Language learning requires an understanding of the culture in which a particular language is used. Of course one must learn grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, but most importantly, one needs to understand  what is behind the language, that is, the culture. Since we can't all travel, and immerse ourselves in another culture, we try to offer what we call  "cultural bites". Small bites are consisted of segments of information created to fill this gap making communication more effective and fun. Check out my posts and keep on learning, you will be amazed how much you will learn over a small period of time.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inside-Culture/350771358390018

A little bit about my life: I was born in São Caetano do Sul, SP Brazil. I started learning English when I was 15 at Cultura Inglesa, a renowned private school. Later I attended Ibero-Americana College graduating as a Translator-Interpreter, specialized in Portuguese-English. I taught English for a year in São Paulo, before I moved to California where I’ve been living  for over 25 years. Here I have created a new life, but I always kept my ties with Brazil. I have been teaching online for about 5 years now.  If you want specifics about my professional experience, I have a full profile at: 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/insideculturelanguages

Come learn with me! Vem aprender comigo!

Learning a language is a constant process, the more you expose your mind to the laguage you want to learn, the faster you will get results. Check my posts on Inside Culture Facebook page for my weekly articles. They are short, easy to read, and little by little you will expand your word power.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inside-Culture/350771358390018

Following my passion for languages, and the new realities of our global economy, I've decided to launch a new online venture offering general Languages Services in Portuguese and English tutoring, as well as translation and interpretations services. My unique proposal focuses on offering an inside view into the Brazilian and American cultures through the lenses of a native speaker. I seek to create even more cooperation between Brazilian and American companies while fostering cultural and language growth among speakers. 

 English Learners:

Cultura: 

https://www.facebook.com/br4sileirissimos/

Radio:

 http://www.radios.com.br/cnt/lista_estados/245/Estados-Unidos

 http://www.npr.org/sections/latin-america/

 http://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/?gclid=CKSV8ourh74CFcJqfgodZn8AMg

BEST shows on NPR:

 http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/

http://onpoint.wbur.org/

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/

News:

 http://www.nbc.com/

 http://www.cbs.com/

 http://www.msnbc.com/

 http://video.pbs.org/program/newshour/

 http://video.pbs.org/program/charlie-rose-week/

 http://www.cbsnews.com/60-minutes/

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/

Music:

 http://www.rollingstone.com/

 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407

 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231/b-b-king-20101202

 http://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx

 http://movies.amctv.com/movie-guide/tim-dirks-top-100/

 http://www.metrolyrics.com/rolling-stone-top500.html

Books:

 https://www.goodreads.com

 https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2681.Time_Magazine_s_All_Time_100_Novels

 http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1578073,00.html

 http://www.englishexperts.com.br/2010/12/13/livros-em-ingles-lidos-oralmente-gratis/

Musicals:

 http://www.chriscaggiano.com/the-100-best-musicals-of-all-time.html

Historical Figures:

 http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/12/the-top-100-influential-figures-in-american-history/305384/

Portuguese Leaners:

Radio:

http://streema.com/radios/Sao_Paulo

http://www.brasilcultura.com.br/

Newspapers:

http://www.guiademidia.com.br/jornais.htm

http://www.guiademidia.com.br/jornaisinternacionais.htm

http://www.folha.uol.com.br/

News:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/

http://g1.globo.com/jornal-nacional/Music, books and art:

http://www.guianews.com.br/

Magazines:

http://veja.abril.com.br/acervodigital/

http://super.abril.com.br/superarquivo/

Variety shows:

http://g1.globo.com/fantastico/

Reference/Research:

http://www.brasilescola.com/

http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/pesquisa/PesquisaObraForm.jsp

http://wp.clicrbs.com.br/sualingua/

http://www.netsaber.com.br/

http://www.wdl.org/en/

http://michaelis.uol.com.br/

http://pt.wiktionary.org/wiki/P%C3%A1gina_principal

http://www.dicionarios-online.com/

http://www.abril.com.br/educacao/

http://veja.abril.com.br/saladeaula/index.shtml

http://www.arteducacao.pro.br/

http://www.arteducacao.pro.br/artistabrasil/artistas_brasileiros.htm

http://www.rivalcir.com.br/frases/

Interviews:

http://www.rodaviva.fapesp.br/

I really enjoyed the lessons with Eliane. I felt pretty as if I were talking to someone I knew from long time ago! It is pretty cool the way she creates a friendly environment and how she combines the review of grammar with a variety of interesting subjects related to current political issues, cuisine, history, life style and many more…Also, she is resourceful since the tips, literature and online tools she recommended are really helpful and support the improvement of my vocabulary, listening and pronunciation skills.

