What an English Assistant Actually Does

In addition, to running around Europe and looking at cool things, I actually am working while I'm in France. While I'm sure my mother and my sister enjoyed me showing them a story about turkeys while we were skyping earlier this week, I don't think that I accurately explained to them what exactly it is that I do. So, here it is.

The kids that I work with are young. From about age 6 to 10/11ish. On the one hand, this is perfect because they are in the stage where they are adorable and when I walk outside during recess, I am mobbed by young French children who run up to me to say hello and hug me. On the other hand, their English skills are pretty basic (but still much more impressive than my French skills at age 6). For the youngest, we learn maybe 5 words a week. The oldest ones can learn more and can usually understand part of the instructions that I give in English. It depends.

Although it seems as if they aren't learning much, please remember that most of my students have about an hour of English practice a week, and I'm with them for about half of it. The main goals for my students in elementary are for them to get used to making sounds in English (especially sounds that aren't normally used in French) and to get used to how English sounds. When children are exposed to a foreign language early, it makes it so much easier for them to learn it later.

I try to do similar lessons with all of my classes for each week, but I modify the lessons for the ages of the students. I also try to have some back up ideas in case whatever I have planned just isn't working with a particular group. Because sometimes the class that has finished with recess isn't quite so calm as the one that I had at 9 am.

One of my favorite lessons so far has been the one from last week. Yes, I use pinterest for my lesson ideas occasionally. My older children learned a song called "Five Little Ducks." We went through it line by line, and I made the motions with the ducks. Then, I sang one line at a time with them while they sang it back. And, then we sang it together. French ducks don't say quack, quack. They say coin, coin. So, as you can imagine, they loved making the English duck sounds.

I made lots of duck noises that day. Sometimes, I feel slightly ridiculous in front of the class, but since they're happy, I just keep on going.

The students also like whenever we do cultural lessons. My roommate (who is from the UK) did a tour of London lesson with her students. She handed out tickets for the bus, had a powerpoint that showed all the sights in London, and had postcards for the children to write.

She even made a mail box for the postcards. So much cooler than any of my lessons. I definitely wanted to join her classes and listen with the children.

Although I titled this post What an English Assistant Actually Does, we all do slightly different things. It depends a lot on what the teachers want, what the students are capable of doing, and what the assistant wants to do.

This week I'm talking about Thanksgiving, of course. With my younger classes we read a story about a turkey and learned a few words. With my older classes, we'll learn a few words as well, and I have a powerpoint about Thanksgiving with a little bit of the history and with today's traditions (that includes a short clip of a football game, naturally).

Also, thanks to my friends who sent Halloween cards to me in October. My students loved it! And, for those who want to send Christmas cards for me to show my class, then put them in the mail within the next week or so, so that they'll get to me in time. Of course, I'll be happy to get any cards whether or not I get them in time to use with my class.

Hope everyone at home has a Happy Thanksgiving this week!

Midnight in Paris

We had a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. At midnight.

There were plastic tarps spread out on the grass in the space in front of the Eiffel Tower. The weather was surprisingly warm even at midnight. The plastic might have been just a little bit wet, but a water spot on your clothes is a small price to pay in exchange for a prime spot to watch the Eiffel Tower light up the sky before you. We had a baguette and a block of Reblochon cheese to share. Earlier in the night, we had gone to Ladurée. Vanilla, chocolate, and caramel macaroons.

Picnicking in front of the Eiffel Tower.

I cannot believe that I am in France. Again. I keep repeating it, but it's true.

During the last few days of the fall holidays, I went to Paris. I have a friend who's currently studying in Italy, and she's got a friend who's working in the UK. So, the three of us met up in Paris, and for several days three Ole Miss girls got to wander around the city of lights.

We had a string of misadventures which included losing each other in the metro and watching as the subway doors closed between us.

During our picnic we had what I can only refer to as a strange encounter. We were enjoying ourselves for our last night in Paris. Sitting on the grass, like I wrote above. When a French guy appeared in front of us. And by appeared in front of us, I mean he suddenly somersaulted/rolled across the ground and stopped in front of where we were sitting. Yes, somersaulted/rolled. He said hello and started speaking to us in English. We had no idea how to respond to this. The guy looked about sixteen and had definitely had a bit more to drink than he should have had. Two of his friends came up after him. Thankfully, they just walked like most people would do. They wanted to talk, but we (not surprisingly) weren't interested.

