Teaching English in France
The Gap Year For Francophiles
Since 1990
Teaching english in France
Teaching when and what.
 "french pupils in 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
 "English assistant in the office in Montaigu")
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 pupils learning british meals")
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 Symhorien | 9H/10H30 St Hilaire privé CM1/2-24 | 13 Septiers public |
| La Bruffière privée | 10H45/12H15 St Hilaire privé CM2-28 | 13 Septiers public |
| La Bruffière privée | 13H45/15H05 St Hilaire privé CM1/2-24 | La Guyonnière privé |
| La Bruffière privée | 15H20/16H45 St Hilaire privé CM2-28 | La 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 privé | 13 Septiers privé | Jules Verne |
| L'Herbergement privé | 13 Septiers privé | Jules Verne |
| L'Herbergement public | 13 Septiers privé | Boufféré privé |
| L'Herbergement public | 13 Septiers privé | Boufféré 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 Symphorien | St Jean Baptiste | La Guyonnière privée |
| La Bruffière privé | St Jean Baptiste | La Guyonnière privée |
| La Bruffière privé | St Jean Baptiste | La Guyonnière privée avec Ruth |
| La Bruffière privé | St Jean Baptiste | La 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 privé | 13 Septiers privé | Les Jardins |
| L'Herbergement privé | 13 Septiers privé | Les Jardins |
| L'Herbergement public | 13 Septiers privé | Boufféré privé |
| L'Herbergement public | 13 Septiers privé | Boufféré 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.
