Some language schools offer Portuguese classes.
We bring Brazil closer to our students.
Welcome to Brazil in Chicago
Learn Portuguese with us
Experience and dedication since 2006
We combine over 15 years of experience teaching languages, in three regions: United States, Brazil, and Europe. We have taught in corporate offices, classrooms and private homes.
Since 2015 we have added online classes to our offerings, which prepared us for an easy transition to a new era of home office.
Our clients include
We have worked with companies, institutions and organizations in both Brazil and in the United States. We have trained their employees, translated their materials, and even provided cross-cultural training to prepare their employees to work in/with the other culture.
Abbot
Accenture
AON
Bosch
BR Foods
Chicago Board of Trade
Chicago Booth
Colgate
Euromonitor
Kraft
Lion's Club
Mackinsey
Mandaê
Mintel
National Starch
Navistar
Prudential
Rotary Club
Tampico
UBS
UiC
Unilever
United Airlines
Whirpool
The Brazil in Chicago story
Our founder, Marcelo Jarmendia, our founder, has over 20 years of experience teaching. He started his career teaching Spanish in companies throughout São Paulo, Brazil. In late 2004, now in Chicago, he continued his passion, teaching both Spanish and Portuguese. Two years after moving o Chicago, in 2006, he organized the first three group classes of Brazilian Portuguese, one of them specially tailored for Spanish speakers.
Later that year, in October 2006, Brazil in Chicago opened its doors - the first language school dedicated to Portuguese in the United States. We had two classrooms in the Uptown neighborhood. As the Brazilian economy was expanding at that time, demand for the Portuguese language increased dramatically. In order to attend to that demand, we quickly had to expand to two more classrooms, and our small team of three instructors doubled in size.
The first Portuguese language school is born
There, our school, with four classrooms, also hosted movie showings, kids classes, cooking classes, and dance classes. Here is when we really expanded, having an average of 12 group classes every week. Our close connections with the Brazilian artistic community allowed for many collaborations. We were also the first sponsor of Mostra, the Brazilian film festival in Chicago. As Brazil’s GDP was growing, so was the demand for Portuguese, which also came from the prestigious MBA schools in Chicago. We sent teachers there to work with their LaTam student groups, where students were committed to speaking the languages of Latin America.
In 2009, a whole cultural center in the heart of Lincoln Square
We combine over 20 years of experience teaching three languages - Portuguese, Spanish, and English - in three regions - United States, Brazil, and Europe. We have taught in corporate offices, classrooms, and private homes. Since 2015 we have added online classes to our offerings, which prepared us for an easy transition to a new era of home office.
Brazil in Chicago is now beyond Chicago
We have a passion for Portuguese
Our method is based on an intercultural approach, where students are encouraged to converse and learn not only about Brazilian culture but also to think about their own and also their classmates’ - we have a very international group of students! We want you to speak from lesson one. You will learn vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, but the goal is to use them as building blocks for conversation.
If you speak Spanish, either as a first or a second language, we strongly recommend that you take one of the group classes for Spanish speakers. We developed a method that takes advantage of the many similarities between the two languages, resulting in a shorter path than that based on the English language.
Private classes are customized based on the student’s preferences, strengths, and goals.
Learn to speak Portuguese from day one with our unique teaching method
There is a course for everyone who wants to learn Portuguese
We understand learning a new language can be challenging, but it is also a rewarding experience. Therefore, we have created a test to measure the needs of our potential students and then select classes and levels that are best suited to them. We also prefer to have an interview with potential students to learn what their goals from learning Portuguese are, as we create conversation based classes on different content. This allows us to customize a plan fully geared towards our students’ Portuguese learning experience. So whether you are someone who just wants to learn basic Portuguese, or someone who has had years of classes and simply wants to practice speaking. Just let us know and we will come up with the rest.