[petitemarseillaise]

hi, i am currently a student in Ontario Canada, in may 2014 i will be graduating with a bachelor of arts in french and a bachelor of education degree from the Ontario College of Teachers. I am planning to move to Aix-en-Provence once i graduate to be with my boyfriend who lives there currently. I was wondering if there is anyone here that has gone through the process of teaching in France with a degree from a foreign country. I am fluent in french so that wouldn't be an issue. I am more interested in information about getting qualified to teach in a collège or lycée, what the "concours" are like and how I would begin applying to take them. Should I just send CVs to the Rectorat or would it be easier to approach international schools.

Thanks in advance ! any help would be so much appreciated !

 

[DejW]

Hello

Welcome to our forum. Others here will give you more details and their experience, but here is what I have found - I was a part time prof at an ESC.

For non French people entry into the Education Nationale is difficult. You may be able to find a post teaching English.

You may have more luck in the private primary and secondary education sector, I've heard that it's easier for non French people to enter as teachers.

Universities - no knowledge.

ESCs - I found a part time job in an ESC teaching my old profession (I'm retired) - project management, team building and CV writing in English. I had a friend who asked me to teach for 2 days in 2002, and after that the workload grew and grew. I was never asked about my qualifications, but the student feedback told me that the students THOUGHT I knew what I was talking about. I understand that the trend now is for ESCs to prefer PhDs.

You may want to try the private schools that teach English (both children and adults).

DejW

There is high unemployment in France, so the trend is for French applicants to be be preferred.

 

[hils]

Hi,

you are not the first - and will undoubtedly not be the last, to ask about teaching "English" in France (assuming that's what you want to teach - or do you want - and are you qualified - to teach other subjects?) - the difference being that you want to be properly in the system as a pukka teacher (which is a good job if you can get one BUT you have little control over where you may be posted geographically and you have NO control over the curriculum, so in the long-term it may not be the best option for you. Aix, incidentally, is one of the areas of high demand, so it would be even more unlikely, were you to be properly qualified even, to get a position there in competition with French teachers of many years' standing. As a newly-qualified teacher in France, you'd most likely be offered a sink-school in some sh**-hole of a place, or somewhere really out in the boonies).

However, to find out how things work, I'd suggest you drop your CV to the Rectorat and the Inspection to see if you can get a foot in the door as an Intervenante/Assistante for the immediate future, ie academic year 14/15. That would allow you to make those all-important contacts and to find out what's required - and also decide whether the French scholastic environment is where you want to spend daylight hours!!!

hils

 

[petitemarseillaise]

thanks DejW and hils,

i really appreciate you guys taking the time to reply to my post!

i realize that its very difficult to find work as an english teacher in france as a non EU citizen. french nationals will always be hired first for a job with UK teachers right behind them.

I am prepared to have to volunteer for a while just to network myself with other teachers or those in the education field. to start off i was thinking about doing exactly as i had the previous year, which was volunteer in an international school/private school a few days a week. I ended up becoming very involved at the school and knew the curriculum well for many of the grade levels and was hired on as a substitute teacher after three months. It paid minimum wage in france which i didn't mind because I was an Au Pair at the time and had all amenities covered through the family. I was more just in it for the experience. I was called for a job at about 2-3 times a week. obviously i know that this type of opportunity isn't common and that i was really lucky.

i'd like to try and put myself on the same playing field as the french or UK teachers as in getting fully certified over there. would a canadian teaching degree be equivalent to anything in France ? or would i have to start over from scratch ? i understand that all countries are different but maybe someone has heard of canadian degrees being accepted in france. i'd just like to get a general idea of what my 5 years of university in canada will get me over there.

thanks again !

 

[hils]

Can't speak about your Canuck quals., but I think you really do need to think carefully about the geographical implications of becoming a French-registered teacher in the light of your social situation.

h

PS FWIW I did 6 years in UK Uni - Modern Languages. Per se that double honours degree qualified me for precisely nothing in the real world.

 

[DejW]

....but your learnt how to think?

