Academics

This course focuses on increasing participants’ conversational fluency in English through the lens of American culture. In this course, participants will learn and practice the conventions for conversing in English including language and techniques for turn-taking, giving opinions, agreeing/disagreeing, and interrupting. Participants’ will learn about different aspects of American culture and will be able to compare what they learn to Brazilian culture. The course will also focus on the language of the classroom including the ability to use English to introduce, define, explain and demonstrate relationships among key concepts in the teacher’s discipline.

This course focuses on the Brazilian teachers’ English pronunciation. Teachers will do a variety of exercises to increase awareness of American English pronunciation. They will also work on pronunciation of sounds compared to those of a native speaker. The course includes discussions on what is learned in the course that could be adapted into lessons for their students.

This course focuses on various aspects of teaching such as lesson planning, lesson delivery, and classroom management. It specifically emphasizes issues faced by EFL teachers including managing large class sizes, lack of resources and lack of student motivation. Participants will review literature related to these topics and engage in discussion about how this information can be applied in their own teaching context. Additionally, participants receive lessons and activities that they can adapt for their circumstances and immediately apply upon their return to Brazil. By the end of the course, participants will have developed a portfolio of lesson plans that they can use in their own classrooms as well as share with colleagues.

In this course participants will be introduced to various types of educational technology including but not limited to quizzing and gaming apps, teacher resource sites, and presentation technology such as podcasting and green room presentation. Participants will be able to practice using this technology and can decide how to apply it to their own teaching contexts..

Participants will attend lectures on topics of interest to EFL teachers in Brazil. Sessions will focus on areas of curriculum and instruction for EFL students. Ample time will be reserved for group discussion.