Comunidade
Rio Flow
EN
A laughing girl runs across a sports court holding a green water balloon.

English beyond the classroom

Learn and practise English through sport, arts and civic engagement.

Three English immersion pathways for children and young people, plus a fourth pathway, the Social Entrepreneurship Programme. Internships, field studies and research run across all four.

Students and our volunteers pose together in a classroom at Escola Vidigal, holding up handmade signs.

Pathway 01 · English immersion

Civic Engagement Workshops

Our World, Our Voice

English through dialogue, civic engagement and international exchange.

The goal: improve English through real conversation. Along the way: youth empowerment, confidence and soft skills.

How a workshop works

50%+is our aim for workshop activity in English

  • The approach

    Draws on Professor Stephen Krashen's theory of second language acquisition: comprehensible English in a low-anxiety setting, with structured speaking practice.

  • Co-led

    International participants give 12 hours a week to preparing, designing and co-leading workshops with established NGOs and public schools in Rio de Janeiro.

  • Questions we explore

    Gender and everyday life, AI and the future of work, tourism and community, careers and opportunity.

  • Where

    Regular weekly workshops in Vidigal and Rocinha, and in the Rio de Janeiro public school system.

Pathway 02 · English immersion

Sport+ English

We use sport as a practical environment for language acquisition, confidence-building and cultural exchange.

Our sports programmes run after school and include football, volleyball, frisbee, recreation and games, and other sports and physical activities.

  • Local professionals lead

    Local qualified teachers and experienced coordinators lead the programmes and prepare activities.

  • Participants support

    International participants engage with students, help with English communication and bring new games, activities and perspectives.

A volunteer in a football shirt and a girl hold a volleyball together in front of a painted mural.
A volunteer sets a volleyball over a net to children in a Vidigal alley.

More from Sport + English

Children run across the artificial pitch during an after-school game.
A volunteer in a football shirt plays volleyball with children in a Vidigal alley.
A volunteer and a woman hold a volleyball with a girl in front of a painted mural.
Children gather around a volleyball net strung across an alley.
A girl runs with a pink frisbee across the pitch in Vidigal.
Children and volunteers play a game on the artificial pitch below the graffiti wall.
Children and a volunteer chasing a football across a dusty street pitch.
Close-up of children painting with brushes and bottles of colour.
Girls kneeling along a strip of paper, painting, with bottles of colour lined up in front of them.

Pathway 03 · English immersion

Arts+ English

Language learning through creativity, movement, culture and collaboration.

We combine English immersion with Rio de Janeiro's rich artistic and cultural environment. We bring local practitioners into our programmes to lead workshops and share their experience directly with students. Qualified coordinators provide continuity and structure, while international participants bring ideas, energy and new cultural perspectives.

Activities may include

  • Theatre
  • Painting
  • Arts & crafts
  • Creative workshops
  • Latin dance
  • Brazilian dance
A young man in a red sports shirt smiles while holding an orange frisbee in front of a chain-link fence.

Pathway 04 · Social entrepreneurship

Social Entre­preneurship Programme (SEP) & community development

We connect international university students and experienced practitioners with small grassroots projects and local entrepreneurs in Vidigal and Rocinha.

Practical support in areas such as

  • Digital transformation
  • Marketing
  • Communications
  • Graphic design
  • Fundraising
  • Strategy
  • Business development

Projects typically run for 4–12 weeks. Each week can work as a focused sprint with a clear objective and tangible output. Students work directly with local project leaders and contribute practical work rather than simply producing reports or recommendations.

Local entrepreneurs and project leaders retain ownership and final decision-making authority.

The programme can also bring in local entrepreneurs, activists, filmmakers, designers and other practitioners to contribute their expertise.

Before you apply

What applies across the programmes for volunteers, interns and students.

Email usWhatsApp

  • Who it suits

    International students, volunteers, interns and experienced practitioners who can contribute meaningfully to locally identified needs.

  • Time

    Around 12 hours of project work a week, with the option to contribute more. Work generally takes place in the afternoons or evenings, except in Rocinha on Saturday afternoons. The whole team comes together at Monday meetings.

  • Length of stay

    From 2 weeks to 6 months, year-round.

  • Cost

    No programme fee. Instead, we ask participants to make a nightly donation equivalent to the cost of affordable hostel accommodation in Rio — R$75 (about US$15) in 2026. How contributions are used

  • Support

    Qualified teachers and experienced coordinators lead the activities. We provide practical guidance on arrival, transport, accommodation and participation.

  • What can vary

    Activities depend on programme dates, staffing, partner availability and community needs, so the exact mix you take part in can change.

  • Next step

    Email or WhatsApp us with your dates and interests. The team will get back to you to talk through programmes and practical details.

Internships, field studies & research

Comunidade Rio Flow has hosted 200+ university students and interns from Europe and North America, including students completing experiences as part of their degree programmes.

Two volunteers reading through worksheets together at a table in a library.
A local educator and an international student work through notes together at a classroom desk.
Students and a member of our team talk through a project at classroom desks.
International students go over worksheets with young people in a classroom.
Students and young people read through materials together at desks.
Four young people sitting together on a low wall in front of a red building.

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We work with students and universities to build experiences around academic learning objectives, professional interests, internship requirements, research questions and community needs.

  • Internships

    Practical internships in education, sports, arts, social entrepreneurship, communications, research and community development.

  • Field studies

    Study community-based work directly within Rio's social and educational environment — sustainable and ethical tourism, grassroots community development, language immersion, public education, social entrepreneurship and international development.

  • Independent research

    We have supported undergraduate, Master's and PhD researchers. We help researchers understand the local context, plan projects and make appropriate introductions to community organisations and local partners.

Meaningful experience beyond the classroom

Our programmes combine practical work, community engagement and reflection.

Three boys in blue T-shirts work on English worksheets at a table on a terrace above the hillside community.
Volunteer with usFor universities

  • Apply academic knowledge in practice

    Use skills from your studies on real projects with community organisations, educators and local entrepreneurs.

  • Develop cross-cultural competence

    Communicate and collaborate across languages, cultures and different social contexts.

  • Work within existing community structures

    Understand local priorities, work alongside existing organisations and adapt — rather than arrive with a predetermined solution.

  • Build practical professional skills

    Teaching, sports, arts, research, marketing, communications, fundraising, design, strategy and community development.

  • Understand ethical community engagement

    Reflect on power, responsibility, sustainability and the role of international participants in community-based work.

  • Produce meaningful outputs

    Where appropriate, leave with tangible work identified with local partners — teaching activities, research findings, communications materials or strategic projects.

  • Reflect and learn

    Regular discussion connects practical experience with academic learning and longer-term professional development.