Public policies for English teaching, an overview of
Brazilian public network experience

Next year, 2020, English teaching will become compulsory in public schools in Brazil. The government has recognised that, if it wants to have a world class economy that can negotiate internationally, having a greater percentage of people who can operate in English is an essential requirement, not a luxury. A study carried out by Move Social exclusively for the British Council, the first comprehensive analysis of how Brazilian states are creating a basis for compulsory teaching and learning of English has been issued. The study is supplemented by analyses and reflections by professionals from the area of education and English language teaching, and also describes some inspirational practices. As was to be expected, the results show great variations in the states’ level of preparation, even though a considerable amount of work has been done in developing curricula to comply with the Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC) [Commom National Curricular Base]. There is also an important analysis of the positioning in state documents about a focus on traditional grammar versus essential communication skills for the 21st century listed in the BNCC.

According to the survey Demandas de Aprendizagem de Inglês no Brasil [Demand for English Learning in Brazil, British Council, 2013], only 5.1 per cent of the population aged 16 or more claim to have some knowledge of English. This claim, however, is more a question of perception and does not necessarily translate into actual knowledge of the language. Among the younger people, aged from 18 to 24 — who have completed or are about to complete their secondary education — the number claiming to speak English doubles to 10.3 per cent. Even so, this is a low percentage if we consider that most Brazilian students spend at least seven years studying English at school – more specifically, from the sixth grade of lower secondary education to the third grade of upper secondary education, for an average of two hours a week. There are also students who take English lessons at private language institutions or on courses offered before or after class by the public networks themselves. If we want to disrupt this conflicting situation and offer quality English teaching for all as part of the basic curriculum, we have to understand what it is during their time at school that determines whether or not they learn the language properly.

(Available at https://www.britishcouncil.org.br. Adapted.)