Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest country in the world in terms of both land area and population, a country of great cultural and linguistic diversity, populated by over 210 million speakers of Portuguese.
However, despite its size and growing global relevance, Brazil has very low levels of English proficiency compared to most countries. If you travel to some of the world’s most popular touristic destinations, such as Spain, Malaysia, India, or Greece, you will likely have an easy time communicating with the locals in English. However, this isn’t the case in Brazil. In fact, according to the British Council, only about 5% of Brazilians can speak English to some degree, and a measly 1% can speak it fluently.
These staggeringly low rates of English proficiency may come as a shock to some, given Brazil’s notoriety on the global stage, from both a financial and geopolitical standpoint. However, English is only spoken by a small minority of the population, mainly outside of the main urban centers such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Manaus, and Brasilia. It is even common to find that staff in restaurants and hotels, as well as Uber and taxi drivers, are mostly only able to communicate in Portuguese, despite Brazil welcoming around 7 million tourists annually. Given that the incidence of English is so low, even in touristy areas, it’s really important that you can speak, or at least have a basic understanding of Portuguese before you arrive if you wish to form deep connections with the locals and enjoy what Pindorama (as the natives used to call it) has to offer in its fullest.
To try and explain this phenomenon, we have compiled and dissected the four main reasons why few Brazilians speak English:
Limited access to education
The first reason is also the most obvious. The low number of English speakers in the country and the uneven distribution across the population is symbolic of the greater issue of inequality and subpar education quality in Brazil. However, this has been improving in recent years, as evidenced by improvements in education metrics.
The vast majority of English speakers in the country are younger middle and upper-class individuals who have had access to good private education. The country’s mass of public school attendees is mostly unable to speak a second language. Even though English is a mandatory discipline in every school in the country, “school English” is not enough for these students to reach full proficiency in the language, only allowing them a very limited understanding of its basic concepts.
Another factor that contributes to the poor quality of English education in Brazil is the lack of continuity in the curriculum. This discipline is often taught sporadically, with little or no coordination between teachers and between different levels of education (e.g. primary, secondary, and tertiary education). This can result in a fragmented approach to the learning process, with students not receiving a consistent and comprehensive education in the language. Another problem is that the focus on English education is often geared toward passing exams instead of developing communicative proficiency. This means that students may be forced to mindlessly memorize grammar rules and vocabulary lists, rather than develop the ability to use English to communicate effectively in real-world situations. This can lead to a lack of confidence and motivation when it comes to using English outside of the classroom.
Although there are many high-quality private language schools and courses available, their costs can be prohibitive for most, particularly those from lower-income families. The inequality also makes itself present on a regional level, with the richer Southern and Southeastern states such as Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul having higher levels of English education while Northern and Northeastern states such as Amazonas, Piauí, and Bahia have lower levels, as shown in the map below. São Paulo is the only state in the entire country with “moderate” levels of proficiency in English, while the other 25 states and the Federal District have either low or very low levels.
Limited exposure to English
Most Brazilians are not exposed to English in their daily lives, mainly because they do not have access to English-language media and materials. Unlike other developing countries, with higher rates of English proficiency, such as the Philippines or India, which were colonized by English-speaking countries (the US and the UK respectively), English is not widely spoken in Brazil, as the country was colonized by Portugal. This means that Brazilians have limited opportunities to practice their English in real-world settings, which can be a major barrier to language acquisition. Additionally, Brazil is geographically isolated from many English-speaking countries.
While there are certainly opportunities for Brazilians to travel abroad to English-speaking countries, this can be prohibitively expensive for many people, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds. As a result, many Brazilians may not have the chance to experience immersion in an English-speaking environment. There are certainly English-language films, TV shows, and music available that reach the country mainly via streaming services, but they aren’t as widely accessible or popular as more established Portuguese-language media such as novelas and music such as pagode and funk, which are an integral and solidified part of Brazilian culture. This has the positive impact of solidifying the position of these immaterial goods as cultural landmarks and preserving national identity. The downside; however, is that it limits exposure to English. As most language learners know, constant exposure is essential for the learning of any language, and any given skill as a matter of fact, so a lesser exposure due to a preference for national media has the negative impact of hindering the learning of a new language.
