Hi, everybody.

I have been living in Brasília since January 2005.
I have a daughter, Dora, who is 9 years old and my husband André.
I work as a lawyer at INSS and a I like my job very much.

I started at Casa Thomas last February and I like the school so much.

In my free time, I usually go to the club, ride a bike, walk, go to movies, go out to have dinner and talk to my friends.


Brasília is a good place to live and I lived here for 2 years when I was 2 years old.

I have some pictures from this time, but I don't remember anything about the city.

Mariana

I am Osmar
I am studying English at Thomas.
My teacher is Carla.

My hobbies are reading books, martial art and studying.
I am a systems analyst and I work for the government.

Osmar

Hi, everyone.

Here are messages from seven of my Writing III students. Because our class has finished, the messages will probably be the last (unfortunately!) from most of these students. Some of them will continue, however.

from Esmeralda

Dear Carla and students,

This is Esmeralda. I just wanted to say hello and to say that I have enjoyed meeting you and learning a little about your school.

Best wishes!

from Ruth

Dear Carla and students,

I'm sorry I did not answer your questions. I was sick.

Best wishes!

from Teresa

Dear Carla and students,

I wish you every good thing!

Today is very important for me because I have the opportunity to write you. You are important for me because this blog has been my first experience to write to somebody in another country. I was speaking to my family about you, and they had happy expressions on their faces.

One of my daughters asks me sometimes to see the clown. Marina, congratulations—because I think being a clown and making adults smile is very difficult work.

God bless you!

Teresa

from Edith

Dear Carla and students,

I really enjoyed our communication and I hope that we can continue our talking during the summer.

Good luck to all of you and enjoy the summer!

from Martha

Dear Carla and students,

I enjoyed it very much when I wrote to you on this blog. I hope you continue with your class because students need a good teacher and I can tell that Carla is a very good one!

Best wishes!

from Mariana

Dear Carla and students,

It was interesting to learn about you and your students. I hope to hear from you again!

Mariana Rivera

from María Onofre de Pérez

Dear Carla and students,

Thanks for being our international exchange partners. I'm sorry for not answering Marilda. I didn't do that because we are taking final exams now.

I will answer as soon as I can, Marilda.

María

As you might have noticed, there are two new names on the list, Mariana (on the left) and Rosanna (on the right). They were great additions to the group, and soon they will post their introductions here. Rosanna was part of this class before, but she had some scheduling problems, so she was in the night group for some time. We are really happy that she could join us again. Then she brought along her friend Mariana!


More later.

Carla

Dear Dennis,

My Top Flex 5 students have just started a new module of their course and they are eager to learn!

As you may have noticed, they are a very special, cheerful, and curious group!

Now, they want to know more about you, so they asked some questions and want to listen to your reply!

Olá, everyone.

I've posted a short audio message to all of you and have also posted text replies to each of your individual questions.

How I enjoy our international exchange!

Response to Emerson´s Question

Hi, Emerson.

You asked two questions:

— whether I have taught English in countries besides the U.S.;

— what my most exciting experience in English teaching has been and why.

No, I haven't taught English outside the U.S. I have traveled to a number of places (México, Canada, Taiwan, Korea, China, most of the U.S. states), but all my teaching has been here—in the states of Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona.

I don't have a single exciting English-teaching experience. What is exciting to me is what happens when students are able to use English for authentic communication—not just doing exercises or artificial activities in class. When people actually use English as the medium for real-world communication, it's very exciting indeed!

Response to Daise´s Question

Hi, Daise.

Here are your questions and my responses to them:

Q: Which region do you live in?

R: I live in the southwestern part of the U.S. This region includes the U.S. states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Q: Would you like to come to Brazil?

R: I'd love to come to Brazil! I've wanted to visit Brazil for a long time, and I'd especially like to visit there now—because I've met some wonderful, wonderful people here at the International Exchange blog!

Response to Karen´s Question

Hi, Karen.

You wanted to know what I think about efforts by some people in the U.S. to make illegal immigration a crime.

In general, I'm very disturbed. Many people in the U.S. seem to feel that illegal immigrants will steal jobs from U.S. citizens and that illegal immigrants want U.S. citizens to pay for their coverage in such government programs as welfare and educational and medical support services. People with these views seem to be dangerously over-reacting because they feel threatened.

On a personal level, I know that many of my students are worried that these recent political efforts will destroy their chances for a better life. I know that my students are decent, hard-working people who can make wonderful contributions to this country. I cannot understand why some misguided Americans want to deny them the chance to do that.

I also find it ironic that such a political climate could develop in a country that was founded by immigrants!

Response to Karina´s Question

Hi, Karina.

You asked three questions. Here they are, with my responses.

Q: When did you start teaching English?

R: I began teaching English in 1972 while I was studying for my MAEFL (Master's in English as a Foreign Language) degree at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. From 1972 to 1990, after I received my degree, I taught ESL in Oklahoma and Texas, then worked in ESL/EFL teacher training, textbook editing, and materials development in California and Oregon. In 1990, I moved to Arizona. While here, I returned to ESL teaching and from 1990 to 2001, I worked in a private high school and in the ESL program at Arizona State University. In 2001, I began to work at Estrella Mountain Community College, where I work now.

