Teaching Assistant Program in France

For those looking to teach for TAPIF, I would advise you to look elsewhere. The reasons for this are as follows:
1. The monthly stipend is not sufficient. Given the low amount of pay, it is nearly impossible to enjoy living in France. I had many financial difficulties, and I think that it is irresponsible for TAPIF to suggest at every step of the process that the stipend is sufficient for living. To suggest that students tutor on the side to make ends meet is also irresponsible, given that such activity is illegal.
2. The organization is extremely disorganized. Not only are assistants given very little training, but they are given very little advice in terms of how to deal with the day-to-day hassles of living in France. I was given contradictory information, told that I had free housing (when in fact the opposite was true) and not supported in the least by the program in terms of my desire to develop as a teacher.
3. The suggestion that assistants apply for CAF is misleading. In truth, the CAF system is extremely disorganized and unreliable. Assistants should not be told that they will get the money allotted to them. Furthermore, assistants should not be told to leave open their bank accounts after the program is over. I am currently dealing with a huge headache given the fact that my bank account is overdrawn and the CAF money TAPIF told me would be transferred is never going to come.

There are many other minor complaints that I have about this program, but these are the glaring issues. I think, overall, that the program presents a false reality at every step of the process. Be wary.

The Teaching Assistant Program in France allows you to live and work in France as an English Language Assistant for 7 months (October-April). The program helps you procure a visa and but once you arrive in France, the program is basically done with you, aside from a making sure you are able to take the necessary steps to validate your visa. If you're looking for advice, or need your hand-held that's not happening. While I had tutoring experience, I wasn't quite prepared for how difficult teaching can be, especially being stationed in a vocational school where the students were understandably more interested in their work placements than learning English. Still, most of the staff where I worked were kind, welcoming and interested in American life and I was very happy with the accommodation I rented at the school (although most of the people I asked agreed, the rent was unusually high). As an African American assigned to a small town in Northern France, I was surprised by the amount of diversity I encountered. I never felt uncomfortable.

I wish we had received a better orientation, something that would explain the French school system to us and offered us some pedagogy and advice about classroom management. Two hours worth of workshops do not prepare you to stand up in a classroom full of French high school students, and your high school and college French classes may not have given you the adequate vocabulary to give a student a good talking to! Still, I had a great experience overall. I had my favorite groups and teachers to work with, and the other language assistants at the school where I worked were awesome. Although we weren't all from the same country, and didn't all speak English, I really made two lifelong friends. They were my main support system and we operated as both friends and family while abroad. I knew they always had my back. France offers ample school vacations and I was able to use that time to travel to several different countries. The school even allowed me extra time off when my family came to visit. I learned an amazing amount, met people from countless other countries, solo traveled out of the States for the first time and really broadened my horizons. Would definitely recommend.

TAPIF was a real lesson in independence in another country, for me. Although the word "program" is in the name, TAPIF provides more of a loose outline for what is provided, and what happens as a result, is very much up to you. For instance, you are assigned a specific school, or perhaps multiple schools, however work hours and conditions are something you need to discuss with teachers and administrators. Often times, teachers are so thankful to have you at their school and will want to make full use of you in their classrooms. It can be a very rewarding experience to work with kids ranging in ages from primary, middle, and high school ages, and gives many teaching assistants a good idea of how they feel about teaching.

As teaching assistants, you are paid about $1,039 per month, which is not much, however many make it stretch by nannying and doing other part-time jobs in the communities where they live. There is also a lot of free time to travel, as there are about two weeks of vacation every six weeks, and assistants work only 12 hours per week.

If you are interested in having a more immersive and rich experience with day-to-day life in France, TAPIF can allow you to meet and form relationships with the teachers you work with, the students you teach in the classroom, as well as with TAPIF assistants from around the world, and other community members. As always, the experience is what you make it, so don't be afraid to use your time there to explore and form as many relationships as possible!

I participated in the TAPIF program during the 2014-2015 school year in two middle schools located in very rural southern France communities.

As someone with previous teaching experience (in Peace Corps and AmeriCorps), I definitely walked into TAPIF thinking that I knew what was in store for me. Turns out, I was totally wrong! The things that I thought I would have difficulty with (language, making friends, etc) were the easiest - and the most difficult was the actual job. It was difficult in the sense that there is a set curriculum for English at every level of the French education system, so there was already a plan for what I would do, what I would teach to what grades, etc. All my previous teaching positions had required a much larger amount of creativity from me, as I created the curricula, all the content, and implementation. I serious lacked this with TAPIF.

But with that being said, you only work 12 hours a week. Your job is so minimal that you have so much time to make the most of your year abroad. I took yoga classes, traveled, read so many books, go to concerts.. As long as you're willing to roll with the punches and make lemonade out of a few lemons (if you happen to stumble across them!), you'll cherish this year in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

I taught English in France's public school system for the 2013-2014 school year. I was a little sad about spending Christmas away from my family and having a holiday break with nothing to do since all my activities would be on hiatus.

The night before the vacation started, I asked my co-teacher what I had to prepare, and she told me just to bring myself. The next day, she brought me to the classroom to witness a grand surprise: The students had decorated the classroom, written "Merry Christmas Justine" on the board, dressed up, brought food and desserts, and chipped in money to buy me a holiday present.

They told me, in their best English, that they wanted to give me a good Christmas since I'd be away from my family. It was one of the fondest and most memorable holidays I'd ever had, and it only happened because I was experiencing the season as a foreigner.