Portuguese and English Language Tutor Renato

I am a Brazilian-Canadian living in Vancouver for nearly 16 years. I am a Certified Translator in Canada (Portuguese ↔ English), as well as a Court, Medical, and Conference Interpreter. 

Academically, in Brazil, I initially studied Biology at UEG (Goiás) before going to UNICAMP (São Paulo), where I completed a Bachelor's and Teaching Degree in Sociology. I also took courses in Anthropology, Political Science, History, Linguistics, and Psychology. 

In Canada, I completed my court, medical and community interpreter training programs at Vancouver Community College and earned a Master’s degree in Educational Studies at UBC, focusing on society, politics, and education. 

Moreover, I have taken various courses and attended workshops and conferences in translation, interpretation, and language instruction; and I have conducted webinars on translation techniques, Canadian Language Style, and AI applications for translators. 

I have been actively involved in professional associations, both as a member (Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia; American Translators Association;  Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society), and also serving on the boards of STIBC and CTTIC (Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council).

My background combines deep linguistic expertise and advanced educational credentials with a strong technical understanding of grammar, syntax, and semantics, making me adept at analyzing and refining language data to achieve the highest standards of accuracy, fluency, and coherence.

Feb 2008 – present:   Brazilian Portuguese Language Instructor and Tutor

• Have been teaching Brazilian Portuguese and Culture (face-to-face and online lessons) to clients living in Brazil, Canada, the USA, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and Australia.

• Have broad experience with different types of materials and methods, teaching General Brazilian Portuguese, Business Brazilian Portuguese, and Brazilian Culture.

• Have had the pleasure of working with students from Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, USA, Venezuela.

Feb 2000 – present:   English Language Instructor and Tutor

• Have been working as an English language instructor and tutor (face-to-face and online lessons) with various types of clients in BRAZIL (private language schools, high school students, college students, school teachers, business owners, company managers, secretaries, healthcare professionals, engineers, airline pilots, pharmacists, lawyers, dentists, musicians, etc.); in CANADA (new immigrants, ESL students, people working in IT and Mining, refugees, etc.); and clients based outside Canada.

• Most of my clients are originally from Brazil and other parts of Latin America, and their goal is to improve their language and communication skills for work, proficiency exams, immigration applications and graduate programs.

• Have vast experience with many different types of materials and methods, teaching General English, Academic English, Business English, English for Exams (IELTS, TOEFL and CELPIP), and English for Specific Purposes.

I am used to working with students at all levels. First, I try to get some general information about my students' previous language studies and their current goals with the language. Then we schedule a free 1-hour trial lesson so that I can have a better sense of the student's language skills and knowledge.

My students have access to a variety of resources through Google Drive, including video courses, audio files, textbooks, and exercise sheets. My approach is always tailored to the individual needs and goals of each student. 

There is one textbook that I normally recommend and which is available on Amazon in both Kindle and print formats, but purchasing it is not mandatory. I can provide more details about this and other resources during your trial lesson.

Availability: My availability varies from Monday to Saturday (morning, afternoon or evening).

Minimum length of language tutorials: The minimum length and frequency of online lessons are typically 1 hour (2x a week) OR 1h30min (1x a week). You could surely have more lessons per week depending on how compatible our schedules are and how fast you'd like to learn Portuguese.

Even though I am based in Vancouver, BC, nowadays I prefer to have lessons with my students via Zoom.