Job Discussion Forums

[wildchild]

Hello all,

My wife is French and we are planning to move back to France in a few years for the long term. Before we leave, I would like to obtain the education that will open the most doors, the one that will lead to the most job opportunities in France.

Would it be the MA TESOL or the M Ed. plus a teaching cert?

Normally, the MA TESOL qualifies me to teach at the Uni, but I know that these jobs are not always available, and I have heard that once the job is gotten, one only has it for two years. Is this pretty standard in France?

Normally, the M Ed. and teaching cert would qualify me to work at an international school or a private catholic school or something like that. Would these schools recognize the M Ed., or do they want the CAPES. Would they recognize the MA TESOL?

The thing is, I am about to start an MA TESOL program in 2 weeks and I am having doubts if it will serve me well in France.

I appreciate your advice and info.


Thanks, Cheers.

[go2guy]

Hey Wildchild -- An M.Ed would be helpful if you want to apply to international (private) high schools, but then that field gets narrowed pretty quickly. An MA Tesol will certainly impress potential employers in language schools and private business schools -- if the director is Ango-Saxon that is. A French person may be oblivious to this distinction. So, it's not really necessary for finding well-paid work (see below).

CAPES is definitely the (fool's) gold standard for working in the public school system but it can only be done in France (as far as I know) and it's extremely challenging, requires French fluency and at least two years investment.

So it really depends on what kind of teaching you want to do (ie with kids, teens, adult-professionals ...?). My experience here has told me again and again that a vibrant personality, innovation and dedication take people much further than any degree. In addition to holding a B.A., I did a simple TESOL certificate one summer while back in Canada as some of the schools I was working for here required the paperwork for "officialdom"; now I don't work for any of those places as I prefer to work exclusively and directly with companies -- who pay the best and whose participants are the most serious about learning, and who only ask that you deliver good training -- they don't care what degrees you have.

Hope this helps (and read through other postings some more, there's lots of good info to be had that's for sure). Good luck!