About Maria Oliveira 

Photo: Maria OliveiraMARIA OLIVEIRA is a language instructor, translator, and a Language Program Specialist.

Maria has been a Spanish and Portuguese instructor for over 25 years. Maria’s passion for teaching reflects her personal educational philosophy:

“For a student to achieve and thrive, BOTH the student and the teacher must work hard together in a safe, comfortable learning environment that fosters enjoyment of learning and an appreciation for language and culture.”

 

As a Spanish and Portuguese Instructor, Maria Oliveira has been a trusted language teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1990.

As owner of Maria Oliveira Language Learning Center, Maria offers many ways for you to learn a language:

  • Adult education Portuguese and Spanish language classes are held at our school in Richmond, CA in the East Bay near San Francisco
  • Portuguese and Spanish language lesson are available on CDs, MP3 and as online language courses
  • Maria leads Portuguese language immersion tours to the Azores in Portugal.
  • Special language lessons for business professionals, law enforcement, health care professionals  and social services
  • Special language lessons for different types of languages, like European and Brazilian Portuguese, or Spanish for professionals

 

Maria’s lively, ongoing conversational Spanish and Portuguese classes are popular forums in which students of every level are nurtured by her caring expertise. Maria’s teaching experience includes the high school level, adult schools, and community colleges. These institutions include Diablo Valley College, Napa Valley College, Contra Costa College, Merritt College, and UC Santa Cruz-Santa Clara Extension. She works with large classes as well as small groups, guides language immersion tours in Azores, Portugal, and provides specialized training for business professionals, law enforcement, health care professionals and social services who need second language proficiency.

 

From the beginning of her teaching career more than twenty years ago, Maria recognized a real need for organized educational materials designed specifically for adult learners of Spanish, Portuguese, and English for non-native speakers. To fill that need, she developed programs that combine workbooks with audio practice so that busy professionals and other adults can enjoy immediate results in a positive and supportive environment. These courses were further developed within the stringent framework of her Master’s Degree thesis requirements. Today, they are used by teachers in classrooms and by independent learners who wish to study on their own.

 

Born in the Portuguese Azores Islands, Maria was educated in Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Maria was awarded a B.A. in both Spanish and Portuguese from California State University, Sacramento in 1985, and an M.A. in Spanish also from Sacramento State University in 1986. She completed her Community College Credentials in 1988. In her other areas of interest, Maria has completed courses in psychology, and also spent time in Madrid, Spain where she continued her linguistic and cultural studies.

 

Maria wishes everyone could experience the enrichment that she has derived from education:

“Education is life itself. Acquiring knowledge through formal education has become the most important thing in my life. It has enhanced my life and made all my achievements possible.”

 

Because of her success as an entrepreneurial language consultant, Maria has been profiled in numerous professional publications and newspapers including O Mundo Portugues and O Tribuno, and has been interviewed on several television and radio programs. She is a life member of the Golden Key National Honor Society (CSU-Sacramento), has been a two-time recipient of the Alpha Gamma Sigma Outstanding Service Award (Solano Community College), is a member of the National Collegiate California Adult Education Students Succeed Award.

Today, Maria owns and operates the Maria Oliveira Language Learning Center and her own language consulting firm. She is dedicated to discovering new and innovative strategies that will engage and enrich adult learners. Whether teaching or consulting, Maria Oliveira is an enthusiastic educator who continues to share both the joy of learning and an appreciation for language and culture with all her clients and students.

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