Q: How many languages do you speak?

R: I used to speak Spanish well, but for many years I didn't have the opportunity to use it very much, so I forgot a lot. My Spanish has improved, however, since I moved to Arizona. I also know "bits and pieces" in many other languages because I try to learn simple words and phrases in the first languages of all my students.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

R: I like to read, cook, and play with my computer. How about you?

Response to Kelly´s Question

Hi, Kelly.

You asked if there is anything that I would like to do with my students that I have not been able to do.

There are two things that I would like to do:

— I'd like to spend more time just talking with my students. Most of them do not speak English very much outside of class and they need more practice in order to develop their language skills and to use the English that they learn at the college where I work.

— I'd like to spend more time in individual tutoring. At one time, I did individual tutoring very regularly in our college's Learning Support Center, but last year and this year, I didn't have time to continue with it. I miss tutoring! When I tutor individually, I think I learn more about the specific language problems that students have than I do in class. I also think I have more opportunities to help students when I work with one or two or three of them than when I work with an entire class.

Response to Mariana´s Question

Hi, Mariana.

You wanted to know how immigrants' lives in Arizona are.

For the most part, I think immigrants feel they have a better life here. Many of them can earn more money here than was possible in their home countries and because of that, they have a more comfortable lifestyle and are also able to send money to their families in their native countries. Other immigrants are here because war, famine, or other problems made it impossible for them to continue to live in their homelands. Some immigrants, however, have a hard time here. This usually happens when the immigrants were professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers, and so on) in their native countries but are unable to continue with their careers because weak English skills make it impossible for them to pass professional licensing examinations in the U.S. Some immigrants also have a difficult time here if they have no family or friends here and cannot find work that pays them enough money to cover their basic needs.

Response to Marilda´s Question

Hi, Marilda.

You asked if I think that the U.S. needs immigrants for its economy.

Basically, yes, I do think that the U.S. economy can benefit from immigrants. If the immigrants are not professionals and/or cannot communicate well in English, I think it benefits the U.S. economy very much when immigrants take the low-level jobs that other people do not want (a sad but true situation). If the immigrants are professionals and can communicate well in English, I also think they help the U.S. economy greatly because they can help relieve shortages in such needed areas as health care and education.

I would hate to see the U.S. start a "guest worker" program, though. In countries that have such a program, the lives of guest workers are often not much better than they were in the countries that they immigrated from.

Response to Rosanna´s Question

Hi, Rosanna.

You asked me to talk to you about my work in Arizona.

When I came here in 1990, I worked in a private high school teaching ESL to international students; most of them were from Korea and Japan, but they came from other countries, too—México, Thailand, Europe, and several different Arab countries. I enjoyed being with them and learning more about their cultures. Most of them were also fun outside of class and spending time with them made my life brighter and more enjoyabe.

Later, in 1994, I changed jobs and worked for the intensive ESL program at Arizona State University. My students there were older than the ones in the high school and many had already finished undergraduate studies in their home countries. They also came from many, many more countries. I don't even remember all the home countries of my A.S.U. students, but off the top of my head, I remember students from Japan, Korea, Thailand, China, Laos, Myamar, Indonesia, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, France, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conocré, Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, and El Salvador.

At the college where I now work, most of my students are from México, but I have also had Spanish-speaking students from Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, and students from a number of other countries, among them Korea, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Chad, Iraq, and Albania.

Working with all of these students has helped me broaden my knowledge of other languages and cultures and has also enriched my life greatly. It has also made it very clear to me that people are people, no matter what language they speak, what religion they practice (or don't practice!), and no matter what country or culture they come from!

Dennis

Dear all,

Marilda, our dear student, was really surprised on Monday, very early in the morning. She was the WINNER of an online Easter story contest. She couldn´t believe it!

As her teacher, I certainly could understand why she won the yummy prize. She is dedicated, intelligent, persistant. She loves to blog, she is always present to our classes. In general, she is the first to arrive. She reads books, listens to the news in English.

She deserves to see her effort recognized. She competed even with the Advanced students in our school, but there was no way out. Her conclusion to the Easter story was the best!

Check it out!

http://www.thomas.org.br

Go to the green area "What´s In" and click on Clique e leia a história completa, com o final vencedor. The story is in English!

Congrats, Marilda!

Carla

To Martha

Hello, Martha.

How's everything?

I'm very happy to talk to you. Maybe because you have children like me.

I'm Marilda. I have two girls: Flávia is 11 years old and Amanda is 9 years old.
I'm married and I work as a public lawyer.

My hobbies: study foreign languages (I study English and French), walking in the park, go to the club, surf in the internet, play tennis, play cards. What about you?
Martha, I hope that you start to love English, like me. Just relax and enjoy the
Englis class.

Do your kids love English:? I think for the kids it's easier, isn't it?

Why are you in USA? How long are you there already?

Please, tell me more about your country, ok?

See you later
Marilda A. Caetano

Marilda has posted a response to the message from Dr. Martinez.