Hello to all the students on Cafetalk.
My name is Rio.
Here, I would like to write and about my lessons, my experiences with the language and my thoughts on the language.
I hope this will be helpful to you.
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【About my lessons on Cafetalk】
As for Portuguese, I offer Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese lessons on Cafetalk.
In my lessons, I teach you to shift your focus to conversation while learning the grammar. This is because Portuguese grammar is considered to be complex and if you don't know the rules of the language, you may get confused.
In my lessons, I generally teach Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese separately.
I mainly teach those who are new to Portuguese or have little experience in using Portuguese.
In addition, I would like to help as many different people as possible with their learning, so please don’t hesitate to send me a message.
All lessons are available for trial lessons as well as repeating students.
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●In general, I try to send a review to the student after every lesson. In addition, the content of the review will depend on the situation, such as summarizing what was discussed in the lesson, introducing helpful videos, and giving advice, etc.
●Due to my availability, I kindly ask that you make reservations at least 18 hours in advance.
(In my Portuguese lessons, I often assign homework, so it takes more than a certain amount of time for me to prepare the materials and for the students to prepare for the lesson. )
●I may send you the materials after you have reserved a lesson. I will try to send the materials as soon as possible, but there may be delays due to various reasons.
●If you are late due to unforeseen circumstances, or if you have to change the date or time of your lesson, please be sure to contact me so that we can make arrangements.
If you do not show up for the lesson, you will be charged the full cancellation fee.
●Please see below for the cancellation policy regarding one-time lessons. For package lessons, I will refund the coupon if the cancellation is made before the lessons start, but I will delete the coupon if the cancellation is made after the lesson starts or if the student does not show up for the lesson. I will not extend the expiration date except in unavoidable circumstances.
●If you would like to record a lesson for review purposes, I will allow you to do so, but as Cafetalk regulations state, please let me know before you start recording.
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【My background】
I majored in Portuguese at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and spent about 10 months as an exchange student at the University of Lisbon, Portugal.
In addition to language courses, I also took courses in the history and literature of Portuguese-speaking countries and the Portuguese language itself.
I then went on to graduate school at another university, where I did fieldwork and interviews with the Brazilian community in Japan, and wrote my master's thesis on their cultural practices.
I have been engaged in Portuguese translation and interpretation for both professional and volunteer work.
As a translator, I have translated public facility brochures, certification documents, and corporate flyers, and as an interpreter, I have attended and interpreted for short-term visitors to Japan.
I have also worked as a production assistant for Portuguese radio programs, checking translations of scripts, and have taught online Japanese courses for Brazilians.
I have had many opportunities to use Brazilian Portuguese in my professional work, but I have also had opportunities to come into contact with Portuguese in Portugal and in African countries.
I stayed in Brazil for about three weeks as a volunteer interpreter for the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics.
As for work, I currently give language lessons on a full-time basis.
I am still learning Portuguese and Spanish.
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【About Learning Languages】
If you want to improve your language skills, it is important not only to take lessons, but also to make an effort to look up unfamiliar words and check your grammar repeatedly.
Language is like a sport, if you find it difficult, you will need to practice more. The more effort and time you put into it, the more you will improve.
I believe that it is important to spend time using the language on a daily basis, not just by "studying" with textbooks and lessons.
You can use the internet to listen to Portuguese news broadcasts, watch videos, read blogs etc. in Portuguese.
It is also very important to have an interest in the culture and society of the country or region where the language is spoken. It is a good idea to find one thing that interests you, and if possible, talk to the local people while you work on it.
In the case of Portuguese, there are Brazilian communities in some areas of Japan, so getting involved by participating in their cultural activities will be the first step to improving your language skills and deepening your cultural understanding.
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I have been working with the Portuguese language for more than 10 years now.
As a non-native speaker and learner of Portuguese, I believe that there are things that I can understand and do together with you.
I hope that my lessons will help you to learn Portuguese and Japanese.
(Revised on February 10th, 2023)
***noharayuki