User:Marcosgazzana

File:Http://www.marcosgazzana.com/markgazza/photos/MarkFaceBWsm.jpg Born in Porto Alegre (Brazil) in 1974 and soon moved to London (UK), where my father did his Masters. While in London, I learned my first words in English and traveled around Europe a few times. Later on in my life, English and traveling became two of my main interests, so I find this part of my childhood especially meaningful to my life experience as a whole. At the age of five we came back to Porto Alegre where I did my Junior and High school. Then, I went back to London to spent my year off before starting University. This was 1992, the decisive year for my career as an English teacher. When I got back to Brazil I started the Modern English course at PUCRS and soon after that I started teaching. After teaching at a few language schools, I also became involved with Business English and preparation for proficiency exams.

One of my other passions is the Internet and new technologies, I am interested particularly on the way people make use of computers to learn languages, connect to each other in order to grow personally and professionally. I started using computers back in 1993 and since then I have not stopped. One of the main reasons I use computers is simply because I teach lots of private students who have special needs, so I use the Internet to find materials which can help me give them what they really want and need to learn the language.

In 1993 I also started a series of trips around South America, which included several countries and regions. Every year I chose a different location to explore. In 1998, before graduating I traveled to US and Canada as well. During these years I developed a special interest in photography, especially landscape and nature. Naturally, these trips helped me learn more about different cultures and communication skills.

In 1999, I started teaching at Cultura Inglesa and in 2000 I took COTE (Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English, now called ICELT - In-service Certificate in English Language Teaching). In 2001 I decided to continue my academic studies and took a post-graduation course on Modern English at PUCRS. In 2002 I became even more involved with the use of computers in English Language Teaching after doing a Summer Course in Ribeirão Preto (Brazil) and was responsible for the computer training of the teacher staff of Cultura's Porto Alegre branch. During this period at Cultura Inglesa I also became a Cambridge Oral Examiner for KET and FCE exams, which I am still involved with nowadays.

At the beginning of 2004 I decided to leave my job and become more exclusively involved with Business English, proficiency exams and private classes. Then, in 2007 I started teaching at CESUCA (Complexo de Ensino Superior de Cachoeirinha) and for BLS Consultoria, which is a Business English consultancy firm that provides in-company training for major companies in Porto Alegre metropolitan area.