English Language Class of the 8th Grade Enables Exchange of Experiences in Times of Pandemic

“The proposal of today’s activity is to see how people from different places in the world are dealing with the pandemic”, said Diéssi Souza, English teacher, to a 8th grade group of students, in the beginning of the online class this morning. The experience was shared by the guests Bruna Luise, from Tokyo, Japan, Laís Viana, from Lisbon, Portugal, and Tatiana Brahm, from Simpsonville, South Carolina-USA.

Bruna is an English teacher and also a photographer, she has lived in Tokyo for 4 years. According to her, the Japanese government didn’t impose any severe isolation measures. However,  once they have declared state of emergency her boyfriend and her have been working from home. There aren’t any expectations of class retorning before July. Wearing a mask was not something new, because it’s  cultural in Asian countries.

Laís, who is also an English teacher, has lived in Lisbon for a year. Once it’s a turistic place, it was weird not to see people on the streets. Portuguese people respected the isolation, according to her, mainly because the population has a large part of elderly people despite the worries caused by the deaths in Spain. Now, they are reopening the services, although people are still afraid.

Tatiana is a physioterapist and also teaches English. She has been in Simpsonville for just two months. According to what she told the group, her moving happened in the beginning of the pandemic, which made the process a little more difficult. She is also seeing local places reopening, but with limited number of access, as in parks. “If I were in Brazil, I might have to work in a hospital, since many health professionals are being requested”, said Tatiana.

The guests also shared their feelings towards the present moment. “I’m blessed for having a job, I had to adapt to this reality. But it’s an opportunity to change and  to learn”, said Bruna. “We have a home, food and a job, we should thank God for this. I’m worried about my family in Brazil, but we have to manage it”, said Laís.

According to teacher Diéssi, the meeting was a great moment. “It’s important for students to get to know about other realities and how things are in other countries. It was also an opportunity to listen to different people’s experiences and to improve their English skills”.

On Thursday, May 21st, the other group from 8th grade took part in the activity with people in the United Kingdom – Siane Simioni,  registered nurse and translator – and in Portugal – Tatiane Carvalho, English Professor from UNISINOS who is taking another master’s degree there.

Click here to read the portuguese version.