anyone out there is a foreign language teacher?

[Frenchy72]

I need to change job - I am sooooo booooored! I would like to teach French in a high school or in a university. what qualifications do I need?
teachers, thanks for your help!!!!

[babyonboard]

firstly a french a level or equivelant, then a degree in french, then a pgce in teaching..and to teach at college you would need experience in secondary schools, and for a uni, i imagine a post grad diploma..so quite a lot!
what about doing a tefl course? and teaching french kids english instead?

[Frenchy72]

thanks - what is Tefl course ?
I still have a strong accent though and it would be terrrrrrible to teach English with such a strong accent!!

[babyonboard]

aaah...thats a point
its Teaching English as a Foreign Language
perhaps if you have french as your first language you need less qualifications, and maybe just a diploma in teaching would do

[FrenchGirl]

have you taught before? If not I would first of all try doing french clubs for la jolie ronde or le club francais, it's a good eye opener.
then get in touch with your local uni to see what they offer

[Frenchy72]

thank you babyonboard and frenchgirl. I have contacted the local university for the pgce and they won't accept my application as I haven't got any british qualification in teaching french. that's a bit of a blow as I thought I was better placed to teach French as it is my language.
well , anyway, I keep the faith, I will contact other universities and try to talk some high school personnel directors and know if they would employ me. or on which conditions.
for example, a school might tell me " I would hire you if you had this or this degree" and let's hope it's not 5 years to get it!!!

[FrenchGirl]

I wonder if private schools might be more 'lenient' on qualifications for foreign languages???
Don't you want to do a course to get a qualification?

[Yorkiegirl]

Message withdrawn

[Frenchy72]

really? great! - I am going to investigate that then! thanks

[Tinker]

Could you be a personal tutor? Bad time for language teachers now, unfortunately, I read. Glasgow University are offering early severance to their modern language tutors.

[babyonboard]

What about considering working for a foreign exchange company? Particularly in london there are many opportunities for 'chaperones' when a group of french school children come to visit. They will want someone who can speak french and english so it could suit you.
My friends mum does this with Spanish children and loves it- you just spend your days taking them to museums etc.

[lucy5]

If you havent quite got the right qualifications to do an english pgce you could consider doing a pgce in pcet (post compulsory education and training) sometimes called FE (further education) the entry requirements are not as strict as primary/secondary pgce and they are geared up for mature students and take into account life experience. The only problem with this qualification is that it doesnt give you qts (qualified teacher status) so you would be restricted to Further education colleges and some private schools. It is possible to get qts at a later stage. Also alot of the work in fe is part time and its quite hard to get permanent contracts but it might be a way in. You can also do a teaching certificate a college, I cant remeber what its called at the moment but most local colleges do one, this might be enough to get you onto a pgce course for secondary.

[Tanzie]

I'm not being funny or rude, but please don't think that because you are a native French speaker, you would be a better teacher than a bilingual Brit (we are not all monoglots!). Yes, you would have a better accent, but the worst teacher I ever had was a German native speaker. She seemed to have got the job for that reason on its own as she was completely unable to teach the language - hadn't got a clue.

How about giving private conversation lessons - this would give you an idea of whether you really wanted to teach. I used to give private lessons years ago and knew fairly early on that I hadn't got what it took to be a teacher!

[Frenchy72]

Hi!
bas news even private schools request a minimum qualification.
I did a frantic research to try to find a course ,and one in cardiff (undergrad one) sounded great and leading to a Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). unfortunately it is a 2 year course and I can't afford this financially it is a disaster. it is also very hard to drop my ds at the creche at 8:30 and be on time for the start of the school where you spend most of the 2 years as a trainee teacher. they say that the allocated school can be 45 miles away.
i talked about it to my partner and was expecting him to say fine, i will help you don't worry. but nothing happened ....
didn't even propose to drop ds in the morning, needless to say didn't propose to help financially. (we haven't got a joint account).
I should have known......

[Frenchy72]

Thanks Tanzie. I have been giving private tuitions for years now and also organised mini-group evening conversations. it is very nice but you can't make a living out of that.
and I agree with you re the teaching ability. that is why I want to go on a proper course.

[FrenchGirl]

Frenchy, maybe you could become a licensee for la jolie ronde or le club francais? As a teacher you wouldn't earn much, but you'd fare better as a licensee. You'd need to go round schools and do presentations, recruit your teachers, etc, but some licensees do well, I could put you in touch with some good ones in and near Bristol for advice if you wanted?
Tu connais des francais a Cardiff? Si tu viens a Bristol on pourrait se rencontrer, tu peux m'envoyer un mail si tu veux par CAT. Je sais que c'est dur parfois d'etre francaise a l'etranger!! Bon courage avec ton projet en tout cas.
xxxxx

[Frenchy72]

FrenchGirl, sorry I don't want to be rude but I continue in French. Are you a licensee yourself?

[FrenchGirl]

no I taught with le club francais for two years