Aristides Lopez, Monterrey, México. (Fevereiro, 2015)

"Eliane's translations are of extraordinary quality. She communicated extreme nuance regarding the English original and did so with conciseness. She had a deep attention to detail, and was diligent with returning the work in the correct format and being on time."Alex Au, Lingo-Live December 2014.

 "I'm pretty sure I was one of the first students of Inside Culture, and I am here today to congratulate Eliane’s teaching skills. Classes are always dynamic, aiming to follow-up the student’s progress, without letting him/her get tired. Eliane always offers drills that aligns with my personality, using music lyrics,  and more. Her translations of terms that are “complicated “ are excellent. At the beginning of course, she makes an assessment to clarify your goals, how do you prefer to learn and more details about yourself. I'm still learning all the time, Inside Culture is fantastic. Ellen Gouveia, Brazil, student, December 2013 "

"I think Eliane’s lessons are great! They are objective, focused on subjects of my every-day life, and with tips on how to communicate formally and informally. Thank you! Hilton owner of “ The Maranello”, Brazil December 2013. "

"Eliane is an excellent professional, with great understating of both English and Portuguese.Her translations, revision and consulting projects are done with excellency. Eliane translated some texts for me in the past, and I recommend her work with confidence. Alessandra Alessandroff, a music teacher, Rio de Janeiro, 2012. "

“I’ve known Eliane for many years now as we worked together at Centro de Comunicação Inglesa, a language school, in São Paulo, Brazil. Eliane is passionate about her work, and her enthusiasm for the English language is remarkable. She is a creative teacher and her lessons are always interesting and full of information. Her calming personality makes you feel comfortable to ask and clear any kind of doubts you might have. I highly recommend Eliane.Rosana Prada,Early Childhood Educator, Canada, 2012 “

“Eliane is an outstanding professional; she has been delightful to work with and has proven to be tremendously competent, intelligent, and conscientious. She worked as a liaison between my Brazilian clients and I ,Willie Lubka, CEO at Global Basis , California, 2013".

Welcome to our reading room, where you can find ideas to enhance your language learning experience. Categories of articles include:

Lesson Samples - a few examples of some prepared lessons

Translation Samples - some examples of translations I have done for people

Languages Tips - Pointers to new learners

What's new? - articles about current events

Videos - some interesting cultural videos

Feel free to browse around and share articles using our social links. Enjoy!

Lessons:

A lesson lasts 45 minutes. First 30 minutes trial class is free! If you pay ahead for 6 classes, a 10% discount is applied. We can always reschedule if something comes up!

• Cancellation: minimum 4 hour notice for a class cancellation, or else you will be charged for the lesson.
• Payments are due up-front 6 hours before a lesson is scheduled and for a minimum of 2 lessons paid per transaction.
• Before each lesson, the student will get an email with a lesson plan, and after each lesson, another email with follow-up notes. Each and every lesson is prepared according to the student’s needs, interests, and requests. Personalized instruction is the core of my teaching style.
• Lessons are divided according to student’s languages skills levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. Student’s levels will be assessed during a trial lesson.
• Beginner’s lessons require less preparation and research than advanced level lessons; therefore, prices vary depending on the student level.

Beginner: $30.00 per lesson

Intermediate: $40.00 per lesson

Advanced: $50.00 per lesson

Translations: 

• Small Documents (150 words or less) are $30.00
• Other documents are $0.35 per word
• Documents to be proofread or edited are $0.20 per word. Please understand that documents translated with tools such as Google translate are very inaccurate; therefore they will be rated as a translation job.
• Words are counted by MS Word so you will have a rough estimated before the job is accepted.
• Some documents require more research and extensive communication between the source and the translator. So, I offer a 50 word free of charge translation sample before I accept a project. If I believe a document requires extra hours of work, my fees may be adjusted accordingly. The same applies to documents that need to be expedited.
• Long documents of 10 pages or more, will require an initial payment once the first 5 pages are completed and turned in back to the client for review.
• Each job will get a quote depending on the level of difficulty and time involved to get it completed.

