Job Discussion Forums

[mrthingy]

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!

[Tarkaan]

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.

[Archie Rice]

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]

[Sublime]

So, er, when's the best time to go job hunting in Brazil again?

[Tarkaan]