Teaching english as a foreign language
Posted by SafeEarly2121@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 19 comments
We are an American couple moving to Montpellier France to begin my studies and hopefully career in viticulture and enology. My wife will have a masters in child education and her Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate.
Question: we know a lot of people who go to places like Taiwan , Thailand and Japan that go to teach english , yet know nothing of the native language. How do you people go teach the english language without being able to communicate to the students ?
It’s almost time to submit my long term visa. Unfortunately, my wife has tried to find work opportunities with no luck. We are thinking she should apply for a 90 day visa and she will have better luck finding work when we arrive in country.
Any expat families out there that need an Au pair in Montpellier France ?
1Angel17@reddit
You need to speak French in France.
No-Jackfruit3211@reddit
Idk if that's true.
Many people teach here in Japan and can't string any sentence together not even after 30 years
1Angel17@reddit
Have you been to France? France is not Japan.
No-Jackfruit3211@reddit
I have.
I speak french .
French speak more English than Japanese.
And the younger generation - I was so surprised that they can speak English more than my generation .
The younger generation in Japan can't.
starryeyesmaia@reddit
I'm deleting my other comment and reposting the content here to save it because I don't appreciate that people have decided that downvoting an honest question is okay (literally what is wrong with people nowadays) :
Are you taking into account the context of that ranking ? It’s from EF — it’s a ranking based only on people who take their online test. That means the actual population of the country is not actually taken into account, only those who self-select. EF acknowledges this but does not adjust for it in any way in their rankings.
You know you can literally just respond to me instead of editing your comment and (probably) downvoting me? Like, we can have a conversation? Particularly when the other comment was my first response to you? Jesus.
I was specifically making that comment in response to the part of your comment that states "France ranks 43rd in world English proficiency ;B2 level on average". Because that's just an average on people who took EF's test, not an actual average of the real level of French people in English. If you had bothered responding to my actual question directly, I would have clarified it, but you didn't and I had a work day to start, so I wasn't going to go back and edit my comment.
I never said that Japan doesn't rank lower than France. I was only pointing out that you are quoting data that is imperfect without acknowledging the issues with it. Specifically you quote an "average level" for France that is not accurate, as someone who taught English in French schools, worked as an English tutor for university students and middle/high school students, did an English-taught degree in France, and works in tech in France.
Because employers will naturally prefer to hire someone who is capable of handling bureaucracy and interacting with coworkers/parents/etc in French, since France runs on French. It's a need by situation and by employer preference, not because it's "impossible" to teach English without speaking the local language.
Next time, just respond to my comment instead of pulling the "edit and ignore".
starryeyesmaia@reddit
Are you taking into account the context of that ranking ? It’s from EF — it’s a ranking based only on people who take their online test. That means the actual population of the country is not actually taken into account, only those who self-select. EF acknowledges this but does not adjust for it in any way in their rankings.
1Angel17@reddit
I don’t need a source, I live 10 minutes from France and work with French people who won’t even respond to emails if they aren’t in French. But you do you, you’re entitled to your opinion, I live in the real world lmao
No-Jackfruit3211@reddit
So no facts to back it up
Just "I live there I know better than you "😂😂😂
If a non Japanese speaker can teach English in Japan where people rank lower in English,
Why can't a non French speaker teach English in France where people rank higher ?
brass427427@reddit
A very good friend of ours teaches English to French students near Nice. She was not permitted to teach until she demonstrated near flawless English. She's married to a Brit.
Akraam_Gaffur@reddit
But.. Emily in Paris didn't
1Angel17@reddit
😂
ChallengeWorldly2311@reddit
I've been in the country over a year and still not found a company willing to sponsor me, despite constantly applying, and speaking French. Not even the 2 part time jobs I have are willing to sponsor me (I teach English, over 10 years experience in schools and private tutoring, plus my TEFL).
starryeyesmaia@reddit
Unless your wife is able to find a job that will sponsor her for a work visa, the only route for her to come immediately with you is on a long-stay visitor visa, which does not allow work at all. Dependents can only join via family reunification after the primary visa holder has been in France for 18 months.
Being in the country does not make finding work easier, as all the paperwork requirements are the same -- primarily applying for work authorization, which requires proving there were no valid candidates who already have the right to work. In the current job market, that becomes much harder to do (and many companies simply aren't willing to in the first place).
People who teach English in France generally speak fluent French (because fluent French speakers who also speak fluent English aren't exactly a rarity or hard to find) and most have a residence permit that is independent of their job -- especially in the case of working for language schools.
SafeEarly2121@reddit (OP)
Merci vous m’avez écrivé . Je l’apprécie!
J’espère juste que j’aurai assez de l’argent
x3medude@reddit
r/TEFL or if she has a teaching license r/internationalteachers
LowerBed5334@reddit
I have a CELTA certificate and ended up coaching English at a number of local companies here in Germany (if you want to make money, get into business English; it's just English, but you'll have customers who pay a premium and pay reliably. Unfortunately, though, you'll need the local language, whatever it is).
Anyway, CELTA absolutely prohibits using any language other than English, you don't need the native language at all.
LaYoga@reddit
Here in Marseille, they start teaching English in maternelle (pre-school, age 3). If you haven’t checked out the local public schools or even library children’s activities you might find something promising for very little kids, who don’t have the best French yet either and your wife will catch up to soon
itsthekumar@reddit
Students usually know the basics of English and pick up more fluency with a teacher.
New_Criticism9389@reddit
English teaching (excluding the TAPIF program which is temporary and mainly aimed at recent college graduates) in France (and Western Europe more broadly) requires local licensing/exams (which you need French for), unless you’re teaching a specific subject in English at an international school (these jobs are incredibly competitive as France/Western Europe is a very sought after destination). The only exceptions are southern European countries like Spain and Italy, but you need EU citizenship for that (no one will sponsor a work permit for an ESL teacher).