Dispatch: teaching English in Brazil
Is SĂŁo Paulo the capital of Brazil?
Do Brazilians speak Spanish?
If you donât know the answer to the questions above, and the idea of living abroad appeals to you, you may want to consider teaching English in South Americanâs largest country. Brazil is home to Bossa Nova music, caipirinha cocktails, modernist architecture, steamy soap operas as well as the worldâs highest paid supermodel, to name but a few. Oh yes, there is also the famous carnival. On top of all that, Brazil has a stunning, endless coastline and many other natural landmarks to visit and enjoy.
The English language market in Brazil
Brazil is also the worldâs eighth largest economy by nominal GDP. Due to its continental dimensions and isolation (the majority of the population is on the eastern, Atlantic side, far away from its South American neighbors), most locals do not speak foreign languages.
This has created a huge demand for English tuition since only 5.1 percent of the countryâs population of 208 million people can speak the language, according to a 2014 survey commissioned by the British Council.
Younger Brazilians are more likely to have some degree of fluency in English, thanks to high media exposure and series bingeing. However, a vast swath of the population needs to learn from scratch or hone their skills.
So, for those looking to spend some time in Brazil, and are allowed to work in the country, teaching English could offer a possibility to make a living in this exciting country while also make new friends and see some pretty amazing scenery.
It is not necessary to have a formal TEFL qualification to teach English in Brazil, although it gives you a competitive edge. Having a degree and C1 level of proficiency are usually enough. Native speakers have a natural advantage but, unlike some countries like Germany, being a native speaker is not a requirement, as most EFL teachers in Brazil are actually Brazilian. Most language schools will train new teachers in their method and mentor them in the first few months of employment.
Next, despite the crisis, demand for language courses remains high, since many people see the downtime as an opportunity to gain new qualifications to improve their prospects when the job market takes off again.
You may have guessed it: pay is not amazing, especially when translated into Euros and Dollars with the national currency Real at an all-time low. The sunny side to that is that the cost of living has gone down, too, with rental rates lower than they used to be in boom times.
Giving private lessons is the most effective way to boost income. It shouldnât take long to gather a string of private students by word-of-mouth, leaving business cards in local shops and posting on social media. In fact, focusing on private lessons may be a more profitable option as hourly rates are higher (around $17-23) and you can keep a more flexible schedule. In this case, lesson planning experience and familiarity with EFL materials is essential.
Brazil is in the southern hemisphere, so the long, summer holiday is in January and the school year starts in February. In July, schools take a two-week break in the second fortnight of the month.
There are rounds of recruiting twice a year. By June, school managers will start selecting new names for their teaching teams, so sending in a resumĂš around April and May is a good bet to reach employers at a time when they are more receptive. Another recruitment cycle kicks off around October and November for a February start.
Often recruiters will invite successful applicants for an interview and, for those still abroad, schools may be flexible enough to carry out the first interview over a video call. Training will usually take place in the month before the beginning of the term.
 Some chains are best avoided
The Brazilian market is full of novelty foreign language chains with promises of miraculous learning outcomes and materials they have created themselves, which are often below standard. A look at their websites and the hyperbolic marketing screaming out of the homepage can give a clue as to how they run their business. Their fees are lower since they make most of their money from selling their textbooks. They also pay teachers less than reputable, traditional organizations like Cultura Inglesa (also here, in business since the 1930s) and Alumni, besides many other boutique, upmarket organizations. Look out for the ones that offer in-service classes. These tend to pay more and students love native speakers.
Brazil is a country full of⊠Brazilians. Even in big cities, there are not significant expat and immigrant communities. Chances are your classroom will be made up mostly of a monolingual group of Brazilians. This has advantages since students will have similar difficulties but it also means that the teacher cannot fall back on language one when that is probably the quickest way to clarify a point. That said, most schools will probably assign foreign teachers to intermediate-plus students, where they can rely solely on English.
Brazil is a huge country. I mean, massive, bigger than the whole of Europe together. It is actually bigger than the United States if you take out Alaska. Therefore, there are huge cultural variations, even though the language itself does not vary as much as it does in a tiny country such as England, where every town seems to have its own accent.
If you find employment with a school, regional differences are smoothed out because all branches have to stick to a program and a calendar, including test dates. They sell a product and itâs the teacherâs job to deliver that product and ensure âcustomersâ are happy.
In general, Brazilians are very friendly, chatty and curious about foreigners and the teacher-student relationship is likely to be a happy one. Teenagers may need some goading since they are learning English because they have to. Adults, on the other hand, need English at work so they will be more focused in order to overcome fossilized patterns from previous learning experiences. Most people do English twice a week for one hour and a half each lesson. Therefore, progress can be slow, especially when it comes to oral fluency and pronunciation, which in my experience are the biggest challenges for Brazilians EFL learners.
Before you dash off to buy a one-way ticket to BrazilâŠ
Living in Brazil can be an unforgettable and enrichening experience. Working as an EFL teacher can be just the ticket to settle in the country and will allow you to meet people and make new friends. But Brazil is also an extremely complex country of huge economic and cultural contrasts that takes some getting used to. Most cities are badly served by public transport. In fact, services in general are slow and inefficient. Crime rate is high everywhere.
Then again, no one and no place is perfect. If you are looking to immerse yourself in a vibrant culture, learn a second language and make some friends for life, then you may want to consider an EFL teaching stint in Brazil. And, who knows, you may even end up staying for goodâŠ
Good luck and tchim-tchim!
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