|
Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
mrthingy
Joined: 02 Mar 2011 Posts: 7 Location: UK
|
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:43 pm Post subject: Advice and pointers for someone looking to teach in Brazil. |
|
|
Hi,
I'll start off by saying I know a lot of this will have been asked, but on my brief search I haven't been able to find much, or contradictory things. So any small pointers would be great.
So, I thinking of moving to Brazil in about a year to start teaching. I am CELTA qualified and would have been teaching English to children in Korea for 2 years. I'm a native English speaker from England.
On my (so far brief research):
I know I need money to start, how much? I know people said 2/3 months to live on, so how much is a month wages in a major city in Brazil. I need to get some idea of a budget as I need to start saving now.
The best way to get a job is to get on a plane and start looking, correct? Is there a best time to do it? Basicly I will be leaving Korea and going home for Christmas, so really I can leave any time after early/mid January. Is there a best time for Schools? I read there's not a lot in the lead up to the carnival so is it best to leave it until after mid feb? Would people be looking for teachers right after Carnival?
How important is knowing the language? I heard some places won't hire you if you can't speak it. I'm starting to learn now, but being in Korea there's not many chances to interact with portuguese speakers and I am fairly bad at learning languages so I may not arrive in the country without anything more than the basics.
As I said, I'm sorry, I know this stuff must get asked all the time, but all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tarkaan
Joined: 10 Oct 2011 Posts: 14
|
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 3:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
1. Most Brazilians in my city prefer US / Canadian teachers. You want a larger city like Rio or SP, or at least a second-tier city.
2. Do you know the visa regs here? You won't get anyone to sponsor a work visa. I don't know any single foreign teachers in my city who are working legally (they're all married to Brazilians). Be prepared to fork over R$8 a day for the overstay fine after six months.
3. The expectations of teachers here are very high, and the expectations of students are very low. Be prepared to learn any bad habits you might have picked up in Korea (like grammar-translation for literally everything), and having students with no English in upper-intermediate classes because the Brazilian teachers translate everything.
4. Check the websites of schools for online resume submission. Cultura Inglesa uses that almost exclusively for teachers.
5. If you don't translate literally everything into Portuguese, expect the complaints about you to come flooding in (as they have with me). I have a director who feels the way I do about EOE, but they are rare. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Archie Rice
Joined: 13 Feb 2013 Posts: 45
|
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Hi tarkaan,
I've been offered a position teaching in a one teacher school in small towns around Minas Gerais. I'm an experienced teacher, but have no knowledge if Portuguese. Do you know much about the area and have any advice on how the job sounds? The company isIspeak Idiomas.
Tarkaan wrote: |
1. Most Brazilians in my city prefer US / Canadian teachers. You want a larger city like Rio or SP, or at least a second-tier city.
2. Do you know the visa regs here? You won't get anyone to sponsor a work visa. I don't know any single foreign teachers in my city who are working legally (they're all married to Brazilians). Be prepared to fork over R$8 a day for the overstay fine after six months.
3. The expectations of teachers here are very high, and the expectations of students are very low. Be prepared to learn any bad habits you might have picked up in Korea (like grammar-translation for literally everything), and having students with no English in upper-intermediate classes because the Brazilian teachers translate everything.
4. Check the websites of schools for online resume submission. Cultura Inglesa uses that almost exclusively for teachers.
5. If you don't translate literally everything into Portuguese, expect the complaints about you to come flooding in (as they have with me). I have a director who feels the way I do about EOE, but they are rare. |
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tarkaan
Joined: 10 Oct 2011 Posts: 14
|
Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 3:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Archie Rice wrote: |
Hi tarkaan,
I've been offered a position teaching in a one teacher school in small towns around Minas Gerais. I'm an experienced teacher, but have no knowledge if Portuguese. Do you know much about the area and have any advice on how the job sounds? The company isIspeak Idiomas. |
Your most common parent complaint will be "he doesn't translate in class" and "he doesn't speak Portuguese." Your usefulness will be limited to adults, university students, or high school students interested in taking a vestibular that requires English knowledge, and only at Pre-Intermediate or above. If they ask you to teach anything else, refuse. You will not be successful. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Sublime
Joined: 23 Apr 2011 Posts: 90
|
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
So, er, when's the best time to go job hunting in Brazil again? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tarkaan
Joined: 10 Oct 2011 Posts: 14
|
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
Sublime wrote: |
So, er, when's the best time to go job hunting in Brazil again? |
The semester started about three weeks ago at their schools, and ends about November or so. The best times to apply for jobs are in the winter and summer holidays, July and November / December. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|