English Language Assistants?

[nic*]

Hi all, i was just wondering if there are any current or former language assistants in France on the forum.  As part of my degree course i have to spend the 2006/2007 academic year as an assistant myself and i was hoping you'd be able to give me advice as to the best methods of finding accomodation and any other handy tips such as how early i should head out before my contract begins etc.  Thanks

 

[tkndnv]

Hello Nic

I did my assistantship in Pas de Calais (v glam) five years ago. I was lucky in that a teacher at the college took it upon herself to organise my accommodation prior to my arrival. Had she not done so, I'm not sure what I would have happened as the town was pretty small and there wasn't much going. However, if you're in a big city you can probably find some info on the web, or arrange a few nights in a hotel as soon as you can to have a good look. It's worth getting things like this sorted out early, as arriving is a daunting enough time in itself even if you do already have a place to live. The best plan is definitely to ask the school whether they know of anywhere suitable, I am sure they will be pleased to help. Failing that, I received an info pack a few weeks before my contract started with the email addresses of other assistants in the area. Perhaps you can contact one of them to see how they have solved the problem?

In terms of arrival - my contract began in early October and I arrived the week before. I would definitely suggest you give yourself at least a week or so to acclimatise, find the school and your feet before launching into teaching. Speaking for myself, I was completely unenthused by the whole prospect (but ended up having a fantastic time, fear not!) so left it all rather to the last minute, I think an extra week before starting work would have helped, though beware, before you make any friends there is a lot of "alone time" so prepare yourself to be a bit lonely and make the most of the time you have to settle in by doing lots of preparation and sightseeing. The worst thing you can do is sit around and be glum. (recognise the voice of experience here!)

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

MEG