International Volunteer Work Teaching English in Brazil

As an international volunteer, teaching English in Brazil will give you an amazing new perspective on this incredible country. You can gain invaluable work experience abroad without any previous qualifications, and you are not required to have undergone TEFL training. Whether you are coming to volunteer abroad during your gap year, career break, or an extended vacation, you will have a valuable role to play in one of our Teaching placements and you will be able to make a real difference.

Brazil’s economy is currently experiencing something of an economic boom, but the financial prosperity is failing to filter down through society, with an estimated 55 million Brazilians still living under the poverty line. Exploitation of these classes is rife and there have even been accusations of slave labour still existing in some parts of the country. With poor public services and an unreliable social security system, Brazil looks set to remain very much a third world country for the foreseeable future.

For Brazil’s children, one possibility for a better future lies in the learning of the English language, which can allow them access to so many areas of future employment. In a Portuguese speaking country, on a Spanish speaking continent, there has never in the past been a great deal of importance placed on learning English, but more recently this has changed, as globalisation has taken effect. Unfortunately, the better English tuition tends to come at a price, which has restricted it to those who can afford it. As a Projects Abroad volunteer you can help to address this imbalance.

Volunteer Opportunities Teaching English in Schools and Community Centers with Projects Abroad

Projects Abroad Brazil is based in Niteroi in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Here we work in schools and community centres with children who have varying levels of English. They will all have had some English language teaching in the past, but often it will have been with teachers who did not have particularly good standards of English themselves. Consequently they may have a poor grasp of the grammar and structure and limited ability to speak the language. This is where our volunteers come in. By running lessons in English and making them fun and inclusive you can help to develop the pupils’ confidence. They are sure to be interested in your life as a foreigner, and you can take advantage of this to get them talking in English.

In most schools and community centers you will begin as a classroom assistant, supporting the teacher in lessons. However, as you get to know the children better and start to grow in confidence you will want to take on more responsibility. If you have any other interests – such as art, music, drama or sport there will be opportunities to incorporate this into your classes too.

In one community center Projects Abroad volunteers are responsible for organizing and teaching English lessons to students in the evenings. Volunteers spend their afternoons working together planning lessons in preparation for the classes. This is an extremely rewarding placement as the students that attend are eager to learn and benefit greatly from our volunteers.

Volunteers have the option to combine various teaching placements, or to focus solely on one. This can be discussed with the team in Brazil once you have applied.

Volunteering on a Teaching Project in Brazil

Whatever your skills, as a volunteer in Brazil you will make an important contribution by improving students’ spoken English and giving them the confidence that comes from being able to communicate with a native speaker.
The impact you have on the lives of your students will be obvious and long lasting, but you will also be part of a much larger international volunteer network, which is making a really positive contribution to the wider community. It will be an overseas experience you never forget!

Volunteer ProfileGrace Bond

Working with the same students allowed me to gain their trust and respect and watching their confidence grow was so rewarding; being even a tiny part of that process made the trip a hugely successful one. Read more...