English for Shy People - Meet Maiza

An off-shoot of the Brasil-Boston Interchange, English for Shy People is for folks who are wee bit apprehensive about turning their cameras on or making mistakes in English.

We're just "shy" of two years into learning English in a more structured way than the Saturday morning open house.

Students are working on a fun and challenging project: Sharing about where they live, their families, childhood stories, favorite recipes, travels, hobbies, and music or movies they like.

Maiza from São Paulo, Brazil

One such student is Maiza, and here's what she wrote about our group:

Hi guys, how are you!? My name is Maiza. I live in São Paulo. I'm 66 years old.

I always had the dream of speaking and understanding English.

My first contact with Jim was via Zoom in a room with other people, and it was really cool. I was nervous, after all it was an American who was going to talk to me, and I wondered if he would understand me. 

Right away I found him very friendly and attentive. And I was happy that he also spoke Portuguese and that gave me a relief, you know!?

So he talks to everyone in the room; he is very dedicated and patient. I think it's great because I'm listening to a native speaker and learning to hear new words, expressions and phrasal verbs. 

In the beginning nothing is easy. But the important thing is to keep going and not give up. I think you will also like it and see that you are also capable of learning a new language. Of course it will depend on me to learn and move forward. I can only be grateful for the opportunity given to me. 

Thank you very much.

Maiza is a regular. Some students don’t join every session but practice their English in our WhatsApp group. No problem.

Wondering what the cost is?

None. No ads, either. You just gotta be kind.

Our mission is the same as the parent group: Making our world a better place, one interchange at a time. Tornando nosso mundo um lugar melhor, um intercâmbio de cada vez. 

Cola com a gente. Hang out with us. 

Also, if you're a native English speaker and would like to be guest speaker, it would be great for students to hear someone with a wicked awesome accent from the UK, Australia, South Africa, Minnesota or anywhere really.

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