Luciana Lage

I teach Portuguese not only because I am a native speaker of the language, but also because I am an expert in it. Teaching Portuguese is a magical process of falling in love again and again with the language, the people, and the culture.

My innate talent with the Portuguese language has been apparent since I was a kid. I excelled in Portuguese classes in school. In college, while I was getting my Bachelor of Science in Business in Brazil, I worked as a Research Assistant in the Business department. There, too, my ability with the Portuguese language was quickly noticed and I became the natural go-to person to review and edit articles written by our Professors.

It was only natural that I became involved in teaching my beautiful Portuguese language to people from other countries. Through the years, I have had students from all walks of life and have been blessed to share their amazing experiences with Brazil. Take for example the firefighter whose 14-year passion for the Brazilian culture keeps him going back to visit Brazil every year; the business executive who wanted to learn Portuguese because of her passion for Brazilian music; the financial analyst who was getting married to a Brazilian girl and was going to Brazil for the first time to meet her family; the marketing professional from one of the biggest companies in the world who was moving to Brazil; or the biology student who was going to spend six months in Brazil in an internship that included camping in the Amazon and living with rural families.

My students have come from different cultural backgrounds, including the U.S., Japan, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, and Vietnam. When teaching, I can identify -- and overcome -- the challenges faced by students of varying nationalities.

In my 15 years of experience in organizational management I have been responsible for training professionals in topics such as goal setting, decision-making, and leadership. My passion for learning and sharing knowledge also led me to teach business to undergraduate students. My business experience is perfectly integrated into my Portuguese classes, allowing me to help individuals and organizations that do business with Brazil.

My educational background includes a Bachelor in Business from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Brazil, an MBA from San Francisco State University, and professional coaching training also from San Francisco State.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to help you learn the beautiful, elegant, musical language that is Brazilian Portuguese!