Welcome

As this is my first venture into the blogsphere I thought I’d begin by introducing myself and trying to explain what I hope to achieve with and include in this blog.

I’m a British graduate currently living in Duque de Caxias in Rio de Janeiro. Whilst studying for a degree in Spanish and Portuguese I set my heart on Brazil as the destination for my year abroad. Although I left the UK as a student enrolled in a six month exchange program at the University of São Paulo I returned more than twelve months later having stayed in Rio de Janeiro, somewhere I had originally intended to spend only a two week volunteer-tourism holiday before beginning my studies. I had always enjoyed doing volunteer work- having previously participated in projects in the UK, Peru and Mexico- thus I opted for two weeks helping out at a nursery in a favela (shanty-town) community in Rio. To cut a long story short I realised that I would be more fulfilled if I spent my intended time in Brazil not studying but working in a social project. Thus, I convinced my University to allow me to stay and began giving English classes at an NGO in the favela of Vidigal.

My first experience of teaching English was truly a baptism of fire as I was faced with a classroom full of forty students aged between eight and forty years old with nothing but a blackboard, chalk and memories of my own experiences learning a foreign language. I soon realised that the English classes could be much more than just somewhere members of the community went to have something to do and maybe learn some basic English vocabulary. As such I took on a coordination role, transforming- with a lot of trial and error along the way- the classes into a project consisting of four courses (kids, pre-teens, teens and adults) whose objective is to provide free of charge professional English language teaching that allows adults and young people to communicate effectively in English at a high basic level. It goes without saying that English is becoming increasingly more important in modern day Rio de Janeiro, as in recent years the city has been thrust into the spotlight by winning the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic bids, thus dramatically increasing tourism in the city. Therefore an ability to communicate in English boosts employability which, for residents of the city’s lowest socio-economic classes, can contribute to an improved standard of living.

In 2011 I set up an international volunteer scheme for this project; details of which can be found on www.seralziradealeluia.weebly.com which aims to recruit native speakers to teach English as a foreign language to learners of varying ages, promoting an important cultural exchange for both the learner and the volunteer as well as stimulating the professional and personal development of the latter. These volunteer teachers are vital in continuing the project long term.

Although I had always sworn that I would never become a teacher I discovered a talent for teaching ESL and as such obtained qualifications in the area. Nonetheless my true passion lies in socio-educational projects as in my opinion education is the most effective and sustainable tool in narrowing the socio-economic gap in any country. Obviously Brazil presents its own unique challenges and I am by no means idealistic yet I truly believe in investing in education. Although everybody agrees that general standards of learning and teaching, especially in public schools, needs to be improved in Brazil my focus is on teaching ESL. I feel that ELT should be more inclusive here and not limited to those with the financial means to pay a private language course as it could also be massively beneficial to those earning minimum wage (which is currently R$622 or $365 or £207 per month) or less. Whilst I am aware that there are many incredibly important social projects that offer free of charge English classes I also understand that learners have certain learning requirements and that volunteer teachers, although more often than not native speakers, need lots of orientation and guidance to make the classes significant and meaningful.

In this blog I will share with you news from my social projects in Brazil, old and new, and update you on my research into inclusive ELT and dealing with socio-economic differences in learners. As well as this I hope to provide advice and materials for volunteer teachers participating in volunteer tourism projects. 

All that’s left to say is…welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful!