Job Discussion Forums

[cecilette]

Hello everyone in the English teaching world!!!!

I would be very grateful if you could help me with this.
I am very interested in taking the TEFL course offered in Paris and there are a few questions I am asking myself that I need to answer before I can make a decision.

I am a French native and I would consider myself as bilingual. I have lived in the U.K in Brighton for 4 years where I completed an M.A at the Univeristy of Sussex (and I also completed a B.A in English in France beforehand). During my stay in England I worked as a Foreign Language Assitant for 2 years teaching French in English secondary schools. I also worked in a graphic design agency in Brighton for over a year. More recently I have worked in a graphic design agency in Paris.

The question I am asking myself is whether being a non native English speaker and more precisely a French one would be a problem as far as finding a teaching position in France is concerned? I had a good look at several websites offering and/or talking about teaching positions in France and I could gather that a lot of French employers are looking for natives. So may I ask you the question: what is your opinion about this? I reckoned you probably are the best persons to ask! Do you think it is reasonable for me to consider teaching English in France?

I am currently traveling around Asia and I have met several persons who have taken the TESOL course and are now teaching in Thailland. I am going to observe a couple of their classes this afternoon to get an idea of how the lessons go. I also looked into the course paperwork and I think have a good idea of how the teaching methodology is organised.

Whereas I have no concern about my ability to teach English and to understand the needs of students learning English as a foreign language I would like to know whether someone with my profile (i.e being French) will have good chances to find work teaching in Paris for example.

I would really appreciate your help and hope you can answer my questions!!!

Look forward to hearing from you guys!
Cecile

[naturegirl321]

DO you have the FCE, CAE, or CPE? If not, then try to get that. That should get your foot in the door.

[Nmarie]

Cecile,
A TEFL course is really for teaching in the private language school sector, which is very unstable as far as hours, future prospects... Is there a reason that you are not considering one of the "concours de l'education?" I taught in two universities in France, and the majority of English language faculty was French.

By the way, how was your experience with the graphic design agency?