Info

Immerse yourself in the beautiful French region of Montpellier learning the French language and culture while teaching English to your host family.

Language Assistant France is a cultural exchange programme, where you live with a host family and in exchange for your own room and three meals a day, you help the family, usually the kids, with their English studies for around 15 hours during the week. In general, the families are quite affluent; you're looked after very well in lovely family homes.

As part of your programme you will be enrolled in a French Language School for 4 weeks.

Your language course will consist of 20 lessons per week starting at 09:30 and going through to 12:45 with optional cultural activities available later in the day. Your lesson will cover all aspects of the language learning including Grammar, structure and vocabulary.

Your language course that you attend will depend on your language abilities as we cover all levels. You will be placed in classes ranging from 3-10 giving you a perfect chance to gain plenty of interaction with your French tutor.


When you send us your application form and supporting documents our partners in France will match you with suitable host families and encourage them to invite you as their language assistant. When we find a successful match, a family invitation will be emailed for your approval. After you've accepted, we then arrange for you to speak with the family over the telephone - this allows everybody to get to know each other in advance and organise your start date and airport pickup.

Your teaching responsibilities: When a host family offers you an invitation, and you've accepted, it's then time to discuss what form they anticipate the lessons taking. It is also important to agree a schedule so everybody is clear about when you will be teaching and when it’s your 'time off'.

As the teaching is likely to be tutoring the kids for school, the chances are that you will follow their course books. We'll supply you with a starter pack with some great ideas of activities, but we also recommend you buy a good learner's dictionary and grammar book to refer to. DVDs, books, magazines and newspapers in English help you plan fun and interesting lessons. There are many free web resources available with useful teaching tips and printable worksheets etc.

Please note that your responsibilities are as a Language Assistant and you will not be requested to perform duties akin to a domestic help or an au pair - namely cooking / cleaning or child-minding. However, you will be expected to take a reasonable role with day to day household chores, such as helping to prepare meals, washing up, general tidying etc.

Developing your French language skills: This is a great opportunity to develop your French. Although you will be providing 15 hours of English lessons to the family, there is still plenty of opportunity to speak French. Discuss your aspirations with your host family and agree when English / French is spoken. Depending on the situation, it may also be possible to find a part-time paid job to enhance your French experience.

Duration

From 4 weeks to 3 months

Start Dates

Any time througouht the year

Requirements

*Minimum age 18 yrs
*Your first language must be English
*Formal teaching qualifications are not necessary, but any experience will strengthen your application
*We also welcome applications from non European Union citizens
*You are not required to speak French but this is the perfect chance to learn.