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Teaching English in Rural Schools in Brazil

Are you a native or a fluent English speaker? Are you passionate about helping others? Do you want to share your passion and teach English? Yes! Then, look no further. This opportunity to participate in an internship program teaching English in Brazil might be just what you are looking for.

  • Intern in Brazil teaching English from $200
  • Have fun and feel safe during your teaching internship in Brazil
  • Participate in a recommended teaching English program
  • Visit Brazil, get involved with local projects and teach English abroad.

Sadly, there is an insurmountable level of poverty in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Children from the favelas have slim chances of learning English from trained and qualified English teachers in rural schools. IFRE in partnership with rural schools of Rio strives to bring an improvement in the lives of children by sending in interns to teach English. The internship project is located in the rural suburbs of Rio, where interns will work as English teachers in private or public schools, helping children improve their conversational and comprehension skills in English.

Skills/Qualifications Needed

To participate in a Brazil teaching English internship opportunity, you will be expected to be fluent in English, at least. Furthermore, beginner to intermediate knowledge of Portuguese is preferred but is not a requirement. We suggest that you take Portuguese language classes to make communication easier in Brazil. You must be passionate about teaching and taking care of children, with the willingness and enthusiasm to fulfill the role of an English instructor. You must also be flexible and patient.

There is a dress code in place, no shorts or sleeveless shirts and you must have a presentable appearance (i.e. no excessive tattoos or piercings). You must be eager to teach and care for the children, and have basic understanding of the Portuguese language to work effectively with these school-based projects.

The Intern's Responsibilities

As an interns participating in the teaching English project in Brazil will be teaching English or assisting English teachers in classes at schools. You can also choose to teach other subjects like art, mathematics and science according to your knowledge and experience. You will also help in organizing extracurricular activities and have an important role to play making the learning process fun and more interactive. You can use interactive methods to teach like flash cards, singing songs, etc.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FEES & DATES:

Start Dates: our programs start every Monday, however, we allow for flexibility due to travel constraints.

IFRE’s fees for volunteer programs and internship programs are the same. IFRE volunteers offer the world’s most affordable internship programs in Brazil. When you join our internship program, you pay your fee directly to the project of your choice. This way, we ensure that your money goes for you or the people who need it (not for the organization's profit).

IFRE internship fee is divided into two separate fees, an application fee of US which covers advertising, staff, office expenses and other logistic-related expenses. And a nominal weekly program fee which covers room, board, field support, etc. You can visit the following link for details on fees and dates:

http://www.ifrevolunteers.org /brazil/volunteer_in_brazil.php

Additional costs for interns:

International flights, visa application/extension, daily personal expenses on beverages/entertainment daily transportation, laundry, telephone, immunizations.

Board/Food

IFRE arranges board, breakfast and supervision for you for the entire duration of your Brazil teaching English experience. In Brazil, you will have the choice of staying in one of two hostels. Rio Hostel is located in the downtown area and is in the safe and secure neighborhood of Santa Teresa. It has picturesque views, charming shops and a bohemian culture. The other hostel, CabanaCopa, is located within walking distance of the world-famous Copacabana Beach, a metro station and a beautiful natural park.

You will find it easy to travel from both hostels to the project site as well as to the Rio’s infamous attractions and beaches. In the hostels, you will have to share one room with other same-gender interns. Breakfast will be served in the hostels but not lunch and dinner. Fear not, good food is inexpensive in Brazil and readily available.

During the Brazil internship teaching English, our supervisor and project coordinator will be in touch with you. The internship coordinator lives minutes away of the hostels if you need anything. If you need any advice or have any issue, you need to discuss you can talk or call the coordinator.

FAQ

What is an Intern’s day like as part of the Brazil teaching English internship?

Your day as an intern teaching English in Brazil will start at 9 am, then you will teach English classes for three hours to young children or adults at a local NGO. After lunch, at 2 pm you may want to give assistance to local language schools for another three hours.

You can teach all sort of classes; it just depends on your skills and experience. By teaching intensive English classes to favela residents, you will help them getting better jobs, to pass school exams. We offer a flexible internship format to make sure you can have a strong impact on the lives of the favela residents during your short stay, especially if you cannot commit for the duration of a full-semester or longer. This internship program teaching English is ideal for college students, gap year students and adults looking for an opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life. You will have a chance to create your own English class curriculum using our materials without any teaching experience, just be creative. Basic Portuguese is a requirement and speaking Spanish helps too!

Where will I live during my teaching internship in Brazil? How far is the hostel from the school?

Your hostel will be about a 45 minutes public bus ride or train away.

What school will I work at in the Brazil internship teaching English?

It’s hard to tell right now. IFRE works with several schools. Each Brazil teaching internship is different. You will receive detailed information regarding your internship when you submit your application to participate in this program.

How old will my students be?

Your students may be from any age group.

How many students attend each school? How many students are in each class?

Usually, you will be teaching groups of five students, but you can give one-on-one classes too.

Will I be teaching each class alone? Will I have support during each class?

Yes, you will be teaching on your own. Therefore basic Portuguese will be very useful and knowing a little Spanish will help you getting by too.

Do teachers have a curriculum to follow?

Yes, all teachers have a curriculum to follow, but you can adjust it and add more to it.

How many hours per day will I have to teach?

This is up to you. Usually, most interns work a few hours per day in the morning. All our interns who teach English in Brazil can also teach other subjects like computer classes, art and physical education.

What materials do I need to take with me to teach? Does the school provide interns with materials?

The good news is that each school provides teachers, educators, and interns with material. The even better news, it’s that if you have books or other suitable material you want to bring, that’s fine too.

Are the Brazil teaching internship programs available throughout the year or does the program close?

No, the internship is not available during the Christmas, New Years and Carnival.

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