Coruja Academy is a language school specialized in teaching the Portuguese language and over time, will add other languages including English, Spanish and others. The name “Coruja” means Owl, and represents wisdom and knowledge which are deeply linked to our teaching and our main objective.
How and When the school was created?
The school was founded by Director and Professor Marcos Barboza, who is Brazilian from São Paulo. His academic journey began in 2004 when he was a professor at the Universidade Bandeirante, that is now the Universidade Anhanguera in São Paulo. He worked for several years for the Serviço Nacional de Educação no Brasil (SENAC-Brazilian National Education Service). There was a need to create a company that could provide training and education to help corporations like SEBRAE, SENAC, SENAI, and other private and governmental entities.
Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language
Following an invitation from Utah Valley University-USA in 2011, the focus turned to teach Portuguese to foreigners. Marcos’ experience also includes working at various institutions and universities that specialize in teaching a second language, including Utah Valley University, the United States Army, Inlingua, and Brigham Young University (BYU). Marcos currently teaches Portuguese online and in a regular classroom. The Coruja team is TESOL-certified (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and has participated in continuing education events such as the 40-hour Star-Talk training for teachers of a second language in the state of Utah. The team also participated in the annual four-day convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages for teachers of foreign languages (ACTFL) in Washington. Marcos is currently working on completing a Masters degree in Pedagogy at BYU that is focused on the teaching of a second language.
Our Experience
For many years, Coruja Academy has been involved in the business of teaching a foreign language, both online and in the classroom. We have students from many locations on the continent. Our key clientele is located mainly in the USA, Canada, South and Central America, and Europe. Our teachers are mostly native speakers of the language that they teach and
specialize in teaching a foreign language. Our customers are very diverse, ranging from children to adults. Our active participation in our students’ development and learning is what gives us the greatest satisfaction.