East Bay Spanish Language Teacher Receives the California Adult Education Students Succeed Award
Maria Oliveira, a Contra Costa Spanish and Portuguese language teacher has won the California Adult Education Students Succeed Award.
This project identifies learners who have reached their life goals as a result of their participation in the adult education system and are now active participants in their communities. The project disseminates the stories of these former students and the exemplary programs that assisted them.
Ms. Oliveira was nominated by the Fairfield – Suisun
Adult School in Fairfield, CA based on the following criteria: She
is an
adult with significant life responsibilities, such as those related
to employment, family, and/or community. She has established and
met life goals as a result of completing an adult education program.
She has improved the life situation of self/others as a result of
learning experience. She has overcome difficult circumstances in
order to pursue adult learning experiences.
Maria’s educational background began at age 7 in the Azores
Islands. She came to the United States as a 19-year-old Portuguese
immigrant. From 1977-1979 she attended the Fairfield- Suisun Adult
School for which she attributes much of her professional success.
Today, she owns and directs her own language-consulting firm, Maria
Oliveira Language Consulting Service (https://marialanguages.com).
While she was at the Fairfield- Suisun Adult School, Maria took many business courses. These business classes provided the foundation Maria needed when she started her own business years later. In fact, she says the accounting skills she learned then are still a big help today with her growing language-consulting firm.
After earning several degrees and credentials, Maria came back to the Fairfield- Suisun Adult School in 1993 to teach in the Community Education Program. She created and taught an innovative PALS program (Partners Acquiring Language Skills"). In this class, native speakers of English and Spanish were partners in helping one another improve in the language they were learning. Presently, Maria teaches very popular Conversational Spanish language classes at the Adult School to groups of students who say they "love the class, because Maria loves to teach."
In addition to teaching Spanish, Maria also teaches Portuguese and translates. As a language program specialist, she develops conversational and technical educational materials which consist of CDs, audiotapes and workbooks that allow anyone to learn to speak Spanish or Portuguese on their own. Being a most enthusiastic instructor who loves teaching, Maria makes sure that her students learn. While they are learning, they enjoy and gain an appreciation for the language and the culture in a safe and warm learning environment.
Maria's educational philosophy is that one must work hard and be persistent. She says, "Education is life itself. Acquiring knowledge through formal education has become the most important thing in my life. It has enhanced my living and made all my achievements possible.
Maria can be contacted at: 510-223-3320 or maria@marialanguages.com
