VIV'S
ENGLISH NEWSLETTER
By Viv Quarry. Edition Number 25 The twenty-third of February 2002.
Study English in England with Cicero International - See Viv
for information & discount.
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Hello everyone! I know it's unusual for Viv to produce two newsletters in one month, but I'm afraid that I have some news about a change in Viv's prices.
When Viv first started teaching privately in Brazil, the cost of classes was based on a calculation of the current value of the US dollar ($20 per hour) - see back issue no. 12 on the web site for more information. However, with the economic stability which arrived with the Real, Viv changed to charging in Reais in July 1999. The only price rise since then was in January 2001, over a year ago (see edition 17). During this time, inflation has been officially recorded at over 7%, but in certain areas like electricity, photocopies and phone costs, the rise has been considerably higher. Therefore, from March 2002 I will be charging (contact Viv for current price) for classes at home. The cost of classes outside the teacher's residence will change to (contact Viv for current price). In real terms, this will mean a price rise of R$10 per month for students having 8 hours of classes per month and R$20 for those having 12 hours per month. The cost of subsidised car parking (The service costs Viv R$150 per month) will not change unless the owner of the car park raises prices.
As most of my students know, my primary motivation as a teacher isn't financial, it's helping students to achieve their aim of improving their English, but to do this, I need a certain amount of financial stability, which at the moment I don't have. My decision to raise prices was also helped by the fact that currently, the cost of private classes with Viv, a highly qualified and experienced teacher, was lower than the cost of having classes in a group of over ten students at a language school.
To be fair on those students who have recently started courses, or have increased the number of hours per week, for these students the price rise will only take place after 3 months (in June 2002).
What's
new?
Students having classes at Viv's flat will have met a new member the class - Danny the duck will be helping Viv make corrections while he is fit enough to work (he's already lost his voice once when Paula V said "They were using clothes"!).
Student of
the month
My student of the month for February is Jose 'Junior' Moreira. He works for the Pactual Bank and has been having classes with Viv since June 1999. He has worked exceptionally hard on improving his English and has successfully completed the pre-intermediate course. He is currently at the intermediate level. Last but not least, he came second top in the January vocabulary tests with sixteen out of twenty.
Features
This month's feature is a web page giving you help with your English pronunciation (sent by Mauricio Werneck). Right click the file and open it (don't worry, it has been checked for viruses).
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