Listen Up: Rio de Janeiro leads Brazil’s national smartphone ban in schools
Practise your English with our short listening exercises: play the audio, answer the questions, and check the answers at the bottom of the page
Brazil’s national smartphone ban in schools has boosted student focus and interaction, echoing global trends to combat digital addiction. Photo: APQuestions
1. What does the word “national” say about the phone ban?
A. It is only in certain cities.
B. It is optional for some schools.
C. It applies throughout the country.
D. It is temporary.
2. What are the permitted uses of cellphones under the new law?
A. checking emails
B. listening to podcasts with friends
C. watching documentaries for fun
D. contacting others during emergencies
3. According to the podcast, Brazil has more ... than people.
A. video game consoles
B. smartphones
C. televisions
D. computers
4. Which phrase can replace “hooked on” in the podcast?
A. addicted to
B. tolerant of
C. uninterested in
D. neutral towards
5. Based on the podcast, which other country has also banned smartphones in classrooms?
A. Germany
B. Australia
C. China
D. information not given
6. How has the phone ban impacted Marques?
A. She feels more energetic.
B. She started to sleep better.
C. She is doing better at school.
D. She stopped using social media at home.
7. What percentage of schools worldwide had smartphone bans in 2023?
A. 10 per cent
B. 30 per cent
C. 40 per cent
D. 70 per cent
8. What changes did officials see in children after the Covid-19 pandemic?
A. They were more agitated and anxious.
B. They became more physically active.
C. They had less trouble following school rules.
D. They had more health problems.
9. What were the results of the study conducted by the municipality of Rio de Janeiro?
A. Students concentrated better in class without smartphones.
B. Students took part more in class without smartphones.
C. Students’ grades improved after the phone ban.
D. all of the above
10. According to Heitor, what were the Reverend Martin Luther King public school students doing during break time before the smartphone ban?
A. playing sports
B. reading books
C. using their smartphones
D. doing their homework
11. Based on the podcast, what do the following figures from the 2024 survey refer to?
(i) 10
(ii) 1.5 hours
(iii) four hours
Answers
1. C
2. D
3. B
4. A
5. D
6. C
7. B
8. A
9. D
10. C
11. (i) the average age at which most Brazilian children got their first cellphone; (ii) the amount of time children under the age of three spent on smartphones every day; (iii) the amount of time children between the ages of 13 and 16 spent on smartphones every day
Script
Adapted from Agence France-Presse
Voice 1: In the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, children are playing again “like in the old days”, and their focus in class has improved after a school cellphone ban was pioneered in the city. This law has now gone national after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed it in January.
Voice 2: As the school year began in February, students across the country of more than 200 million people were banned from using their phones during classes and break time. Brazil’s new law allows cellphone use for educational purposes, emergencies and health purposes. Brazil, which has more smartphones than people, joins a growing number of nations using such bans to pry devices from the hands of children hooked on social media.
Voice 1: Kamilly Marques is a student at the Reverend Martin Luther King public school in Rio de Janeiro. She shared that she didn’t even bother bringing her phone to school any more as it had been a year since the city first implemented the ban. The student said that while she first thought the ban was “annoying” and “boring”, she felt happier with her improved grades and social life.
Voice 2: The UN’s heritage body said that at the end of 2024, 40 per cent of global education systems had some sort of ban on smartphone use in schools, up from 30 per cent a year earlier. Rio’s municipal education secretary, Renan Ferreirinha, said that officials had noticed children returning to classrooms after the Covid-19 pandemic “more agitated, more impatient, more addicted to cell phones and much more anxious”.
Voice 1: A 2024 survey of parents by digital research company Opinion Box and mobile industry platform Mobile Time showed most Brazilian children got their first cellphone at an average of 10 years old. Children under the age of three were spending almost 1.5 hours a day on smartphones. This rose to nearly four hours for those between 13 and 16. A study by the municipality of Rio de Janeiro in September showed improvements in concentration, class participation and student performance since the school ban was implemented.
Voice 2: Fernanda Heitor, 46, the deputy director of the Reverend Martin Luther King school – which has students aged six to 16 – said that before the ban, children were glued to their phones during break time. Now, they interact, and even the school has become much more lively.