kinzi73

Hi everyone

I am looking at moving to the South of France next year with my French boyfriend to be closer to his family. I am currently learning to speak the language but feel I will not be fluent enough to continue in the type of work I do at the moment (I am in retail management) and was thinking of teaching english (preferably business english). Does anyone have any experience of this or could give me any advice of which TEFL courses I would need (if any). In my line of work I have loads of training experience in large department store environments so have no problem standing in front of people or managing a session, and have 1 to 1 training experience also.

I would really appreciate any information anyone has for me and thank you in advance

dennerlymum

hi there

work is still out there.. but perm contracts are rare. Depending on the company you may or may not need a TEFL. Good luck in your search

kinzi73

Thanks for the quick reply! I am not thinking of doing it long term, just something to get me started and until my french is good enough to get a more stable job. I would consider bar/waiting work as well to supplement my income but think I would really enjoy the teaching for a while. I am looking at all avenues just now so I am totally prepared for when we do finally move, and will be with my bfs family at first so we have a support system which will really help.

Thanks again and keep the comments coming

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
Whereabouts in the South of France does your bf's family live? In the Languedoc where I live, job opportunities in retail management would probably only exist in Montpellier and possibly the big towns. As you suspect, your French won't be adequate to compete with bilingual French jobseekers in your field. The Languedoc has one of the highest unemployment rates in France, so hopefully you're aiming for somewhere else!
There's a BE member near Toulouse who'll come along soon to advise about teaching English to adults.
Going off on a tangent, don't forget to organise your healthcare coverage (reciprocal arrangement with the UK NHS) in case you need medical treatment while you're looking for a job. AFAIK you wouldn't be covered by your bf's social security - someone will come along to correct me if I'm wrong.

P.S. Said member replied while I was writing this!

kinzi73

Hi

Thanks for the information.

His family live in St Raphael and Frejus so initially we will be there until we get something more permanent sorted. I will consider any employment opportunities as have previously worked in hospitality etc so just wanted to put some feelers out to see what obstacles I would need to overcome.

While researching teaching english online there is a lot of conflicting information so thought it would be better to speak to people actually in the country, and I was right, I am very grateful of the help.

This forum looks like it's going to be very useful in the coming months

ps looking at moving next summer July/September and will definitely check out the healthcare etc. Thanks for that

dmu

My late brother-in-law lived in St Raphaël, it's horribly expensive there!
Be aware that, if you'll be renting, the landlord will want proof (payslips) that your combined income is 3-4 times the rent - if not, you must find a Guarantor with this income who'll undertake to pay the rent if necessary.
Just to warn you!

kinzi73

lol! don't I know it! I was amazed at the prices but luckily we will live with his parents as they have a small house at the bottom of their garden where we stay when visiting

dennerlymum

LOL like minds and all that

kinzi73

Hi again

Ok so I have found a course with TEFL SCOTLAND which is 150 hours in total covering teaching children and young people (takes place in a classroom environment), business english, grammar and teaching english online which I think will be good as it will let me see what area I like best and give me a good grounding for a few different areas. My question is does anyone know if TEFL SCOTLAND certificates are recognised in France as some information I have found says to only go with CELTA but this is almost £1000, whereas TEFL SCOTLAND is only £500. TEFL SCOTLAND is accredited by the SQA who deal with all examinations in Scottish schools so I am thinking this should be ok, anybody got any input here?

Thanks again and hope to hear from some of you soon

dmu

Hi, from
http://www.teflscotland.com/teflfrance.asp
it seems to be recognised in France...
If you look on "Pages jaunes" and enter "écoles de langues" and "St Raphaël" (also click on "à proximité de"), you should find all the language schools in the area.
Hope this helps!

kinzi73

thats great thank you so much for the information

le plumber

TEFL is different from CELTA/DELTA isn't it?? I know someone who teaches in a language school in Besancon - she has a CELTA but she reckons its more a formality than anything else, because its very oral based lessons....
I think with a simple TEFL at about £400 it should give you the basics on how to organize a class and brush up on your grammar.