FAAP school in Sao Paulo

Peer Reviews: Got to Reclameaqui.com.br  Forget Facebook.   Plug in the name of the school.   

FAAP is a school with some patina of tradtion.  If they are good or not, or a hassle, I would not know.  But at least they do not sound like the many other diploma mills that flourish in São Paulo.   

Nowithstanding, the jury is out.  Do your homework

The business of going to a language school.  For me it is a racket. No one of them will teach you the language.   All these schools claiming some magical  "Method", pure malarkey. 

My learning curve was a mix of

Attending College
Work environment
Avoiding Brazilians as Expats
Being an Avid Reader
Keeping my ears opén
Being a Nosy Rose, asking questions, playing dumb
Being a game for new experiences.


I have been to the Country since 2013, and I never went to teach English to make a living,  reason being is that there is no way you can teach one a language in a classroom setting. Period.   

And quite bluntly, every time I see a Brazilian teaching English to locals, it's  pathetic.   They have limited language skills, virtually limited writing and editing skills.  No eloquence whatsoever.  Not once being articulate as to being able to actually debate over a thought or take a standing on an issue , or to present factual information. 
Not even good BS, and I've met my share of BS Artists and Con Men. 


Two.  Langugage Schools underpay their help, and overcharge their pupils.  They are rackets, not ifs or buts about.

As Lee Trevino used to say about Golf Instructors..... " I never met a teacher I could not beat at the golf course".   So why would take lessons from anyone of them  ?

thanks

A language tape to study for 1 week is good enough. Come to Brazil and throw yourself
at the midst of all the brasileiros. You´ll learn quickly because you´ll go hungry if you don´t and if you gain a friend, he will teach you.

Wizard (conversational Portuguese) is very famous.

thanks

to be honest, i don't think you can just learn portuguese by just coming to brazil and interacting with locals.  i've been here for 3 weeks, and i don't feel like my portuguese has improved that much from everyday interaction.  i think some gringos come here for years and don't know basic everyday expressions.  i feel that studying the language is important.

also, you won't be able to make friends if you don't speak portuguese, so you won't be able to get the portuguese practice unless you already speak some portuguese.

You should gather the most important key words that are used everyday. A vocabulary of around 500 words.

Then you turn around and practice pronouncing being aware how a native speaker speaks those words. You see to learn a language fast, it´s supposed to be spoken and heard of.

I don´t mean to brag but I learned Portuguese in 2 weeks. People have different learning curves so keep at it. Practice, practice and practice... Just like learning the Argentinian tango.

were you already fluent in spanish before you started learning portuguese?

Studying the language is important? You mean grammar? That´s very boring. I slept a lot on Reading and Writing in English lectures in college. Maybe it´s not just my thing.

I liked more Physics and Chemistry and many college friends hated me for that. A friend of mine once said "I wish there´s a chemistry for poets." LOL!

The method I told you about is like how a child learns a language at a very early age. They interact and learn how to apply those words in their routine. It just comes naturally. It works and no need for grammar there...

No. I also learned that later.

well, that's very impressive.

are you an auditory learner?

i know that benny the polyglot also likes this method.  i heard that there are 3 types of learners - audio, visual, and kinesthetic.  i wonder whether this method only works for audio learners.

did you ever study at wizard, by the way?

so you speak english, portuguese, and spanish?

"Studying the language is important? You mean grammar?"

i meant everything - grammar, vocabulary, listening, writing.

yeah, grammar's boring.

i know a few people who have been in brazil for longer than me - 3 months, 5 months, 6 months, and 2 years, and i speak more portuguese than all of them (and my portuguese is bad).  i studied portuguese on my own for 6 months, though, and i speak conversational/intermediate spanish.  some people don't seem to pick it up that quickly.

An owner of Wizard once talked to me about teaching English but I wasn´t interested. I´m very impatient repeating things with students.

Yes, I speak all those languages. And I use all those methods of learning. I use a lot of imagination and projection for analysis.

Hasta luego y buenas noches!

robal

I made to the US in 1986 as a Green Card Holder. All my English School lessons did not amount to squat. 

How I learnt to communicate in English....

1.Comics were a start. Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge.
2.Newspapers.
3.Changing Jobs.
4.Avoiding Brazilians
5.In the second year I was attending College. On Groups I would ask quick questions. Americans can be an opiniated bunch so they would chime in . 
6.I was a sponge.
7.Dealing with public.  While attending the University, I took up driving a taxicab.  Cabbies need to be engaged in conversation with the public.
8.Accepting the American Culture, Culinary, learning its History.
9.I`ve must listened to a thousand nut cases and Conspiracy Theorists in my life span there.
10.Elderly people love the attention. 
11. Can`t say that I went drinking at the Elks Clubs, but I`ve met my fair share of local yokels from there. 
12. Listening to Baseball Broadcast Games. John Sterling ( obnoxious I preferred Susyn Waldman color commentaries ),  Joe Castiglione, Vin Scully.
13. Listening to Sales Pitches and Ideas.  I used to attend the now Defunct Boston Computer Society.
14. Challenge yourself.

Short and sweet, be a social buterfly.