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Cultural factors
Brazil has a strong cultural identity that is tied to the Portuguese language and Portuguese-speaking countries due to its colonial ties to Lisbon. This has contributed to an obvious preference for Portuguese over English in many areas of life, including literature, music, and film. Brazilian music is famous for its distinctive rhythms and Portuguese lyrics, which reinforce the importance of Portuguese in the country’s cultural heritage.
Some Brazilians may be resistant to learning and utilizing English on a daily basis because they may see it as a threat to the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. Evidently, with the evergrowing influence of globalization and mass media, a myriad of English words have found their way into the Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary and even the dictionary such as “self-service”, “smartphone”, “drive-thru” and hundreds of others, especially words associated with new technologies. This resistance goes as far as popular movements that aim to combat the use of Anglicisms in Portuguese. Indeed, this relatively new phenomenon of large-scale vocabulary replacement leaves many outraged. This group of language patriots fight for the prevalence of Portuguese over foreign words. For example, they suggest that “correio eletrônico” be used instead of “e-mail” and “entrega” be used instead of “delivery”. This resistance may go further, with whole groups of people considering that learning English is of secondary importance in comparison with other subjects such as math or science.
English is hard!
Adequate pronunciation and phonetics can be a real challenge to most Brazilians. The reason for this is that Portuguese has a relatively limited set of vowel and consonant sounds, while English has a wide range of sounds that can be quite tricky to reproduce for non-natives. This is mainly because English stress patterns are different from those in Portuguese, which can also contribute to difficulties with pronunciation. One thing that can be particularly challenging for Brazilians is the production of certain sounds in English that do not exist in Portuguese, such as the “th” sound in words like “thick” and “thought”. These difficulties may discourage many from pursuing a deeper understanding of the language.
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Conclusion
The low levels of English proficiency in Brazil can be attributed to restricted access to education by most, limited exposure to English, learning difficulties, and lack of motivation. While social and educational improvements have been made in recent years, there is still a long way to go to bridge the language gap. In the meantime, for travelers planning on going to Brazil, having at least a basic understanding of Portuguese will go a long way to make the trip a lot more enjoyable and meaningful. Brazil is an amazing country with a multitude of beauties and sceneries, but to enjoy those wonders to their fullest, speaking Portuguese is a must.
Written by Vinícius Lutterbach and Ryan Chindavong
You are right; I was shocked to know that only a few Brazilians speak English. Brazil is prominent on the world stage, especially in the field of sports and so I expected them to have a good command of the English language.
You mentioned that one of the reasons for this is limited access to education. How could this be when Brazil is doing better economically compared to other countries? Also, I am left wondering what curriculum standards is Brazil using in schools. Perhaps the Portuguese language has a wide range of vocabulary words.
I say this because here in the Philippines, all subjects in school in school are taught in English except for the Filipino subject where Tagalog is used. I think this has also to do with the fact that we use international standards in the curriculum and this is why people in the Philippines learn English at a very young age.
Going back to English in Brazil, what you said is true about exposure to the English language through English TV shows and of course, social media. Non-native English speakers who really want to improve their English should expose themselves to English programs.
Kumusta ka? Thanks for your comment! Languages are influenced by historical factors. My understanding is that the Philippines was colonized by the United States, which resulted in the introduction of English and subsequent influence on various aspects of Filipino culture and society. On the other hand, Brazil was colonized by Portugal and that has had an influence on the level of English proficiency in the country.
While Brazil has made significant economic progress in recent years, it still faces many challenges in providing equal access to education for all its citizens. There are many factors that contribute to limited access to education in Brazil, such as poverty, inequality, and lack of resources, which disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
Regarding curriculum standards, Brazil has a national curriculum framework that outlines the knowledge, skills, and values that all students should acquire during their education. However, the implementation and quality of this framework can vary greatly across different regions and schools.