Masterful: language development for teachers
Your profile
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You want to make strides in your proficiency and break through a learning plateau.
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You would like to develop your language awareness—your sensitivity to the forms, functions, and patterns of language—through guided exploration and practice.
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You are interested in looking at language from a lexical perspective, which means focusing on how words typically combine (i.e. collocations) in order to develop more meaningfully, sustainably, and autonomously.
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You’re looking for an opportunity to reflect on language and practice English in a small group of curious, high-level speakers.
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You seek a safe space where you can speak freely, without judgment, and receive relevant, constructive feedback.
The course
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Group 1: Fridays 1:45–3:00 PM (GMT-3)
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Group 2: Fridays 8:00–9:15 AM (GMT-3)
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May 16th–September 5th
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16-week course (20h)
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From 4 to 6 participants
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Recommended level: advanced (C1) or proficient (C2)
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R$1.600 (5x R$320)
Early bird: 6x R$266,67, starting in April​
This course aims to promote language development through a lexical approach, by exploring and discussing authentic texts.
All lessons are based on materials that cover a wide range of topics—social issues, human behavior, current affairs—and that naturally lend themselves to language analysis. These texts foster critical thinking, spark meaningful conversations, and serve as a rich source for examining how language works in context.
We look at language through a lexical lens, focusing on chunks, especially collocations. That means paying attention not only to what words mean, but how they behave and combine with others in real use.
Expect to develop your collocational competence by exploring features such as collocational strength, generating power, and colligations, while also having space to practice, reflect, and experiment with language in and beyond class.
What I offer
Authentic: I make use of authentic materials in my lessons. These are texts which have been written in English for speakers of the language. These materials connect learners with the English-speaking community and broaden their knowledge not only of the language but the world as well.
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Reactive: the language we study isn’t always pre-selected or prescribed–my goal is to help you fill in gaps in your knowledge. This means we’re going to study aspects of the language (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation…) that are necessary to you.
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Relevant: our discussions will typically revolve around your experiences and your views on the world. Also, the feedback I give you is based on your needs, wants and specific context.
I believe in teaching that is authentic, reactive, and relevant:
The syllabus
What I expect from you
You’ll receive one asynchronous task each week to prepare for our lessons. These tasks may involve reading, watching, or exploring the material we’ll work on, and sometimes reflecting or trying out language beforehand. They are mandatory and part of the course workload, so please make sure to factor in this extra time—around 30 to 60 minutes per week.
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Course calendar
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May 16th, 23rd, 30th
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June 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
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July 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
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August 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
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September 5th
Maíra Santos
Ter aulas com a Bruna contribuiu muito em minha prática docente, tanto em ter ideias de como trabalhar certos assuntos com materiais autênticos como em aprimorar meus conhecimentos e minha fluência na Língua Inglesa. Enquanto professora, em muitos momentos não temos tantas oportunidades de praticar speaking e writing e acabava me sentindo um pouco travada ao trabalhar com alunos mais avançados. Com as aulas pude não só me sentir mais segura nesses contextos quanto utilizar o que vimos em sala de aula, adaptando conforme a idade e perfil dos alunos. Acredito que manter contato com esse sentimento de descoberta e de aprender novos aspectos da língua e linguagem é parte essencial de ser professor de língua estrangeira. Sempre há algo novo para aprender e sinto que a Bruna me despertou de novo esse sentimento de curiosidade que às vezes fica esquecido na rotina diária.
