Teach English in Brazil

What destination could be more exciting than Brazil? Brazil is a land of colour, vibrancy, energy and rhythm. Enjoy sunny world famous beaches such as Copacabana. Get to know the beautiful friendly people.
Visit Christ statue, recently voted one of the world’s seven new wonders. Dance samba, fight capoeira, watch football in Maracana stadium with 140 000 passionate supporters. Sit in quaint neighbourhoods sipping on coco or caipirinha. Enjoy the unique cuisines Brazil has to offer. Visit the spectacular Amazon Jungle, cultural cities such as Salvador, beach paradise islands like Florianopolis or bustling cities such as Rio de Janeiro.

It is unlikely to have a dull moment in Brazil!

What better way to enjoy this amazing country by interacting closely with the local people in a language teaching environment.

MAP OF BRAZIL

BEST PLACES TO TEACH
The easiest place to find teaching position is in Sao Paulo. The quality of life however is not great as it’s a huge city. Places like Florianopolis are great live because of the wonderful beach life, but teaching jobs are limited and not well paid, the same goes for Salvador. Rio appears to be the compromise between life-style and work pay. There is however a lot of violence in Rio, so people should take care.

SALARY
Salaries depend on experience, teaching proficiency and the amount of time spent in Brazil. Starting from R$15 per hour. This rate increases up to R$40 per hour. A monthly salary would be between R$500 to R$3000. Renting an apartment can be difficult as it usually requires a long term lease of 30 months. You can rent a temporary apartment but the rate is much higher. An apartment would cost about R$1100 a month. This does not include carnival and new years when the rates are much higher. A room in a home in Copacabana costs around R$700 per month and often includes breakfast.
A bus trip costs R$2.10, the metro costs R$2.60. A beer costs R$2, a loaf of bread costs R$3.

MEDICAL
It is almost essential to bring medical insurance. There is free public health care in Brazil but it is in a shocking state. Private health care is expensive so arrive with some health insurance. Vaccinations that are necessary are yellow fever. Certain hepatitis injections are recommended. There are no major problems in Brazil, thousands of foreigners visit Brazil every year without incident.

CLIMATE
Brazil has a friendly climate all year round. In the south it gets cold in the middle of the year. Schools do most of their hiring in February and July, but jobs are available all year round.

STUDENTS
Students are generally great. As with most countries they don’t always do their homework but are generally cooperative in lessons. Most enjoy a more a lively approach to classes, so using songs and interesting books and articles is important. Everyone pays for their classes so it’s important to give good classes as they are not part of state education as in other countries.

SAFETY
Rio and Sao Paulo can be a dangerous. If you follow tourist safety advice such as not carrying important documents and large sums of money in the street, you will be ok. There has been a huge safety campaign in both cities with the result of both places being much safer. The rest of Brazil is relatively safe.

LANGUAGE
Portuguese is the official language of the country. English is not widely spoken is it is a good idea to learn some Portuguese if you intend to stay for an extended period.

VISAS
It is illegal to work in Brazil without a working visa. However, to obtain a work visa to teacher is near impossible. There is a blind eye turned to those working on a tourist visa mainly because of the great need of English teachers and also because Brazil has many problems far greater and since teachers do good things (education) they experience little problems.

Tourist Visa – Many countries, such as those from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and most European countries can enter Brazil without needing to apply for a visa. Entering in this manner entitles you to stay in the country for 90 days, which is extendible by 90 days. This period is valid per 365 days and not per year; Brazil does not work with the calendar but with days. So if you enter in July you could stay in Brazil for 90 days, extend it by a further 90 days but then you would only be permitted to enter again the next July. If you overstay your visa you will be subject to a fine/tax of just over R$8 per day up to a maximum of 100 days. So if you stay for an extra 400 days, you will have a fine/tax of just over R$800.
Americans need to apply for tourist visas before entering Brazil. This is usually a strait forward process; contact the closest Brazilian consulate for specific requirements.
Tourist visas do not entitle you to work legally in Brazil. Many schools though will hire you as there is a real shortage of quality English speakers in the country. Since you are doing a good thing (providing education) authorities don’t make problems with this.

Work Visas – Work visas for English teachers are near impossible. Thye require a school to hire you and then sponsor your visa. Schools are generally reluctant to do this as they will be obliged to look after you during your stay, and they can get a teacher anyway without having to go through this cumbersome process by just hiring someone who is Brazilian or someone working without a visa. Although it is not impossible to convince a school to apply for a work visa for you it’s extremely rare.
Other options - Student visa, investment visa, volunteer visa, missionary visa, retirement visa, marriage, having children.


TYPES OF SCHOOLS AND RATES OF PAY
1) Day-to-day schools:
There are two main types of schools to work for in Brazil
Firstly there are the day-to-day private language schools, such as: Wizard, Wise-up, Uptime, Cultura Inglesa, CNA, IBEU, BRASAS, etc.
These schools typically require students to sign up for a semester of about 5months where the students will come twice a week. You will be required to teach basic English following a course book with 4-12 students in the class.
These types of schools provide stable regular employment for teachers, but methodology is restrictive and rates of pay are lower.

Rates of pay (per hour):
Rio: R$15
São Paulo: R$18
Florianopolis: R$11
Salvador: R$12

Visa: (see below about obtaining a visa)
Many of the main schools require a work visa, perhaps in the smaller towns they will not ask for this.
Cultura Inglesa generally asks for a university degree. All schools require you to partake in a training program that lasts between 3 days to two weeks.

2) In-company business schools:
The second type of place to teach is what is termed: Incompany. With this type of teaching you would go meet your students at their offices or homes and teach more business English. Many of the students already speak English quite well and merely want to practice some conversation. This is where native speakers are in demand. The work is less frequent and less reliable students often cancel a few minutes before the class, but once it gets rolling the conditions are more comfortable, pay is better and you generally work with a higher caliber of person. There are usually 1-3 students for this class. These schools generally give you about 4 hours a week in the beginning to gauge your teaching ability and then build that up accordingly. So it is best to try work for various schools in the beginning to get a more complete timetable.

Rates of pay (per hour):
Rio: R$20-R$30
São Paulo: R$30-R$50
Florianópolis: R$12-R$30
Salvador: R$12-R$30

Visa: (see below about obtaining a visa)
Generally these schools do not require you to have a working visa in order to start working.


MORE INFORMATION
For more information about teaching English in Brazil contact Damon at: sunshinetefl@live.com.

We have a special products on offer at the moment. We have compiled a book that has over 1200 schools' contact details. Apply directly to the schools for teaching positions in Brazil. See our website for details.

We are company that helps foreigners who wish to come to Brazil on an extended stay and have a more in depth experience of Brazil. We offer introductory TEFL courses, Portuguese language training and accommodation with Brazilian families. We also have teaching school directories to help foreigners get placed in jobs quickly. There is also a volunteer program available.
See our website for more details.
www.sunshinetefl.com