Until recently, Brazilians didn’t need to use English at all. With a self-sustaining society and a history of military dictatorship that cut the country off from most outside contact for 21 years, Portuguese was the only language anyone needed.
But now that Brazil has landed two major games — the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 — that has started to change. After the government won the bids, it began to require public schools in Rio de Janeiro to teach English to all children between the ages of 6 and 8, with plans to expand the program to Sao Paulo next year.
Called Crianca Global — Global Child, in English — the government program has been put in place in order to “prepare these children so that they can actively participate in the opportunities that will open up because of the Olympics,” according to a statement from Claudia Costin, Secretary of Education.
In Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America with over 11 million people, private English-language schools have sprung up on nearly every block with names like Wizard, Skill and Wise Up.It doesn't come cheap. Private lessons tend to run from 50-100 reals ($26-$53) per hour, which is no easy feat to pay when minimum wage is R$545 a month (about $290)
The government isn’t waiting for everyone to learn English. Signs all over major cities and main highways are now in Portuguese, Spanish and English.
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