Duolingo English Test Course for Students in Brazil — Online with Certified Instructors

Where Brazilian students apply — and which universities publish a DET score

The DET is accepted by more than 6,000 institutions worldwide, and it is strongest exactly where Brazilian students go: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. A few examples with published numbers, so you can see the shape of it:

• Arizona State University (USA) — 95 for general undergraduate programmes, 100 for Nursing, 105 for higher-requirement Engineering programmes, 120 for Cronkite journalism.
• University of Toronto (Canada) — 120 overall with 120 in Production for undergraduate admission.
• Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) — 120 overall with 100 in each subscore for most courses, 130 with 110 in each for higher-band courses.
• IE University (Spain) — 130 on its published language-requirements list.
• UK universities — degree-level admission is normally handled by the university’s own assessment; see DET score requirements at UK universities.

Portugal is the exception in the Brazilian list: most programmes there are taught in Portuguese, so an English test is only needed for English-taught masters. Always open your own programme’s language page and look for Duolingo by name before you commit to anything, and cross-check the official Duolingo accepting-institutions directory.

The score you actually need

Scores run from 10 to 160 in steps of 5, with four subscores (Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation, Production). The pattern across most admissions pages looks like this:

Two things decide whether you get an offer: the overall score and the subscore minimum. Toronto’s 120 in Production is a good example — a student can hit 120 overall and still be refused on Production alone. Aim a little above the number your programme lists, because scores move in 5-point jumps and no one performs identically on the day.

Does anything in Brazil accept the DET?

Inside Brazil the DET is rarely an admission requirement: undergraduate entry runs through ENEM and vestibular, and teaching is in Portuguese. Where it does come up is the international side of Brazilian university life — exchange and double-degree placements handled by the escritório de relações internacionais, English-taught masters, and applications to partner universities abroad. Those offices publish their own list of accepted proficiency evidence, and it is often the partner university’s list that governs.

So the honest answer for Brazil: treat the DET as your passport out, not as a local requirement, and confirm in writing with the receiving institution first. A one-line email — “Do you accept the Duolingo English Test, and what overall and subscore minimum do you require?” — saves months.

What the test actually asks you to do

One adaptive exam of about an hour mixes roughly fifteen question types, and the adaptive engine keeps raising the difficulty while you keep answering well. Knowing what each task rewards is most of the preparation:

• Read and Complete and Read and Select — precise grammar, spelling and vocabulary work that builds Literacy; these are method tasks, not guessing games.
• Listen and Type and Read Aloud — short, high-frequency items that move Comprehension and Conversation faster than anything else on the exam.
• Interactive Reading and Interactive Writing — longer sets where pacing decides the outcome: run out of time on the last screen and the whole set suffers.
• Speak About the Photo, Listen Then Speak and Read Then Speak — spoken tasks graded on how long you keep going, how clearly you structure the answer and how varied your language is. Stopping after twenty seconds is the single most common self-inflicted loss.
• Writing Sample and Speaking Sample — the longer pieces that shape your Production subscore and are also sent to the institutions you choose.

Your overall score is reported on the 10–160 scale with four subscores — Literacy, Comprehension, Conversation and Production — and universities frequently set a floor in each. That is why our classes drill the tasks that move the weakest subscore rather than the ones you already enjoy.

DET, IELTS or TOEFL from Brazil?

Once acceptance is settled, the three exams differ mainly in shape.

Where IELTS or TOEFL still win: a UK visa route that requires a SELT, an Australian student visa, professional registration bodies, and the small number of universities that simply do not list Duolingo. Many of our Brazilian students do both — the DET for the applications that accept it, and a booked IELTS only if one stubborn university demands it.

Visa rules to check first

• Australia: the DET is not accepted for the student visa (subclass 500), even when the university accepts it academically.
• Canada: the SDS stream was discontinued in November 2024. Under the regular study permit, your designated learning institution decides what English evidence it accepts — many accept the DET.
• United Kingdom: the DET is not a UKVI Secure English Language Test. Degree-level study at a university with a track record of compliance is normally fine on the university’s own assessment; a pre-sessional or below-degree course at a private college usually needs a real SELT.
• United States: there is no English test on the F-1 visa itself — the university’s requirement is the one that counts.

More detail in our complete DET guide.

How the course works from Brazil

Classes are live online and taught fully in English by certified instructors specialised in international English exams. You choose the shape that fits your deadline:

• Standard course — more days, fewer hours a day, a steady pace.
• Intensive course — fewer days, more hours a day, for a test that is close.
• Private tailored course — one-to-one, built around your level and your calendar, which is what most students in the Americas choose because of the time difference.

Every lesson is recorded, so a live session you cannot attend is never lost — you watch the recording later from Brazil and bring your questions to the next class. Speaking and Writing are corrected personally, you sit full mock tests before the real exam, and WhatsApp support runs between sessions.

Paying by card from Brazil

Your Teachero course is paid by card (Visa or Mastercard) from Brazil on our site; other options are available on WhatsApp. The charge is made in US dollars, so your bank converts at its own rate and IOF on foreign-currency card transactions (currently 3.5%) applies.

If your card is declined, the usual causes are a low international limit or international purchases switched off in your bank’s app — both fixed in a minute. Schedules are set per round — message us on WhatsApp for the next round’s details, or message us on WhatsApp and we will send them to you.