The Brazilian Educational System

Hello everyone!

So, today we're going to talk about study in Brazil. I'm gonna tell you what I saw from the brazilian school system.

When we are about two years old, our parents take us to what we call the Pre-School, that's optional. The "Maternal", for kids from two to five years old, is basically a playgroup. Then comes the Kindergarten, for kids from three to six years old, and it has a more academic focus for small kids.

After Kindergarten, the kid goes to what we call the Fundamental Education, for kids from six to fourteen years old, and it is mandatory. It is divided into two levels: The Fundamental Education I (from the first to the fourth grade, which would be the Elementary School) and The Fundamental Education II (form the fifth to the eighth grade, which would be the Middle School). In the first they learn Portuguese, Math, Science, History, Geography, and in the second, they learn all of those plus a different language, like English.

After that, they go the High School, which we call Middle Education, and that's for children from fifteen to seventeen/eighteen years old. It only takes three years. During this period, the children are trained so hard in order to take the tests to enter the college or university. They can also be trained for specific entrance exams in a kind of course we call "Cursinho" (Little Course, literally), that takes only one year. It is kind of the High School, but it trains you to enter the college.

Then, the best part is to know you entered the college! In Brazil we call it Superior Education (Higher Education). Once the student has successfully completed the High School he takes a test for the university he wants to go to. If you want to go to a public university, the test is harder, because you don't pay anything to study there! Now, if you want to go to a private university, it is easier. The Brazilian government has a program called "University for All" (ProUni). In the end of the High School, you can take a test called ENEM (High School National Exam). After that you can enroll in this program. You choose two private universities you'd like to go to, and according to your score, it tells you if you can go to any of those universities. There is also a program called Sisu (Unified Selection System), which is for federal universities, and it is harder. College or University in Brazil take usually four or five years. Then the student can go to a higher level of studies. Then he starts working...

I guess that's all! Would you like to share with us the Educational System of your country? Leave a comment below! Keep studying!

Image: http://www.readingkingdom.com/blog/2011/01/17/knowing-but-not-showing-when-all-the-studying-seems-to-go-up-in-smoke/

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Holiday Season Vocabulary

Hi everyone!

This is the first post of 2013! The world didn't end!Today we're gonna read a text with some words related to this time of the year. Can you tell what the colored words mean in your language? Pay close attention:
Essa é a primeira postagem de 2013! O mundo não acabou! Hoje vamos ler um texto com algumas palavras relacionadas à essa época do ano. Você pode dizer o que as palavras coloridas significam? Preste atenção:


"Everything starts when we are setting the Christmas Tree. It's a very good moment because we know Christmas is coming! We choose the best decoration for our house, like the socks at the fireplace, the lights hanging on the walls and bright star on the top of the Christmas Tree. Here in Brazil, as the day draws nearer, people go to the supermaket and buy the things they will eat at dinner of the 24th of December. Some time after the dinner, people give gifts one to another. Everybody gets happy! Then they wait until midnight, when you can see a lot of fireworks in the sky. But sometimes people forget why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus was sent from Heaven, he is the son of God, and He came to this earth and lived the perfect life and died for our sins, because God doesn't allow sin into his Heaven, and when we die, if we had accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are going to Heaven. He was born about 2012 years ago, and that's why we celebrate Christmas. We give gifts because Jesus and his family got gifts from three kings who came to see the new born baby, in the city of Bethlehem. But there is also a funny person in Christmas, his name is Santa Claus. He is a very old and fat man who wears red and white clothes and gives gifts to every children in the world if they had been good children throughout the year.
After Christmas, comes the New Year. In Brazil, people like to wear white clothes. They also say that you can have good luck in the next year if you eat lentils. If you are at the beach, you will see people jumping over seven waves, that brings good luck. And finally the countdown. Lots of firework in the sky, people hugging each other, happiness! They like to make plans for the next year, to achieve goals, like buying their new house, having a car, going on a trip... Some people can achieve their dreams, some can't... But if you want to reach a goal, you have to fight for it, not literally, but you have to work hard to make your dream come true. You can't give up! Say it: "I won't give up!".
After these days, people go back to work or continue on vacation and everything goes on like it was..."

I hope you liked this text and can translate all the colored words.
Espero que tenha gostado desse texto e que tenha conseguido traduzir todas as palavras coloridas.

Have a good time!

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