The Slaughter of Kachru’s Five Sacred Cows in Brazil: Affordances of the Use of English as an International Language

Abstract

This paper reflects about a change in paradigm regarding the role of English in Brazil relating it to Kachru’s notion of the slaughter of the five sacred cows of English. So as to foreground this reflection the study reviews the role of English materialized in language policies in Brazil suggesting that there is a gap between people’s views of and language policies regarding the role of English in that country. The analysis of language policies in Brazil also suggests that English is seen as a foreign language on the one hand, in public schools, and as an international language on the other hand, in private language institutes. Based on the analysis of language policies in Brazil the study suggests that these two divergent views of English create a social divide between those who can afford to learn English and those who cannot. The study concludes that one possible way to slaughter Kachru’s five sacred cows of English in Brazil so as to enable the change of paradigm regarding the role of English in that country is to adopt a view of English as an international language.