I’m in a collège and I teach all of my classes by myself. It’s generally about 15 students per class.  I’m in pretty nice schools – the students are well disciplined. However, that is really not the case for a lot of schools I hear about.

I don’t know if I’d advise someone who doesn’t speak French that well to apply. I think it would be very difficult to get by without knowing any of the language. From all the paperwork (3 months in, I’m still not done with it), to the discipline, to everyday life, I think it’d be really hard. Unless you’re in Paris (which I wouldn’t advise for this program), you’re not going to find many people who speak English well.

That being said, if you’re an adventurous person, I think you’d still be okay – it just might be stressful at first.

I’m in a collège and I teach all of my classes by myself. It’s generally about 15 students per class.  I’m in pretty nice schools – the students are well disciplined. However, that is really not the case for a lot of schools I hear about.

I don’t know if I’d advise someone who doesn’t speak French that well to apply. I think it would be very difficult to get by without knowing any of the language. From all the paperwork (3 months in, I’m still not done with it), to the discipline, to everyday life, I think it’d be really hard. Unless you’re in Paris (which I wouldn’t advise for this program), you’re not going to find many people who speak English well.

That being said, if you’re an adventurous person, I think you’d still be okay – it just might be stressful at first.

I’m in a collège and I teach all of my classes by myself. It’s generally about 15 students per class.  I’m in pretty nice schools – the students are well disciplined. However, that is really not the case for a lot of schools I hear about.

I don’t know if I’d advise someone who doesn’t speak French that well to apply. I think it would be very difficult to get by without knowing any of the language. From all the paperwork (3 months in, I’m still not done with it), to the discipline, to everyday life, I think it’d be really hard. Unless you’re in Paris (which I wouldn’t advise for this program), you’re not going to find many people who speak English well.

That being said, if you’re an adventurous person, I think you’d still be okay – it just might be stressful at first.

i actually have a teaching certificate, so i’m hoping this program opens some doors for me!

Christine, what country are you from? There are definitely programs for citizens of Ireland, the UK, Australia, New Zealand… I’m not sure about Canada. Check with the French consulate in your country!

I was lucky to have only a short commute to school. I think your advice is right on, Allison, about being prepared to work a lot more or a lot less than twelve hours. I’d add – be prepared to feel a bit superfluous. Some schools really don’t know what to do with an assistant and you could be stuck making painful chitchat for hours on end with a teenage boy (ahem, speaking from personal experience). But that’s not the worst thing in the world — just roll with it, and if you find yourself in a spot in which you don’t really know what you should be doing, suggest something. The teachers at my school were really open to suggestions.