We are all born teachers. Some choose education as their career and others only discover their mission when dealing with the task of helping their own children become human. To simplify: we are born people, but we became humans. Yes, we humanize ourselves as we interact with others. As we coexist we develop educating each other. And, in doing so, we can recognize our primary vocation: to be educator. We educate ourselves and others constantly (the ones close and even the ones afar), day after day. A demanding activity that often goes unnoticed.

During special annual dates, we pay respect to those fostering our education: Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Teachers'Day. However; on the other days, we forget the responsibility that is to be in front of each other. Being human in all our wholeness, including the lights and shadows of our humanity. No dramas. No martyrs nor Saints. Only people seeking to grow through life and find the meaning to their own existence.

Family and school have an essential role to play since they are social institutions that represent the accumulated knowledge of education – whether based on theory or on practical grounds. Family is the first place for education. At home, we are welcomed and cared for. So much love and dedication is given to a child at this stage! Without this utmost dedication, where would we be? We're here because someone cared for us, with their best and their worst (the entire package comes along). No matter how hard we try though, we cannot fool ourselves. We must recognize the challenges that exist in ourselves. I would like to talk more specifically about this “emotional baggage” we reach out and use everytime we interact with each other: our strengths, beliefs, hopes, values, actions and conversations.

Our words are extremely formative: they build and destroy beautiful things. What we want, what we think, the goals and priorities we set, our weaknesses, fears and sorrows. All, I repeat, all make who we are. We share this unique disposition that we are made of with all we meet. Many times, we are can control ourselves; we camouflage and omit certain facets of our being, but not for long. But to do it so deliberately requires hard work and mastery. Maybe some people can actually do it. But time and cohabitation are our faithful friends and they reveal everything. Sometimes, the truth is reveled suddenly and all at once; other times, it reveals itself slowly, little by little. But, if we reflect on our joint responsibility as educators, we should conclude that is up to us to review our own predispositions. What are we carrying around in our “baggage”? Which "journey" or "adventure" are we bring along? Which "memories” do we have? Is it something that we have inherited from our families? Or are these memories or something we had learned in childhood?

We need to seek self-knowledge so we can recognize our own characteristics and attitudes, as if you were doing an inventory before moving from our home’s: oh look, I found this and that; look at all this stuff is inside me! It’s my emotional baggage. Be careful though with self-judgment: there are no victims nor slayers. Otherwise, our energy would dissipate in this endless duel that goes on in our minds. When we move, we can always review what we really want to continue to carry with us. Lot of things in this analysis won’t even be noticed during “the inventory”. Phew! We can't handle so much consciousness! We still have a life ahead of us to find ourselves. Otherwise, what fun would that be? It's almost like knowing the end of a movie before we could see it.

Things unrevealed are kept in a more hard-to-reach compartment called the unconscious. Handling such deep emotions requires much work and determination, in some cases, finding someone more knowledgeable about the human behavior maybe be necessary. But, let's look at what you find in your baggage. What do I want to save? What can be left behind? What can be returned to its original owner?

For awhile now, I returned borrowed stuff I have accumulated along the way; these things no longer fit me causing only unnecessary weight in my luggage. This cleanup work is arduous! And during my thirties specially, such cleanup work seems to be the keynote of my “grown-up" years. However, it’s undeniable such cleanup process is extremely beneficial to human life, as it helps us to get down to the basics. The essential is profoundly enlightening.

Besides, it releases the next generation from pondering about unimportant things so they can pursue greater tasks. Maybe intense examination is the task for the new generations. After all, they are the "reviewers" of our script and our history. They will continue on from where we left off, or perhaps they will be working on what was passed on from our ancestors. They will continue the story in way they want or are capable of. However, we can give them a precious contribution by evaluating and reassessing continually what it’s worth preserving within ourselves. That's why I say that the future belongs to adults. If we keep what is essential, we will keep in our luggage only what is worth carrying.

Then, if one day they call us conservatives, we can respond calmly: thank you. And return a smile with satisfaction. Our task as educators is being recognized! And if we are called a rebel or transgressive, be thankful, for the new is being reborn in us. Being different from the way our parents were, or not doing what is expected of us, it's not being an ingrate. It's a blessing. A sign that we are closer to our own authentic shelf. However, this result will only be possible if we go down the road of self-knowledge and self-learning. Then we will know who we are and what we can offer as service to others and the Earth.

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