Hi, I'm Maya and I'm currently living in New Zealand teaching English in between university and Portuguese language studies. I am going to live in Brazil early next year as my partner (who is Brazilian) will be there and I am genuinely interested in the country. 

I was wanting to ask people who live and work in Brazil what it's like to teach there and whether it was difficult to find students for home tutoring. I'm planning to purely home tutor (if I can't get into an English school) and maybe teach Japanese as well as I am fluent.

I was also interested in visa situations and whether money is under the table and teachers work on an expired tourist visa as I have heard so many times... I would also like to know the teaching situations depending on the place (e.g. a big city like São Paulo and Vitória and small towns like Alegre and Guaçui).

Any other information would be greatly appreciated! :)

Hi Miya,

I live permenantly in Brazil as my husband is Brazilian.  You're going to love it here.  What part of Brazil is your partner from? 

Have you thought about coming to Salvador, the capital city of the state of Bahia?  I actually work in admin now, but I have done voluntary English teaching at the Pracatum project (just one of many worthwhile charities here where you can volunteer as an English teacher), which would be great for you as it sounds like you've got a bit of, plus you're already teaching so are not going into it cold, and have Portuguese as a back up; and I've done private lessons which is also good, especially if you can get work with companies, teaching their employees in groups of 3 - 4.  Teaching one-to-one, make sure you set firm ground rules with your clients regarding late cancellations, and don't expect much in the way of homework as the your students will typically be under a heafty work schedule, but all in all it's a good option too - there's certainly demand.  There's a great Portuguese language school here too, for foreigners of all levels: portugueseinbrazil.com  

If you do fancy Salvador, I 'd be happy to help you find your feet, organize accommodation, that sort of thing.

Hi Katiehess,

Thanks for your reply! I would love to visit Salvador... My partner's aunt lives there and I hear Bahia is wonderful. :) My partner is living in Alegre, Espirito Santo at the moment doing her degree in Forest Engineering, so I will be living in Alegre. We're thinking of getting a partnership visa so I'm not a crazy illegal immigrant a year later as we can only be recognised as a de facto couple in a stable union if we've been living together for at least a year. My partner and I are a lesbian couple so it makes things that much harder.... And homophobia can be a problem in small cities such as Alegre. I'm a designer so I'm hoping to work from home and hopefully get a teaching job in Cachoeiro. Things are still undecided.

I'm realy interested in what you're doing but of course I have to stay with my partner in Alegre so Salvador isn't an option at the moment... And you willing to help me means a lot, thank you so much. :) But I'm hoping to still stay in contact with you to exchange information, and I'm definitely going to take your advice on board with me.

Hello Katie and Miya,

I am a US Army soldier and am finally about to close out my 12 year career. Im hanging up my uniform for good after this last deployment in Afghanistan, from which I return home in November 2012.

I have been to a lot of places thanks to the military. I was stationed in Germany for 5 years. I absolutely loved it there. M many tour of duties include Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Kuwait, Iraq and now Afghanistan.

Unfortunately due to all of my military obligations, I havent had a chance to get a college degree. I want to start a new career path and started looking into TEFL. From my research so far it seems like my dream since I was a child. I plan on enrolling in a 140 hour TEFL course and want to take the course at an actual institute rather than online, as I prefer face to face rather than long distance.

After I finish the TEFL course I plan on enrolling in an accredited online college to start work towards my degree. Along with this I also plan on finding a TEFL job. I have researched a lot but am still confused as to which countries require a degree to work there. I believe that Brail does not actually require one and this would be a great place to start, or so Ive heard.

I was wondering if you could give me some clarification on this, whether I am correct or not. Also, would it be possible for you to give me some insight as to how it is over there and how difficult it will be to find work with no degree and cost of living and what not.

I have never been so aggressive about wanting to do something as much as I want to do this. I dont care about the pay as long as it pays for the cost. I want to make a long term career out of this and I just want to enjoy the culture of other countries and the cultures and its people that I meet along the wy. I want to continue to help the people the way I have been since my volunteering to join the military when I was 17. Which is also another job you really don't take for the pay  >.<

Thank you in advance for information and help you can give me...Thank you and have a Blessed Day!!!

Billy

Hi Billy, I took a TEFL course before moving to Brazil at the end of 2009, but so far haven't had the chance to use it! It is very hard to get legal residence status in Brazil, which allows you to work, so most people just come for a holiday and either stay illegally, look for a job once they are here - or work illegally. If you are on a tourist visa (or a volunteer visa like me) you are not supposed to do paid work, but many do (and don't get caught!) but you will probably end up being paid less as the employers will take advantage of your illegal status too!

The big cities are the best options for getting teaching work, but the cost of living is very high too so it is a trade-off. I live in a little town in the back of beyond, so it is cheap to live here, but teaching opportunities are few and far between, and rates very low. I have a friend who has a languiage school here and she charges US$60 for a month (8 x 1 hour lessons) one-on-one, but struggles to find clients so does a lot of bartering - lessons in exchange for massages, or cheese!!

Brazil is not one of the countries that requires a degree, though some of the bigger International Schools in Rio or Sao Paulo may insist on it. There is a huge gulf here between the haves and have-nots, and most of the latter, who would benefit most from speaking English, just cannot afford language school rates, but would be good for beer money if you had a primary income from a school.

i-to-i has good information about the requirements for each country, and usually a selection of vacancies here, but you might also try sites like Dave's Esl Cafe (www.eslcafe,com), and that also has info on countries and tips for getting the best out of it. You might also like to sign up to the ex-pat website www.gringoes.com, which has a Brazil forum and members from all over who can offer advice, and sometimes has teaching jobs on offer.

I came to Brazil to escape the cold English winters, and for the cheap cost of living and am loving it, but not sure I would want to live in the big cities!!

Regards,

David

hey there,

Any chance of some help, i am so keen to go and Teach in Brazil, but having no luck finding any info on where i can get a job, i have got my TEFL and TESOL and so eager to get out there.?

bailey