Afonso

I studied in the German School of Lisbon and did Abitur. I began studying English in the fifth grade. In the twelfth grade, I taught private English classes to recently enrolled students who had just started to learn the basics. After graduating high school, I went to study European Law in Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Every subject was taught in English. I wrote my bachelor thesis on the gap between de jure and de facto judicial independence in light of the "Europeanisation" of the Balkan States.

During my bachelor degree, I kept on doing private tutoring online to students at the German School of Lisbon. The past year I worked in Vienna for an IT-driven company named "Prewave" as a legal trainee in charge of technology law-related activities. The work was performed both in English and in German.

Additionally, I have a book published in Portuguese named "A Fuga" ("The Escape") and I am currently working on my second novel which is projected to be released by the end of 2023.

My language proficiency levels are the following: English- C2; Portuguese- C2; German- C2.

My name is Afonso Mendes. I am 21 years old and I was born in Lisbon, Portugal. I am passionate about the law, about writing and about football (I tenaciously support Benfica). I enjoy a good fantasy book that makes my mind float and a nice beer in a terrace after a long and tiring day. I believe every student should have its own space to grow. A teacher is not only in charge of providing the student with the knowledge and information required, but also to entice his curiosity and let him get there on his own. I believe it is important to create and develop mechanisms that allow an individual to understand the material regardless of the guidance of the teacher.

In my previous tutoring, I was always a big supporter of creativity. As someone who enjoys creative writing, I think the latter can play an important role even when it comes to standardized learning of a foreign language. Therefore, I am always looking for different and fun ways to allow students to memorize grammar and difficult vocabulary. Even better if the student brings out the creativity in himself. I had the most experience teaching students how to prepare themselves for the IELTS (I have a bachelor degree in Law taught in English which awards me a proficiency level of C2 + I did the exam recently and I got 8.5/9), teaching them about creative writing in English for essays in school and methodical writing for law essays in university.