The beginning

I started studying the English language in 1993 when I was 11 years old. I remember that it all happened by chance. My mother had gone to a language school to enroll my sister in an English class.  After returning home my mom realized that I was really sad because I wanted to learn the language too, so she enrolled me as well. The funny thing is that my sister did not study English for a whole year, and I finished the entire course in 5 years.

 

The language school was Wizard Rondonópolis.

                                                    My State

 

My teacher was excellent, and I feel very fortunate to have had such a great English teacher. He was very funny and knew how to involve students. We are still good friends today.  I adapted so much to the method that in less than a year I could communicate satisfactorily in English. My interest in the language grew fast as I listened to American music and watched American movies. 

 

  

Bon Jovi - Always

This Romeo is bleeding
But you can't see his blood
It's nothing but some feelings
That this old dog kicked up

It's been raining since you left me
Now I'm drowning in the flood
You see I've always been a fighter
But without you I give up

Well, I can't sing a love song
Like the way it's meant to be
Well I guess I'm not that good anymore
But babe that's just me

Yeah
I Will love you, babe, always
And I'll be there forever and a day, always
I'll be there till the stars don't shine
Till the heavens burst and the words don't rhyme

And I know when I die you'll be on my mind
And I'll love you always

Now your pictures that you left behind
Now your memories of a different life
Some that made us laugh
Some that made us cry
Why they made you have to say good bye

What I'd give to run my fingers through your hair
To touch your lips to hold you near
When you say your prayers try to understand
I've made mistakes I'm just a man

When he holds you close
When he pulls you near
When he says the words
You've been needing to hear
I wish I was him, cause those words are mine
To say to you till the end of time

I Will love you, babe, always
And I'll be there, forever and a day, always
If you told me to cry for you, I could
If you told me to die for you, I would

Take a look at my face
There's no price I won't pay
To say these words to you

Well there ain't no luck in this loaded dice
But babe if you give me just one more try
We can pack up our old dreams and our old lives
We'll find a place where the sun still shines

I Will love you, babe, always
And I'll be there forever and a day, always
I'll be there till the stars don't shine
Till the heavens burst and the words don't rhyme
And I know when I die, you'll be on my mind
And I love you, always.....
Always.

 

Guns 'n' Roses - Patience

 

First contact with a native-speaker

      In 1994, my family received a Rotary exchange student from ST1 st="on" w State>Michigan. She stayed in my house for 6 months and taught me several words and grammar points.

      In the beginning she was really spoiled and did not show much interest in learning Portuguese.  

"I hate Brazil, I just feel happy here when I watch cable TV."

 

          But this was great for me because I could practice my English a lot with her. 

While things worked really well in the language course, my classes at my regular school were unbearably boring. The English teachers had bad pronunciation and little knowledge about the English grammar, so during the classes I took the time to mess around or do exercises related to other subjects.

 

"Répi Bãrdei tuiú, Répi Bãrdei tuiú"

 

Leaving Home

Many people in my town move to big cities when they finish high school in order to study at good universities.  This led to me moving to São Paulo in 1999 after promising my dad that he would not have to send me any money because I was going to get a job to support myself.

 

São Paulo

      As I was unsuccessfully trying to make money to pay my rent, I decided to send a résumé to one of the Wizard schools in São Paulo. I did not have much hope of getting the job due to the fact that I had no idea on how to teach English to anyone.  Soon after submitting my résumé, I received a phone call for a job interview, which made me happy and frightened at the same time.

      The interview went well and I soon started to teach a few groups of students. I fell in love with teaching and started to receive more and more groups. I was also taking classes to prepare myself to study at USP at the time, but then I quit them to work full time at Wizard in order to make more money. After a year, I went back to my hometown and kept on teaching. In 2001 my family moved to Belo Horizonte, and in 2003 I passed the vestibular for Letras.

 

Studying at UFMG

O p> 

During the course at UFMG I got really interested in Phonetics and Phonology, and some day in the future I intend to pursue a Master’s Degree in the area.

The Literature courses are also excellent because we learn a lot about the history of English-speaking countries.  Besides we can broaden and enrich our vocabulary, develop understanding of narrative structure and we are given models to be used when we write independently.

I love the course, I just wish I had more time to study or work on a project, but unfortunately I can’t afford just studying. I have to work as well.

                                         

      After I graduate I intend to spend a year in the US to improve my English. I have always had foreign friends, and the contact with the language is essential. New expressions and slang come up every day, and it is very important to catch up with what is going on in the English world. I try to do that through movies, listening to radio stations from different parts of the world www.radios.com.br, and watching my favorite shows on T.V.  

 

       

      I love teaching and  I cannot imagine my life without my classes and my dear students!!

 

 

 

 

Interesting links for English teachers:

 

http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/handbook.htm

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet_for_English

http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/chapter1.html

http://thesaurus.reference.com/

http://www.4aesl.org/

http://www.sk.com.br/sk-make.html

http://www.webster.com/

 

 

      Renata Pessoa da Silva