Can teaching Brazilians new languages turn Carlos Wizard Martins into a billionaire? The question asked two years ago by a Forbes article was answered today with the purchase of Grupo Multi by Pearson – a media and education company with 36,000 people in more than 70 countries – for $719.6 million in cash. Language learning is set to keep growing in Latin America’s largest country, mainly thanks to the World Cup and the Olympics coming, the growth of the middle class and of Brazil’s tourism sector. Consider that fewer than 3% of Brazil’s 200 million people are fluent in English and it is easy to realize why Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, has been investing so heavily in the Brazilian market. In 2010, Pearson acquired a Brazilian school system business for $372 million, Pearson’s largest-ever acquisition outside of the U.S. before today’s announcement. Founded in 1987, Wizard’s Multi Group is the market leader in Brazil’s booming language teaching industry, with over 2,600 franchised schools, generating over 20,000 jobs and more than 800,000 students.

Dear Dave,

Dear Dave,

Feeling the power of 350 voices, woven in harmony, inside one of the most acoustically perfect buildings in the world, is an experience not available to everyone.

The following has been reposted with permission fromJasonfwright.com.

Recently, one of BYU Vocal Point's biggest fans, Helen Jamison, found herself stuck in the hospital after an emergency surgery and was unable to use her ticket to attend Vocal Point's concert. One of her family members messaged Vocal Point and explained the situation: Helen had recently torn her aorta and undergone emergency open-heart surgery. Following the surgery, she experienced two small strokes that left her barely conscious and partially paralyzed.

You know the scene, right? It’s the perfect Christmas. There’s snow falling and dancing in the air like Juilliard students.

Dear Dave,

Summer is coming! Here’s a list of great kids’ reads to keep the kids busy, beginning with picture books. There are a lot of great and newly published picture books, but I look for inventive, interactive, fun or teachable books when selecting picture books to review.

Dear Dave,