TEFL in south France?

[chica escocesa]

Hi all

I'm just wondering what the job opportunities are like for TEFL teachers in the south of France? My husband and I would love to escape the climate of Scotland in the next few years and hopefully improve our lifestyle. The original plan was Spain but with the economy as it is, that's looking unlikely.

My degree is French and Italian and I have a Post Grad Diploma in Spanish also and a PGCE (post grad teaching qualification). I have been teaching French and Spanish in Scotland for 5 years now. I don't have any TEFL qualifications but would be willing to do CELTA or TEFL (or both) before we go. I have also worked as an assistante de langues in a Corsican Lycée Technique and an English Teacher in a kids summer camp in Italy.

My husband has businesses here in Scotland and would still be drawing an income of around £1500-£2000 per month but would have to go back and forth a bit especially at first. I am pregnant with my first child so the idea would be to make the move before the child starts school.

A few questions:

Would I realistically be able to get work, if so what would be the best areas for this?
What sort of pay/salary could I expect to get?
Is the CELTA worth investing in?
Anything else I should be aware of?

We ideally would not live right in a city, but I am prepared to commute in and out.

Thanks for honest opinions and advice.

[Bevdeforges]

Your teaching experience may well be as valuable in terms of getting a job as any TEFL or CELTA certification. And don't forget that, in the south of France, there are those who want to learn Spanish, too.

Teaching languages doesn't pay super well, even at the best of times (which these aren't). But you could always check with the language schools in the area. (Check the Pages Jaunes for listings of language schools - everything from Berlitz to those massive "learn English by telephone" places) Or you could freelance - in one or all of your languages.
Cheers,
Bev

[chica escocesa]

Thanks very much for that info. I'm going to do a search for jobs and see what comes up. We probably won't need me to earn loads, maybe 1000 euros a month would do. Possibly freelancing might be the best idea in the long run but maybe I could try and work in a language school to start off with.

[contentedscot]

Hi - I think it might be difficult to reach the 1000€ mark - especially if you see this as a net figure (ie pre-reduction of around 20% for social security). Income tax is totally separate.

In our busiest periods my wife and I probably work a combined 40 hours a week, at an average of 12€ per hour - net of social security, printer ink, diesel. But there are quiet periods, in the summer especially.

We also have a very good friend in the local job centre who sends job-seekers our way, and we encourage people we meet to take up their training rights.

If you choose to settle in a town there will be lots of parents wanting English lessons for their children, and as you speak French you can sign up with Lauréat and Acadomia. But think about 18€ gross per hour, and take off petrol.

Language schools tend to be in the larger towns + cities, and although they like TEFL qualifications, there are many adult training agencies which put much more emphasis on business English.

Other possibilities include private schools, if you see yourself as a school teacher.

Happy hunting

[chica escocesa]

Thanks contented scot it's so good to hear from someone on the ground doing something similar. I could work in a private school, if I'm being honest that would probably be ideal and the closest to my job here. Do secondary schools (private ones) not insist on the capes qualification? I also plan on keeping my eyes open for jobs in international schools closer to the time. Do you think we would be able to get by on £2500 per month for 3 of us? We plan to have enough money to not have to work for the first year and will have money in the bank for a deposit if we want to buy a house or apartment but we plan in renting at first to see how it goes. Any tips on where would be a good place to settle? I absolutely love the Nice area but realistically it's probably too expensive for us! Also obviously if I go down the self employed route I need to declare income etc but do you know if there is a tax free limit like in the uk? Overall do you prefer living there than Scotland? Sorry for all the questions!

[chica escocesa]

Hi sorry just looked at your original post - is €12 per hour at 40 hours €480 a week? Do you need to take tax off that?

[contentedscot]

Hi sorry just looked at your original post - is €12 per hour at 40 hours €480 a week? Do you need to take tax off that?


Only if you earn over the tax threshold. As I said, it is only about 8 months of the year that we are working at this level. This week we only have 20 hours between us, and 0 next week because we're going to Scotland to cool down. New students start - others finish - every week is different.

My wife is an autoentrepreneur and in this simple business entity there are no deductions for expenses like paper, printer ink, car expenses. Today I have a final lesson with a tax inspector - her son is getting married soon and guests will come from around the world. Better make sure her payment is declared.

[hils]

Just a thought .... on mainland France, teaching English is highly competitive - Rectorats do, to a lesser or greater extent, consider experience and qualifications to be an "intervenante" in primary and secondary education - min rate pay but you do get into the system, get paid for school hols and qualify for unemployment/health/pension benefits, but, in my experience, any Brit speaker who has a high profile, for whatever, has a better chance of being employed, irrespective of their own command of the English language, in preference to a qualified person.

However, I note that you did some time in Corsica. So far, the Brits haven't invaded Corsica in any great quantities on a permanent basis, yet English is a highly desirable competence there - being an island, they need English speakers for shipping, airlines and tourism. I suspect you'll find less competition down there - and the teaching season doesn't rely upon the school calendar since there are multiple holiday schools, mostly based out of Corte, and there are many punters - sorry holiday-makers - who want their kids, albeit on holiday, to improve their English during the holidays if there's such an opportunity.

I know Corsica is, overall, more expensive than most mainland areas, but if you time to get there early/mid autumn, you'll find rentals at least through till June at around 400E/month rather than the in-season 400E/week - and if you're cute about it, you might well find you can rent at around 500E/month all year through if you pick your area.

I can't advise really about income possibilities but it might be worth contacting the Uni in Corte to get relevant info - they run the spring/summer holiday learning programmes.

In terms of travel back to the UK, there are flights through Germanwings Calvi-Edinburgh, Easyjet Bastia/Ajaccio-UK, Ryanair Figari-UK, or boats to the mainland and then flights from Nice (other options available).

We're based part in Auvergne, part in Corsica, near Bastia but my daughter is in Corsica pretty much full-time, so if you need more info that we can help with, please do ask.

NB your Italian in Corsica will also be highly prized

Good luck,

Hils

[hils]

More thoughts:
min. income here is around 415E/month for a single home-owning person - that's what they reckon it costs to live on, but you do get "benefit breaks" inasmuch as you get free top-up health-care, reduced phone and electricity contracts, fuel aid and no "taxe d'habitation", and your pension input gets credited. Obviously all those benefits get augmented if you have dependants - minus any income you receive but thresholds are substantially higher than in the UK.

Your husband's income sounds comfortable, even if he's spending 250 a time to get back to the UK, but not excessive, so I think you'd benefit from state assistance - and no, don't feel guilty about taking it - you and your husband have paid into the system already for you to be able to withdraw some of it to sort yourselves. IMHO around 1000/month plus rent (for which you can get help as well) would see you OK if you live sensibly - not generous but not scrabbling to find a crust.

H

[chica escocesa]

Hi Hils

Thanks for that and that is very interesting. As much as I loved Corsica (such a beautiful place) and I still have friends there, I don't think I could live there again. I found the people pretty close-knit (trying to be polite) and not very outward looking or welcoming.

It is also not the greatest place for my husband to get back and forward from - he needs an easy commute if he's to come back every 4-6 weeks and direct flights Corsica-Scotland are not that easy to come by especially in winter. He really needs that link as he has his business and also 2 sons from a previous marriage that he needs to see reasonably regularly.

For those reasons I don't think it's an option really but I won't rule it out completely!

Thanks again for your reply.