Teaching English in France

The Gap Year For Francophiles

Since 1990

Teaching english in France

Teaching when and what.

french class
 
 

Teaching takes place day on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and involves the French equivalent of years four, five and six, known as CE2, CM1 and CM2 respectively. In most cases, students teach without the other Stagiaires or Julie which implies rigorous personal organisation and motivation. In theory government guidelines state that a form teacher should be present during a Stagiaire’s lesson but in practice you will find yourself teaching alone and upholding discipline possibly in a class of 30 pupils.
 
 

Planning lessons

the office

Working on a four week timetable, each student sees their classes either once a month for three hours, or twice a month for one hour and a half, depending on the school. In total each pupil receives three hours of contact time a month with a British ‘Stagiaire’. At the end of the year the children will have received seven modules of three hour lessons. Lesson planning is done as a group for the Primary School stagiaires and takes place on Fridays in the office with Julie, where you will meticulously go through the set work for each level for the next month.

primary school

This is also when you will collect the relevant teaching aids for your coming lessons from the prop cupboard. Obviously, the inventing and improving of lessons is an ongoing process and therefore you should expect to be constantly enhancing the monthly programmed exercises every Friday and also in your own time, using your own initiative and adapting them to your own classes. The emphasis of lessons is very much based on teaching principals involving children learning through doing, with a strong emphasis on games, songs and other interactive activities, which, needless to say, require abundant energy from the student.

Example of a typical 4 week timetable:

Semaine 1
LUNDI : 25/9 6/11 4/12
15/01 26/02 26/03 28/05
MARDI : 26/9 7/11 5/12
16/01 27/2 27/3 31/5
JEUDI : 28/9 9/11 7/12
18/01 01/03 29/3 10/5
St Symhorien9H/10H30 St Hilaire privé CM1/2-2413 Septiers public
La Bruffière privée10H45/12H15 St Hilaire privé CM2-2813 Septiers public
La Bruffière privée13H45/15H05 St Hilaire privé CM1/2-24La Guyonnière privé
La Bruffière privée15H20/16H45 St Hilaire privé CM2-28La Guyonnière privé

Semaine 2
LUNDI : 2/10 13/11 11/12
22/01 5/03 16/04 29/5(mardi)
MARDI : 3/10 14/11 12/12
23/01 6/03 17/4 15/5
JEUDI : 5/10 16/11 14/12
25/01 8/03 19/4 16/5 (mercredi)
L'Herbergement privé13 Septiers privéJules Verne
L'Herbergement privé13 Septiers privéJules Verne
L'Herbergement public13 Septiers privéBoufféré privé
L'Herbergement public13 Septiers privéBoufféré privé

Semaine 3
LUNDI : 9/10 20/11 18/12
29/01 12/03 23/04 14/05
MARDI : 10/10 21/11 19/12
30/01 13/03 3/04 24/04
JEUDI : 12/10 23/11 21/12
1/02 15/03 26/04 2/05(mercredi)
St SymphorienSt Jean BaptisteLa Guyonnière privée
La Bruffière privéSt Jean BaptisteLa Guyonnière privée
La Bruffière privéSt Jean BaptisteLa Guyonnière privée avec Ruth
La Bruffière privéSt Jean BaptisteLa Guyonnière privée avec Ruth

Semaine 4
LUNDI : 16/10 27/11 8/01
5/02 19/03 2/04 21/5
MARDI : 17/10 28/11 9/01
6/02 20/03 30/04(lundi) 22/05
JEUDI : 19/10 30/11 11/01
8/02 22/03 3/05 24/05
L'Herbergement privé13 Septiers privéLes Jardins
L'Herbergement privé13 Septiers privéLes Jardins
L'Herbergement public13 Septiers privéBoufféré privé
L'Herbergement public13 Septiers privéBoufféré privé

Transport for the assistants

Your transport to and from the schools is again organised by Julie, normally on a Friday, and will consist of teachers, and/or parents giving you lifts from one school to another. This system requires organisation, changing families three times during a year and teaching in up to fourteen different schools, with different travel arrangements for each one, but with good planning, writing things down and being constantly equipped with a list of school phone numbers your problems should be limited.

Assistant collège/lycée

The assistant is given a timetable from each educational establishment and teaches every other week in either the collège or lycée. Lessons are planned following instructions given by the form teacher with whom the assistant liaises on a regular basis before and after lessons. Generally the form teacher takes half the class and the assistant the other half. Julie is not responsible for the lesson content and it is therefore up to the assistant to work independently and to satisfy the demands of the collège/lycée teachers. Globally the number of teaching hours is the same as a student in the primary sector.