WHAT IS MY JOB?

Naturally, the most common question I get is what are you doing in France? And because I’ve said it so many times at this point, I have my answer down verbatim, “I am an English teaching assistant in a small town in the Champagne region of France.” 

Great. But how/where/when/what/etc. etc. etc…? That’s what I wanted to write about today!

I got the job through the program Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) which is organized by the Ministry of National Education in France to get native English speakers in the classes of French students all over the country. From October 1 to April 30, I am contracted to work 12 hours a week (not including the two week holidays for every six weeks of work— they have a completely different system than us). Being that I work so few hours (and get paid accordingly lol), I have an additional babysitting/tutoring job every Wednesday in the nearest city of Reims.

When you apply for the program, you rank your top 3 choices of regions in France. You then rank “small town” “medium sized town” and “city” in order of preference. I did receive my first choice in region, but unfortunately not in the city size. However, I have a great thing going here, and this small town is starting to grow on me! Truly. I’m only 2 and half hours from Paris on a regional train and don’t work on Mondays, which makes it pretty easy to travel on weekends. Because I’m in a small town, the cost of living is next to nothing. And lastly I’ve slowly but surely made some friends here, and I’m sure I will continue to do so!

Typically assistants are given just elementary schools OR middle and high schools, but somehow I ended up with all three. Honestly, I like this because it is always something different. At the start of the day I’m watching students color and just an hour later I’m talking about racial tensions in the United States… so you can bet I’m never bored—that’s for sure! It’s very interesting and rewarding to be able to interact with students at all levels. Plus all three of my schools are no more than a 5-10 minute walk apart which is extremely convenient.

When I’m at the elementary school we primarily focus on simple vocabulary. My teachers and I are pretty good about making everything interactive or a fun activity. Today I had pictures of different school subjects (history, math, art…). First I had them repeat them after me, then I hung up the pictures around the classroom. I would then take one off the wall, and they would have to guess which one was missing! The kids are so enthusiastic and SO cute!! The other day this adorable little brown-haired girl in a polkadot dress gets up and pretends to sharpen her pencil and passes me a note. I open it up and its a picture of a heart with my name… well kind of my name (spelled Heille). Like come on, so cute!!

At the middle school they are working their literacy of the English language and starting to form real sentences. In my last class I pretended to be a meteorologist and talked about the weather in cities across the United States. First, they wrote the weather and temperature in a complete sentence. Then they had to find the US city on the map and draw the according picture (sun, rainclouds, etc.). At the end of class the other day, a little boy came up to me and said, “Do you have a boyfriend?” I laughed with the teacher for five minutes, you gotta respect the kid’s bravery on that one.

At the high school today, each student presented for 10 minutes about a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, i.e. Martin Luther King Junior, Jackie Robinson, etc. I had helped them prepare for these presentations for the past couple weeks. I listened to their pronunciations and helped correct the grammar on their slides. I’ve actually made friends with my students in these classes. I eat lunch/dinner with them at the cafeteria daily, and one even gave me a bike to borrow all year!

This is my experience, but I have friends in other towns who are doing completely different things. I feel like the mantra of this program is… it depends. You truly never know what exactly you’re in for, but I’m happy with what I was given… but more importantly what I’ve made it into. This small town forces me to get out of my comfort zone pretty much daily, but I’m always down for the challenge! And though I’m only about a month and a half in… I’m excited for what the next six months will bring!