Three Genesee Community College instructors will embark on an English language collaboration program in Sao Paulo, Brazil this summer.
They will travel to the South American country to teach English to students at FATEC Americana, a state-run, technology-based institution. Those traveling abroad include
Charley Boyd, English professor, Connie Boyd, director of the Human Services program and Susan Drexel, Sociology assistant professor.
They will travel to Brazil July 8 to 26 to teach language as well as to share information about culture, history and geography. The collaboration between Brazilian students and American instructors will allow for a dialogue to discuss the differences and similarities between the two cultures.
Instructors will focus on topics that contrast the two cultures' holidays, climates, history, current events, politics, job seeking as well as cultural elements such as music and
cooking.
The collaboration grew out of an initial visit to Genesee from Osvaldo Succi, International Relations advisor and Rafael Ferreira Alves, Ph.D, director at FATEC-Americana in October 2009.
"We seemed to click from the very first meeting and the relationship has strengthened as a result of weekly online meetings," said James Goodwin, director of Curriculum Development at Genesee.
"This relationship between Genesee Community College and FATEC is the ideal way to engage teachers and students alike, not only to learn about another culture but to learn about a particularly diverse one," Goodwin said.
"Brazilians have a reputation for being happy, enthusiastic and high-spirited and the warmth we have experienced so far affirms a culture very much centered on relationships."
Brazil has a very exciting schedule over the next six years with the 2014 Soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. With the success of this partnership between Genesee and FATEC, the two institutions hope to build on each other's strengths and cultivate a longstanding multi-cultural relationship.
For more information please contact James Goodwin at 343-0055, ext. 6322.
