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, then I talk about:

* BRAZIL-JAPAN RELATIONS

* MY PERSONAL EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND/OCCUPATION

* MY INTERESTS

* MY TUTORING STYLE

* TIPS FOR LEARNING VOCABULARY

* MY PHILOSOPHY ON COMMUNICATION

Feel free to enter into contact with me about anything you have read here.

INTRODUCTION

I'm the born-again father of Amanda and Daniel. Both were born in Manaus, Brazil. Their Brazilian mother is Selma.

I'm from the only English speaking country in South America, which is called Guyana. I've been living and teaching English in Manaus, Brazil, since 1999.

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

The first 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.

The second map is a humorous attempt at correcting a common geographical error about Guyana that causes confusion.

MANAUS, BRAZIL AND JAPAN-BRAZIL RELATIONS

Although I'm from Guyana, I'm asked all the time about Brazil and Manaus, so here are some tidbits that might be interesting to 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.

Rio de Janeiro has recently passed the Olympics to Tokyo.

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

As an example, 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, there are over 108,000 Dekasegi Brazilians 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, doing so on the Kasato Maru 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 in trade.

In 2015, trade between Brazil and Japan totaled US$8 billion. 

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 Sony, 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 carry out activities such as 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 and 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. 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 talk to each other to better understand each other and establish more meaningful relationships.

A meaningful conversation should be extended, in-depth, and authentic, and share something significant.

A conversation should be an exploration into another person and yourself.

It should offer opportunities to learn, encourage, and challenge each other.

Both people should leave a conversation feeling truly inspired.

In our sessions at Eigox, I aim to have meaningful conversations with you.

If there is a request for mistake corrections, I don't ordinarily correct during sessions unless I'm asking for clarifications or communication between us stops. I reserve the moments after the sessions to send more detailed feedback on mistakes via Skype messages. This way, there is more time for you to talk.

 

TIPS FOR LEARNING VOCABULARY

Common types of vocabulary include

1. Words,
Examples:
cat, tree

2. Parts of words,
Examples:
-s in trees,
-er in worker,
non- in nondescript,
-est in loudest

3. Phrasal verbs,
Examples:
put off or get out

4. Multiword expressions,
Examples:
by the way, inside out

5. Collocations,
Examples:
motor vehicle,
absolutely convinced.

6. Institutionalized utterances,
Examples:
I'll get it,
We'll see,
That'll do,
If I were you,
Would you like a cup of coffee?

7. Idioms,
Examples:
break a leg,
was one whale of a,
a bitter pill to swallow

8. Sayings,
Examples:
The early bird gets the worm,
The devil is in the details

9. Sentence frames and heads,
Examples:
That is not as...as you think,
The problem was

10. Text frames,
Examples:
In this paper, we explore...;
Firstly...;
Secondly...;
Finally ....

Here are some useful tips: 

1. Learn small amounts of vocabulary often.

Focus on new vocabulary daily in small quantities, but just commit to a short time such as 15 minutes for focussed vocabulary practice. A maximum of seven new items is usually recommended for each learning session.

Investigate which mobile apps focussed on vocabulary are available to help you with each 15-minute session.

Create your own system for reviewing new vocabulary. Keep adjusting what you think is necessary to learn better. Then give feedback to the tutor on how your system works for you.

2. Learn vocabulary as a combination or chain of directly connected words.

Words used out of context can destroy the comprehension of a sentence. To avoid this happening and also save time, pre-form a combination or chain of directly connected words. Guarantee that its context and structure are correct. 

3. Look for new vocabulary in different contexts.

Investigate where and how new vocabulary is used in real life, in news media, print media, broadcast media, on the Internet, etc.

4. Use dictionaries and thesauruses more efficiently.

Learn to properly use dictionaries and thesauruses. This will increase your depth of understanding. A quality dictionary should also provide pronunciation, spelling possibilities, etymology, and quotations of the word in context.

5. Read extensively.

Regularly read on any topic of your choice. Doing so guarantees constant reviewing of vocabulary, and such increased exposure will help get the vocabulary stored into long term memory.

6. Use new vocabulary practically.

Think of ways of applying new vocabulary you've learned within different contexts.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe communicating is the way we learn from each other. As a teacher, I've learned that it's very important to be open. In teaching English, I'm acting as an ambassador, bridging two or more distinct cultures.

I am looking forward to talking to you soon!