講師詳細Teacher's Details

THE SHORT VERSION:

As a native English speaker with over 24 years of experience teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in various learning environments and school administration,  I provide additional assistance outside the lessons and detailed feedback. I am almost always available online for easy communication. I will customize the approach to meet your unique needs, helping you enhance your English skills.


THE LONG VERSION:

My self-introduction may seem a bit long because I am using this platform to answer the most frequently asked questions I receive from you.

I briefly introduce myself, and then I talk about:

* BRAZIL-JAPAN RELATIONS

* MY EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND/OCCUPATION

* MY INTERESTS

* MY TUTORING STYLE

* TIPS FOR LEARNING VOCABULARY

* MY PHILOSOPHY ON COMMUNICATION

Feel free to contact me at live:chuckyspell about anything you have read here. You don't need to book a lesson. I like the dialogue.

INTRODUCTION

I'm the born-again husband of Selma. Our children Amanda and Daniel were both born in Manaus, Brazil. 

This photo was taken in 2018.

I'm from Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America, and I've been teaching English since 1999.

The map above is of South America. Brazil is in green. Guyana is in orange.

The map above is of my present location, Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon. It is 345 km south of the equator.

Japan is always 13 hours ahead of Manaus.

MANAUS, BRAZIL AND JAPAN-BRAZIL RELATIONS

Although I'm from Guyana, I'm always asked about Brazil and Manaus, so here are some tidbits that might interest you. If you want to know about Guyana, you can book a lesson so we can talk about it.

Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America at 8.5 million square kilometers (3.2 million square miles) and with over 208 million people.

It is also the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America.

It is politically composed of the union of 26 states, the Federal District Brasília, and 5,570 municipalities.

Brazil is especially well-known for its football, including winning the World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea in 2002.

 Above is Cafu, the team captain lifting the Cup in 2002.

It is also one of the world's most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations.

Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. As of 2009, there were approximately 1.6 million people of Japanese descent in Brazil.
 

At the same time, over 108,000 Dekasegi Brazilians are living in Japan as of 2016.

The city of São Paulo is home to about 400,000 Japanese descendants. The Liberdade ("Liberty") neighborhood, where shop fronts and building names are written in Japanese ideograms, and the architecture is traditionally oriental, is the world's largest Japanese community (Japantown) outside Japan. The Liberdade street market opens on Saturdays and Sundays, offering traditional Japanese food and various household goods and souvenirs.

900 Nikkei, mostly from Okinawa were the first to arrive in São Paulo, Brazil.  

They arrived on the Kasato Maru (photo below) to work on coffee plantations on 8 June 1908.

Since then, Japanese Brazilians have integrated very well into society all over Brazil, contributing things such as matcha tea, soy sauce, the Kumon method, judo, shiatsu, karate, karaoke, tofu, the Fuji apple, black pepper, the kabocha, the Japanese cucumber, the radish, and the horseradish root and Aji-no-moto as well as dishes such as sushi, temaki sushi, sashimi, yakisoba, and sukiyaki. 

Japan-Brazil relations continue strong, as evidenced by trade.

Brazil's main exports to Japan include iron ore, meat, non-ferrous metal, chemicals, iron, and steel.

Japan's main exports to Brazil include automobiles, automotive parts, motors, and metalworking machinery.

Though 15,000 km away from Japan, Manaus plays a significant role in Japan-Brazil relations due to its free trade zone, where more than 40 Japanese corporations have operations. These include Honda, Pioneer, Daikin, Suzuki, Panasonic, Hisamitsu, Noritsu, Orient, and Fuji.

Manaus is the fourth biggest city in Brazil and the biggest city in the Brazilian Amazon, with a population of 2.2 million people. It is the capital city of the state of Amazonas. The river banks of Manaus are on the Amazon River. The local dish specialty is grilled tambaqui.

The first Koutakussei arrived in Amazonas in 1930-1931, working with jute, strawberry, tea, and rice.

There are 5,000 nikkei that make up the Japanese community in Manaus. Many are still in agriculture and can be found in the local suburban Japanese colony. The community meets at places like the Manaus Country Club, where they play golf, baseball, and softball.

The Consulate General of Japan is located in the south-central part of the city. There is also the Amazonas Japanese Chamber of Commerce.  

Manaus also has the first Japanese bilingual state school in Brazil, teaching 990 students the language and culture, mathematics, and science in Japanese. 

Animes and mangas are very popular at the moment in Brazil. Coca-Cola now sponsors an annual anime party in the Amazon around every February.

PERSONAL EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND/OCCUPATION

I graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering but have only worked as an English teacher. For this reason, I can handle scientific texts and articles. Twelve years at the Amazonas State University was my longest teaching tenure.

Note that my full name is Ovid Charles Spellen. 

NONE of my friends call me Ovid, so please be my friend.  

INTERESTS

My main interest has always been music as a listener and as a musician. 

I listen to most kinds of music and have a wide knowledge of 1980s American rock and heavy metal.

My dream was to be a guitarist, and most of what I've been doing in my free time has involved playing music. If you know something about guitars, I can tell you that my first two guitars were from Ibanez. Ibanez is a subsidiary of Hoshino Gakki, based in Nagoya.

 Where Japan is concerned, Akira Takasaki has always been one of my favorite guitarists.

Other musicians that I like are 

Hiromi Uehara, 

Toshimi Nagai,

Tatsuya Yoshida, 

Yoshiaki Masuo,

Akihisa Tsuboy,

And most recently, Yuichi Onoue. 

In my opinion, for zeuhl music, the Japanese have produced the best update of the original French version.

TUTORING STYLE

My emphasis has always been on communication and conversation. 

I also have a passion for learning about new things from other people.

This combination will guarantee that you'll be talking a lot to me. 

We engage in conversation to deepen our understanding and build meaningful relationships. 

A meaningful exchange should be authentic, in-depth, and significant, allowing for exploration of both the other person and yourself. 

It should foster learning, encouragement, and challenges, leaving both parties inspired. 

At Eigox, my goal is to have these meaningful conversations with you. 

I typically reserve mistake corrections for after sessions to focus on your speaking time, providing detailed feedback via Skype later.