Teaching English in Portugal
Portugal is a good place for English language teachers to gain teaching experience, while enjoying interesting cultural and sightseeing activities. The English language is in demand in Portugal, and so are good English language teachers. If you are interested in teaching overseas, you might want to consider Portugal.
Life in Portugal
People in Portugal enjoy life. Traditional folk festivals, good, simple food, soulful music, and bustling markets fill the days in this charming country.
Four decades of dictatorship kept Portugal from modern progress. Now, however, Portugal is restructuring its economy, while struggling to maintain what is best in its national culture.
History of Portugal
Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.
Economy of Portugal
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors.
The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-03. GDP per capita stands at 70% of that of the leading EU economies. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth.
Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The coalition government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling.
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