DejW

Can't speak about your Canuck quals., but I think you really do need to think carefully about the geographical implications of becoming a French-registered teacher in the light of your social situation.

h

PS FWIW I did 6 years in UK Uni - Modern Languages. Per se that double honours degree qualified me for precisely nothing in the real world.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Becoming a teacher in the public schools in France means qualifying for the French civil service. It's not easy for a foreigner, and there is currently quite a bit of political hassle about whether the government is supposed to be reducing the number of teaching posts (as part of the austerity programs) or increasing the number of teaching posts (as part of Hollande's campaign promises).

You also will have to take a competitive examination (in French) that has little or nothing to do with teaching. (It seems to be based on lots of cultural trivia more than anything substantive.)

You may do better looking into teaching in the private schools in France - at least to start out with.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Amandapanda]

Hi there,

As everyone else has said, I understand it's difficult to get into the French state school system without a French teaching qualification. I am a primary teacher currently working in an International private school here, and there are teachers from all around the world here. We teach in English, following the UK national curriculum.

There are a lot of bilingual schools here too, so you may find that you are in demand there, with your ability to teach English as a foreign language and also to teach other subjects in both English and French. You could also try French speaking private schools.

I hope that helps, good luck with it!

P.S. as a stopgap, there is a demand for private tuition, for which you can charge quite a lot!

 

[petitemarseillaise]

thanks Amandapanda !

I've recently stumbled upon something called a lecteur/lectrice d'anglais or maitre de langue at french universities.

Has anyone heard of a jobs like that ? When I was studying at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, I don't remember anyone having this sort of job and my boyfriend who is french and studies in France has never heard of the job either. Maybe we are the only ones out of the loop. I there is such thing, I thought it might be able to help me get my foot in the door with the french education system and I would have a job before i arrive.

I've e-mailed, the consulate of france in toronto, the embassy of canada in france, the recorat national, and the rectorat d'aix-marseille to get more information about how to become a teacher in their system. Now i'll just have to wait and see if they reply.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Start here for information about how to become a teacher in the French public system:

Quel concours dois-je passer pour devenir professeur d’anglais au collège ? | Le recrutement à l'éducation nationale

Comment devenir professeur d'anglais ?

It's not easy.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[hils]

Start here for information about how to become a teacher in the French public system:

Quel concours dois-je passer pour devenir professeur d’anglais au collège ? | Le recrutement à l'éducation nationale

Comment devenir professeur d'anglais ?

It's not easy.
Cheers,
Bev

Good Lord!!!! I just had a look at this:
Exemples de sujets :

Exemples de sujets concernant les épreuves d'admissibilité et d'admission du Capes externe d'anglais

from the first link Bev gave.

Two observations: I'd struggle; I can't believe the teachers I know currently teaching English in the local Colleges and Lycees managed to pass these tests.

h

 

[EuroTrash]

Going back many years so it may have changed, but amongst my French contemporaries who wanted a career in teaching the Capes was regarded as a real challenge. You swotted for it and even if you were bright you could not assume that you would pass first time, I knew people who had a second go at it, and being accepted was something to be proud of. Very different from the UK where people were drifting into teaching because they couldn't find anything better to do.
I was also involved with an EFL college in the UK that ran summer courses to prepare French students for the Capes and out of all the various courses offered, the Capes bunch had the reputation of being the keenest and most demanding students, and they were always assigned the best and most experienced tutors (never me!).
As you say it's sometimes hard to square that with some of the teachers you hear about.

 

[petitemarseillaise]

thanks Bev!

As I'm Canadian, I can't apply for any ot the concours because i am not a citizen of the EU.

would there be any way around that aspect ?

 

[Bevdeforges]

thanks Bev!

As I'm Canadian, I can't apply for any ot the concours because i am not a citizen of the EU.

would there be any way around that aspect ?

The only way I know of around the tests is to be part of an international exchange type program - and then you're limited to a year or two, after which you have to go back "home." It's not a route into the regular public school system.
Cheers,
Bev