Going down to Rio for a few months and teach English sounds “cool”, but you face many hurdles.
Working on a tourist visa is illegal. The major ESL language schools will not hire you, which means you will have to give private classes and if you don’t speak Portuguese then it is almost impossible to find clients, discuss schedules, fees etc, unless the student is already at an advanced level.
I don’t know what the going rate per hour is for private English classes in Rio these days. I would guess around R$30-35 for conversation classes. If the English is more specialized (English for the Oil Industry, Aviation, etc) you can charge more.
There are lots of young, native speakers of English in Rio, who are also trying to find students. Thus, if you have ESL credentials and experience you will be able to charge more and hopefully find more and better quality students.
You have to get your money up front. Students should pay in advance for X number of classes per month. You will need a minimum of three hours of classes per day to make enough to get by and getting by is about all you can hope for. You will find the your classes will be very early in the morning, late at night and on Saturdays. You will spend considerable time going from one part of the city to another, which is non-income earning time.
The above is mostly true for São Paulo, except it has a larger ESL market and less young, native speaking gringos.
>> List of ESL job opportunities in São Paulo
There are many more opportunities in the hinterland where native speakers are rare. In these cities the cost of living is lower and the lifestyle more laid back…..but they ain’t Rio.
Go to Gringoes.com’s Forum, sign up, then do a search for “teaching English”. There have been many discussions in the past.
UPDATE: 24 Oct 08
Young woman from California who is teaching English in Brazil. Click on the link below to get the straight scoop on the ESL life in Brazil.
>> Danielle in Brazil – good info on teaching English in Brazil
LINKS: (major English language schools)
> CNA – Cultural Norte Americano
> Cultura Inglesa – schools in 70 cities
> Fisk
> USA Binational Centers by city
> Wizard
> Yázigi
A great site for ESl students is AIDtoCHILDREN.com
AIDtoCHILDREN.com is a dual-purpose site for building an English vocabulary and raising money for under privileged children in the most impoverished places around the world.
Check it out at http://www.AIDtoCHILDREN.com
While some of the major schools will not hire gringos without work visas, there are plenty of schools that do, that pay from R$25-30 per hour. Private classes can run from R$35-50/hour and are actually more difficult to arrange than getting hired by a school.
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So it’s difficult but not entirely impossible?
What happens when my tourist visa expires? I’d like to stay in Brazil considerably longer than three months.
Could I charge more because I also speak portuguese?
Would students be willing to travel to me? Could I charge more for travelling to them?
Are ya luvvin it?
Hi Daniel,
You can extend you visa for another 90 days.
You can overstay your visa and usually they only fine you. But not good as you will be in the computer as an “over stayer”. Might complicate your next visa application.
Speaking Portuguese has nothing to do with visas; however, will make getting around much easier.
Charging all depends on where you, the type of accommodation you have and the type of student; older working, professionals will want you to come to their offices as a rule.
In the beginning you will probably need to go to them until you have a good reputation.
Unless you have extensive ESL teaching experience or are TESL certification, it will be difficult to get hired by a school..but not impossible.
Very difficult to survive teaching English. But the young always think they can put it off.
Just remember, you ain’t the first gringo to get off the boat thinking he is going to live the good life in Brazil teaching English. Brazilians have been seeing them coming and going for years.
Am I loving it? Hee Hee
ExpatBrazil