, translator, voiceover narrator and dubber, online course content producer, vlogger and blogger. I have had the great privilege to teach hundreds of students, accumulating thousands of hours of teaching experience with learners of all ages, levels and competencies.