The Triple Entente in Brazil: In-Service English Language Professional Development

Background

Brazil has been a multilingual country since its origin. Before its colonization, millions of indigenous people lived on the land with their customs, culture and, of course, languages. European languages ​​were brought to the territory from 1500 onwards. From Portugal came Portuguese, the country’s official language and spoken by most of the population. However, the successive invasions and migratory waves, in addition to the need for communication with the indigenous people, created an environment in which many languages ​​were used. Today more than 220 languages ​​are present in Brazil (Megale, 2019).

Concerning ELT, it was only in 1996 when the Lei de Diretrizes e Bases (LDB) or Law of Guidelines and Bases made the inclusion of a foreign language in the curriculum mandatory in primary and secondary school. In 1998, when the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCN) or National Curricular Standards were established, the importance of English teaching was even more emphasized (BRASIL, 1998). Nevertheless, most regular schools offer 1 or 2 hours of English a week in their curriculum (Megale, 2019).