Alecsander Piazza, English Teacher

Lifelong teacher Alecsander speaks four languages and focuses on a communicative approach in the classroom, building rapport with students in his Business English classes. He enjoys language learning and works to share that passion for learning with his students, building engagement and their self-confidence.

What is your nationality and where do you currently reside?

I am Brazilian and currently residing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but who knows? I am always leaving my country on a new adventure!

What is your professional and educational background?

I am a language major and I have been working as an English and Portuguese teacher for four years. Most of my audience used to consist of kids, but I am teaching adults only now.

Which Bridge certifications or micro-credentials have you completed?

Wow, I am definitely a Bridge teacher! All of my certifications are Bridge certifications and micro-credentials, as I believe in their method and quality so much. I have an IDELTOnline, which gave me many opportunities to work abroad, then after that, I was able to get other certifications as Teaching Young Learners and Teenagers, and for my micro-credentials, I have taken Error Correction in the EFL classroom and IELTS Exam Prep.

How long have you been teaching with BridgeEnglish?

So, I am Bridge’s brand-new talent as a Portuguese and English teacher. I started in July 2023, but I feel like we are going to have a very durable partnership in the long run, as I really admire and connect with the company’s message.

What languages do you speak?

So, I am a polyglot. I speak Portuguese as my first language, English as my second language, then Spanish and Italian come next. I am really keen on learning languages, so I always try to communicate that sort of passion through my classes, showing that learning a language can be really fun and it’s really easy to see results in the long run.

How long have you been teaching languages and what inspired you to become a language teacher?

I have been teaching languages for four years, but I like to say that I have been a teacher for a long time. In my family, I have been the one my family ran to when they needed help with the English exams and still I help them. So, becoming a teacher was mostly about learning techniques to make what I already do more effective.

Can you share a memorable experience or success story from your language teaching career?

Absolutely! One of my most successful experiences as a teacher was when I was teaching Portuguese to a student who also happens to be a singer. She was learning Portuguese so she could sing to Brazilian MPB and pronounce the words correctly. One day, she said she had a surprise for me and then she started to sing a song (Chega de Saudade) 100% in Portuguese and with flawless Portuguese. I was in tears at the end of it.

What is your teaching philosophy or approach to helping students learn a new language?

So, I learned English by myself and I used a little bit of the basic English I learned from my school to connect with the kind of entertainment I was consuming at the time to improve my communications skill. In a nutshell, my learning process was slow but really fun.

What I believe is that learning a language can be a very fun process, so I focus mostly on a communicative approach, where the students are exposed to the right models of sentences, so they don’t have to go over grammar rules, which they hate.

That way, they feel more confident in their communication skills and at the same time understand that speaking English in the right way is not a difficult process, as they learn the grammar intuitively.

What motivated you to specialize in teaching Business English specifically?

You know, at first, I saw teaching Business English as something I would never teach, as I saw the requirements to teach such are really strict, but then I started to get really curious to teach it and also to make my audience even wider. I really enjoy teaching Business English and you can see that the students want to have fun while learning it, especially because they still have the mindset that they HAVE to learn it, so it’s a good idea to convert that mindset to another one that says “I have to learn it, but I also like doing so.’”

Can you share any tips or advice for professionals looking to improve their business communication skills in English?

We, as teachers, are lifelong learners, so don’t be afraid of not knowing exactly what the material demands of you, just be patient and study the material, study the social value of the expressions taught until you can finally believe in the material you can teach confidently.