Vanessa Soares

Olá!

I'm Vanessa and I've been a Portuguese as a Foreign Language teacher for 3 years now. I started teaching English as a Foreign Language in my hometown in Brazil and switched to Portuguese after coming to the US. 

I've just graduated from a Master's in Bilingual Education at UMass Amherst, where I taught Portuguese language courses for 4 consecutive semesters. I hold a BA in Portuguese and English Languages and Literature from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. 

I love languages and teaching them is even better! Music has also a special place in my heart. In my spare time I like to play the guitar, sing and write songs and also watch TV series, such as Jane the Virgin. I love spending time with friends and family and I believe I'm a great cook!

My first lesson is dedicated to know the student better so I'm able to know to which direction I'll conduct the class planning. Student needs and goals are the focus of my class planning and teaching style. 

I believe the best way of learning anything is when students are having fun and experiencing authentic materials; therefore, I make use of task-based activities, which involve students from beginning to end. Likewise, I make use of tons of authentic materials such as songs, videos, short stories, articles from magazines and newspapers, comic strips, and so on. 

I like to say that I use a more communicative approach, but I can use drills, grammar activities, text writing and more traditional approaches if necessary. It all depends on what the student needs and wants. That's why it's so important for me to understand my student - are they heritage speakers?, do they want to learn conversational Portuguese? All needs have different focuses.