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We aim at presenting “Paraná Fala Inglês - PFI” [Paraná Speaks English], a language program that was launched in 2014, by the Secretary of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Paraná, Brazil, in order to facilitate access to English language learning as well as to promote internationalization in Parana State Universities. PFI was conceived by officers and professors from public state universities, in the light of current internationalization opportunities, the majority of which require high achievement in proficiency exams such as TOEFL. The emergence of various international programs has brought fabulous opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, faculty and staff to explore higher education abroad in the 2010s. Nevertheless, inadequate language skills hinder participation, as it was verified in the Brazilian Science Without Borders (SWB) program. While students from the state of Paraná also enjoy these programs, international officers advocated further support for students, faculty and staff from our state universities to earn access and develop their language skills not only with the SWB in mind, but also to cover non-STEM fields. An initial investment of about seven hundred thousand U$ dollars was granted in 2014 and enabled the seven universities in the Paraná Higher Education system to launch “Paraná Fala Inglês”. The preliminary results in terms of amount of applicants statewide, enrollment rates after the placement test, amount of classes under way and of teachers engaged, as well as logistic and methodological aspects are the subject of our presentation.
Author(s):
Eliane Segati Rios Registro
Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná - UENP
Brazil