We have another guest post for you today. Nellie Khossousi is currently working as an English Language Assistant in France and is here to tell you all about her experiences working abroad. Her blog post was originally posted on her blog.
Working as a Foreign Language Assistant means you can teach your native language around the world!
Common languages that are in demand for this include teaching Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, Portuguese and Spanish.
What?
Language Assistants help language teachers in various institutions across the world. This can be at universities, secondary schools, primary schools or specialised language institutions.
You can take groups yourself or have a teacher in the room with you. Class sizes depend on the school.
I work at a lycée (like A level college) and collège (secondary school) in Montauban, France. I tend to work with classes of 12 to 30 students aged 11 to 20 years old of mixed abilities, including students with special needs.
I mostly assist with new vocabulary and improving their spoken English. This can range from helping students write speeches about causes they care about, to teaching students about cultural events or preparing for a trip abroad. Subjects really vary and you are given flexibility in what and how you prepare, which I really enjoy. I am also setting up a language exchange between the schools I work with in France and schools in England.
I am contracted to work 12 hours a week and I get school holidays off, which is great as this means I have enough time for other hobbies such as learning French, travelling and trying out new sports.
Your contract will typically be 12 to 20 hours a week depending on the country you are in.
Why?
I chose the programme to improve my languages (focusing currently on French and Spanish), travel and immerse myself in a new culture.
I had no plans to work with children in the future or as a teacher when applying, so that’s not important, but of course it would look great on your CV if this is something you do want to do.
Others may choose the programme to get teaching experience and improve their public speaking skills. It is a fairly simple way to live abroad.
Where?
There are so many countries on offer! You can find the list on your programmes website.
I initially wanted to work in Dakar in Sénégal and learn French there, but British Council has stopped sending assistants there for the time being.
If you are applying through the British Council, the countries available for 2019/20 are:
Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, France (including the French overseas territories (Outre-mer) Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion and Martinique), Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain (including the islands) and Switzerland.
You choose your top three countries and then when allocated a country, you put your preferences down for the type of region. For example, you can choose a big city or a small town, the type of weather that is typical in the location, whether it’s near to a beach, has good transport links, is near other assistants and so on. You are not always given your first place so you should be open to different regions.
If you speak another language, check your own government’s website or the government of the country you would like to live and work in.
How?
Each country has different entry requirements. Many countries do not require previous teaching experience or even a high level of the local language. They all tend to expect that you have completed two years of a university degree in any subject, and are a native speaker of the language you will teach. For the British Council’s programme, you do not even need a British passport for most of the countries!
I wrote a personal statement that highlighted all the experiences I had with teaching and working with children as well as jobs that developed skills that would be important to teaching.
In terms of finance, the placements are paid and your salary is enough to cover living costs. The salary for each country is different and will be specified on the website before applying, including how much living costs are too.
I have put advice on the application process at the end.
When?
Placements tend to be six months or one year. In France, the placements run from October to April. I am trying to extend mine until the end of the school year, which is the beginning of July. The months you work depend on the country and region, as you follow the school calendar for the location.
Some advice on the application process:
You do not have to have specific experience, but anything related to teaching others or working with young people does help, even if it was a one-off experience. I even included volunteer work that I had done for just one day.
Think outside the box. Perhaps you helped teach others a game, tutored a neighbour’s child with their homework regularly, or showed someone how to work with software you like using. I had previously volunteered to teach English to refugees whilst at university and many years ago, whilst still in secondary school, I had a work experience placement at a primary school and volunteered as a Girl Guiding leader, but I even included jobs like babysitting and tutoring.
If you do not have experience working with young people, that’s fine too! I added in work I had done that was completely unrelated but related it back to teaching. For example, for working with technology and radio, I wrote that I could record a podcast or radio show with my students.
I also mentioned my love of learning new languages and meeting people from all around the world, including my previous work and study abroad opportunities as examples. Again, this is not necessary, but showing you can adapt to a different culture and that you have an understanding of cultural differences is always a plus!
The British Council use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, so please read the language requirements for each country carefully, to save you time and stop you making the same mistakes I made! I studied university modules beginners Spanish 1A and 1B. When applying, I thought 1B was equivalent to B1. It’s not the same, so my Spanish was not of a high enough level for South or Central America, but was high enough to teach in Spain (who needed A2 level).
For this year, you do not need to speak any Spanish to work as an assistant in Spain, but when I applied, they asked for A2 level of Spanish. I had an interview just to check my level of Spanish and it was the easiest interview ever. Just 3 questions; “What is your name?”, “How are you?” and “What do you like about Spanish culture?” For the last question, I said I love Spanish music, dancing and food. It was over in minutes! I found out later that day that I passed.
For France, I did not have an interview. They just used my personal statement, so make sure you spend time writing a very good statement!
In the application, they ask for preferences of which age you would like to teach, and regional preferences for the countries you put down. I did not put down a preference for class type as I was happy with any age, and each type of institution will have its pros and cons.
Make sure you ask someone to write your reference before the deadline, as references should be completed by the 15th of February. I asked my tutor at university. I also asked my language teachers for advice, as many language teachers have previously been assistants in other countries!
If you are doing this programme as part of a study abroad programme at your university, you may be eligible for Erasmus funding. I applied in February 2018 and graduated in July 2018, so was not eligible.
Applications are open now and close on Friday 15th February 2019.
Thank you Nellie for letting us share your blog post on the King’s Careers Blog! Find out more about Nellie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.