I’ve been an independent language teacher for quite a while now, and this is definitely the job that best suits me: no boss, no paperwork, and endless possibilities to tailor classes to the student’s needs. And what the vast majority of people need is to speak the target language fluently and feel at ease using it in their daily lives, at work and elsewhere. They need to understand different forms of media and interact with them, which means being citizens of a globalized world. A straightforward approach comes in handy, and it all becomes very simple and right to the point.             Let me show you through three of my online Portuguese students (I’m very grateful for their consent to participate). They fit into my schedule just like my English, French, and Spanish students, but they have something special: they’re in my country (Brazil), they have already had a...