We recently connected with Mariana S. B. C. Furst and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mariana, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
I moved to the US in 2016 to work as a scholar at USCB, Department of Education. During this time, I was developing my research about teaching-learning languages processes and observing the lack the Brazilian community have of keeping the second and third generation speaking Portuguese and keeping connections with family in Brazil. In the same period, I observed the lack of qualified labor to work with Brazilian Portuguese language in California. I teach Brazilian Portuguese since 1995 and this is something that I do with excellence.
After that I decided to open Capacite in Santa Barbara, CA. Capacite’s mission is designing the best Portuguese language courses and making them accessible worldwide, bringing the best language learning experience to children, young people and adults. Whether in heritage language teaching or second language teaching.
Many people end up losing their heritage language because they do not have access to education for its development. Some even understand the language but cannot speak it. With this audience in mind, Capacite was developed completely virtual. In this way, anywhere in the world that has internet access and there is someone wanting to learn Portuguese, Capacite will be present and available.
Mariana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a Brazilian Portuguese Linguistics Ph.D., I am also Master in Linguistics, and a Bachelor in Portuguese Language and in Brazilian and Portuguese Literature.
How I said before, I teach Portuguese for over 28 years. I have experiences as a K-12 teacher in Belo Horizonte (my hometown in Brazil) School District, improving the performance of many Brazilian teachers by providing continuing education courses, teaching business communication, teaching Portuguese academic writing, teaching Portuguese as second language for foreign students in Brazil, and over 15 years of research on teaching-learning languages processes.
My extensive experience and knowledge bring together my research and teaching expertise to the US. The research and educational innovations that I developed got me invited to come to the US to work as a UCSB visiting scholar for two and half years. During this period, I contributed to local bilingual students by becoming a teacher within the UCSB SKILLS Program in the UCSB Department of Education.
All my knowledge and experience are present in the teaching materials and classes. At Capacite, you study Portuguese using a method designed exclusively to serve English speakers. The Capacite methodology is unique and draws a parallel between Portuguese and English to facilitate understanding of the language and its pronunciation. Through the practical examples, captures from recurring difficulty of foreign language speakers, the student begins to understand the points that make it difficulty to communicate effectively in Portuguese, and learns to reproduce sound that until then, were not recognized by the student.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In February 2016 when I moved to California I was a professor in Brazil. The idea of developing my research in the US and living an experience abroad with my family was fascinating, after all we could develop the English language further and learn more about American culture. We ended up falling in love with Santa Barbara and decided to make it our forever home. This decision makes me live hard days. It is not easy to leave your entire career and start a business from scratch. What keep me alive is my passion about education, because I truly believe that through it we can build a better world.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I am trying to be present in all social media but I just got a good audience on Instagram, and because of it I will talk about that. I normally add content on Instagram 5 days for week, from Monday to Friday. If you intend to learn Portuguese you can find good tips at Capacite’s Instagram and I believe that good content is what makes the audience grow on social media. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://capacite.online/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capacite805/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Capacite/100064068340654/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/capacite-online/?viewAsMember=true