As Brazil becomes wealthier with higher income per capita the middle class expands -- with it the affordability of English classes and courses is going up as well. Schools are trying hard to supply more and better trained teachers to satisfy the growing demand. Typically schools only have two choices when it comes to native speakers -- either hire someone who is in the country on a ninety-day tourist visa or sponsor http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0503/teaching_english_in_brazil.shtml them, which is usually not easy.
Obviously schools must hire the large majority of teachers from what's available -- the pool of Brazilian teachers who speak English as a second language. Most often with a heavy accent and no native fluency in the language. This is not to say there aren't excellent non-native ESL teachers in Brazil, but by and large the country lacks teachers with native or near-native fluency.
What can be done? Cutting the government red-tape and creating a more friendly avenue (extended work visa or a teacher guest-worker program) to allow more native speakers into the country would be a huge improvement. This is crucial.
Secondly, (in defense of the Brazilian teacher) creating a way to send more Brazilian teachers to live and experience the language abroad is also crucial and would certainly help -- this involves money and political influence coming from somewhere when it comes to getting a visa to travel to English speaking countries, such as the USA. It is extremely difficult for a Brazilian to get even a tourist visa to enter the USA, let alone an extended visa as a trainee teacher. But the USA is not the only possibility as there are other viable countries out there.
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0503/teaching_english_in_brazil.shtml
http://linkbacklink.blogspot.com
Obviously schools must hire the large majority of teachers from what's available -- the pool of Brazilian teachers who speak English as a second language. Most often with a heavy accent and no native fluency in the language. This is not to say there aren't excellent non-native ESL teachers in Brazil, but by and large the country lacks teachers with native or near-native fluency.
What can be done? Cutting the government red-tape and creating a more friendly avenue (extended work visa or a teacher guest-worker program) to allow more native speakers into the country would be a huge improvement. This is crucial.
Secondly, (in defense of the Brazilian teacher) creating a way to send more Brazilian teachers to live and experience the language abroad is also crucial and would certainly help -- this involves money and political influence coming from somewhere when it comes to getting a visa to travel to English speaking countries, such as the USA. It is extremely difficult for a Brazilian to get even a tourist visa to enter the USA, let alone an extended visa as a trainee teacher. But the USA is not the only possibility as there are other viable countries out there.
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0503/teaching_english_in_brazil.shtml
http://linkbacklink.blogspot.com
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