Basica Lingua

i only can recommend basica lingua,which is situated in the nice beach town of barra in salvador. Sheila Waksman is the best teacher i have ever had. She is so professional and effective and she has so much knowledge. she can answer every single question, she is excelent in explaining and is so patient. the classes are so lively, that learning is a lot of fun. she brings a lot of examples so it makes it easier to learn. she helped me during my stay in salvador with everything, she organized a home stay for me, which was good, so i could improve my portuguese with my new" familly. sheila gave me a lot of information about brasil

Ich kam praktisch ohne Portugiesisch-Kenntnisse in Salvador da Bahia an. In nur sechs Wochen habe ich im Unterricht mit Sheila ein Fortgeschrittenen-Niveau erreicht. Sheila versteht es, auf die individuellen Bedürfnisse der Studierenden einzugehen, sie zu motivieren und innert kürzester Zeit die nötigen Sprachkompetenzen aufzubauen. Auch neben dem Sprachunterricht arbeitet Sheila pflichtbewusst, zuverlässig und sehr professionell. Sei es bei der Organisation von individuellen Stadttouren, bei Tipps für das Alltagsleben in Bahia oder bei der Organisation von einer Homestay-Familie. Alles in allem verbrachte ich im 2004 zwei unvergessliche Monate in Bahia und kehre immer wieder gerne zurück. Ich kann einen Sprachaufenthalt bei Sheila / Básica Língua allen wärmstens empfehlen.

After completing 8 weeks of private Portuguese classes with Sheila I wholeheartedly recommend her. All aspects from the pre-arrival homestay planning to the daily lessons were well organized.I'm confident that now after 8 weeks of classes I have a good intermediate foundation of Portuguese from which to continue learning. What I appreciated most about Sheila's teaching style is that she constantly kept me engaged and challenged. She understood that my priority was to develop fluency and not simply a basic understanding of phrases, etc so our classes were always geared toward that objective.She can seem a bit of a task master at times, but it's all well intended. In my particular case I simply think it was her trying to help me reach my goals.Sheila gladly helps you explore Salvador (provides sight-seeing recommendations, public transportation routes, etc) and encourages you to interact as much as possible with the local community. However Sheila does not organize excursions or other types of extra-curricular activities. Sheila's school is ideal for the independent learner who wants to explore Salvador on their own.Everything you might need is conveniently located in the school's immediate neighborhood: Barra. I found Barra to be a safe neighborhood with a good amount of different restaurants, etc to visit.While in Salvador I did take Sheila's advice and opted for a local homestay. It added another dimension to my overall experience and my hosts were absolutely welcoming. I was also lucky enough to have a suite, which in Brazil means that your room includes a private bathroom.Please feel free to email me if you have any other specific questions about my experience.Boa Sorte!

(below also in German)I took 7 weeks of classes from Sheila in total and I really enjoyed it.The classes were very intense and a lot of fun. Sheila is very passionate about the language but also about Brazilian culture, that makes the classes not only more interesting but also helps you to get an insight into the mentality.She can give you information on politics, art, literature, current events or whatever you want to know which is also very helpful when you are thinking about what you can do outside of the classes.But aside from that she is also simply a really good teacher, she has many years of experience with students from all levels, so she understands the things we struggle with.She listens to you talking really closely and so she perceives which mistakes you make and she surprised me several times when after mentioning some mistake I had made one day she showed up with a prepared sheet exactly on that the next day.Ich habe 7 Wochen lang Unterricht bei Sheila gehabt und es hat mir wirklich sehr gefallen.Der Kurs war sehr intensiv und hat auch sehr viel Spaß gemacht. Man merkt, dass Sheila wirklich eine Leidenschaft für ihre Sprache und die brasilianische Kultur hat, was den Unterricht nicht nur spannender macht sondern einem auch hilft einen Einblick in die Mentalität zu bekommen.Außerdem weiß Sheila über Events die in der Stadt passieren Bescheid und kann einem so auch Tipps geben, was man außerhalb des Unterrichts machen kann.Aber abgesehen von diesem eher kulturellen Aspekt ist sie einfach eine sehr gute Lehrerin mit vielen Jahren an Erfahrung mit Schülern verschiedener Level und so weiß sie einfach schon, womit ihre Schüler typischerweise Probleme haben.Eine Sache die mich überrascht hat war, wie sehr sie einem zuhört, oft hat sie mich den einen Tag auf einen Fehler hingewiesen und hatte dann am nächsten Tag ein fertig vorbereitetes Arbeitsblatt genau zu diesem Thema. Diese Herangehensweise gestaltet den Unterricht sehr individuell.

Sheila is an absolute treasure!When I came to Salvador I was quite hesitant about enrolling in language classes because most schools seemed to be very commercial. Fortunately I met Sheila. Every single class was a real joy.Even though my Portuguese was very rudimentary at the beginning, we soon talked about everything from Brazilian society and politics to music, culture and history. It felt like I learned Portuguese on the fly while getting to know a fascinating person and her love for Brazilian culture. Grammar and exercises were seamlessly combined with casual chats over a cup of coffee. (By the way, Sheila makes the best coffee you'll find in Salvador).Sheila provided super valuable learning materials (which I still use today) and gave me so many tips for events and places around Salvador and Bahia in general. I still have enough music, films, books etc. from Sheila's long list of recommendations to quench the saudade until my next time in Brazil :)It is very rare to find a teacher who is so skillful, passionate and resonates a joy for life as much as Sheila.I feel so fortunate to have spent 6 weeks of classes with Sheila and hope to take classes with her again in the future!

I take classes with Sheila each time that I come to Salvador. She is the best Portuguese teacher in Salvador. Not only is she warm and encouraging, she’s going to teach you the correct grammar (along with notes about colloquiums). I also found Sheila to be a great resource for whatever local things I needed/wanted to find in Salvador. She’s the best!

I took an intensive course at this school during six weeks and it was an excellent learning experience (I am now a language teacher). Sheila Waksman has created her own pedagogical system that will be tailored to the needs and interests of her students, regardless of their level, nationality, and interest. I felt very happy with this learning experience and would recommend it to anyone interested in a Portuguese immersion in Brazil.. Salvador is a great city to start your Brazilian adventure in!!!!

Outstanding. I've had several portuguese teachers over the years, but Sheila stands out as the best. She mixes intense coursework with humour, insights, politics and great perspectives on Brasilian history and culture. Whether you are a starter, or an advanced learner, she will take you through the basics and lead you into spoken portuguese quickly, and then focus on some of the more advanced elements so that you can at least recognize elements in the language, if not fully proficient to speak it. I can't recommend her highly enough.

I cannot recommend Sheila highly enough!! I took Portuguese classes with her for 5 weeks before continuing to travel throughout Brazil. Sheila does a great job of not only teaching grammar and language skills, but also teaching about Brazilian culture and really helping you to understand Bahia and Brazil. She has great recommendations for places to go and things to do in Salvador, as well (for instance, she knew where I could take an Afro-Brazilian dance class, and where to go for awesome samba nights). Finally, Portuguese grammar aside, Sheila is such an interesting and fun person herself, and I really looked forward to class with her every day! She will encourage your thirst for adventure and make you wish you could keep on exploring Brazil forever.

Ich hatte bereits eine gute Basis an Portugiesisch Kenntnissen und wollte daher keinen Anfängerkurs belegen. Allerdings fehlten mir viele Grammatik Grundkenntnisse. Sheila hat den Unterricht genau dem angepasst und war auch flexibel wenn ich einen Tag nicht konnte. Der Unterricht ist sehr professionell und freundschaftlich zugleich ich kann sie nur weiterempfehlen!!!