So, for all of you guys out there, please cross rolling on the ground off your list of ways to get girls' attention. It doesn't work as well as you might hope.

We were amused, but not in a good way.

Most of our adventures turned out well though.

By far, my favorite new site of the trip was going to the Musée Rodin. I had never been there before but wanted to go based on a recommendation. The best recommendation ever.

I got to see this guy.

The Musée Rodin has beautiful gardens. Since it was still warm on the day that we went, we enjoyed all the flowers and the sculptures in the garden. If I lived in Paris, I would have a yearly museum pass to this place so that I could go sit in the gardens whenever I wanted to.

There are so many things to do and see in Paris that it is impossible to do all of them. On this trip we saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Musée Rodin, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Champs-Élysées. I left later than the other two girls on Sunday. Lots of museums in Paris have free admission on the first Sunday of each month, so I spent time in the Musée d'Orsay, one of my favorite art museums. Then, I grabbed a crêpe and preceded to eat it while sitting on steps on the bank of the Seine.

If you're wondering what you should do in Paris, here's a list of some of my favorite things to do there.

Also, I have friends I met during my study abroad in Angers who are currently living in Paris.

Can you imagine that? Living in Paris.

I was so happy to get to see these people again. When the school year ended last time, and it was time for me to go home, I wasn't ready to leave. I didn't want the year to be over, and I didn't want to leave the people I had met. It's been three years since we'd seen each other. Too long.

We've all grown up so much in the past few years. It's not something that you notice when you are used to seeing people every day because then you can't see it happening. But a three-year gap makes it more noticeable. They are such amazing people, and I feel proud of what they've accomplished in the past three years.

I know that the people I met in Angers are part of the reason why I missed France so much.

I am so glad that I got a chance to see so many of my favorite people in Paris.

Every time that I go to visit, I love Paris even more. I understand why people feel that way that they do about the city.

Paris is the place that millions of people dream of visiting. To go there once in a lifetime would be more than most people will ever get to do. But, I've been able to visit so many times. I forget some times how incredibly blessed I am, and I have to constantly keep reminding myself.

Before I left to study abroad, I had a meeting with my English advisor. He asked if I had been to France before, and I said I'd only been to Paris. I wasn't expecting his reply. Only Paris. He said if Paris were the only place you ever went that would still be something. And it is true.
 

The One Month Mark

I arrived in France on the 23rd of September. Since today is the 23rd of October, this means I've been living in France for one month now.

I still cannot believe that I am actually here. Every morning when I wake up I am so surprised to find myself in this place. When I was back in the US, I used to have dreams that I was in France. This has happened since the last time that I left. Every time that I would wake up from one of those dreams, I felt disappointed as my sleepy brain processed that it hadn't been real.

Life in France takes some adjustment, and there are areas that you would not even imagine would be a problem. But even with those changes, right now is the least stressed that I have felt in a while. Not to say that I don't worry about many of the same things that I worried about while I was back at home. I do still worry. Of course. It is me. But, I know how lucky I am to get to do this, and I don't want to waste this opportunity.

Right now the schools are on a two weeks' holiday for Toussaints giving me a chance to try out some new things. Over the past few days, I got to experience some pretty amazing parts of France.

For one, I went to the Château de Crussol in Saint Péray with some of the other assistants. The Château is the ruins of a castle at the top of a hill not too far from Valence. Even though I've called the place a hill, it is pretty high above the surrounding area. Let's just say that if you were trying to attack this place during the 13th century, you'd hardly have a chance of making it to the castle. There were moments while we were heading up to it where I doubted whether I would actually make it, and since I wasn't attacking the castle, there wasn't the added obstacle of arrows and whatever else people used to use to defend castles.

There was also a picnic involved in our day trip which is why there are donuts and beignets in the pictures above. We stopped by the market to pick up supplies, so we had a wonderful lunch involving sandwiches with cheese and ham, vegetables, apples, and wine. I'll let you guess which one of us decided that we needed to have a dessert as well.

The trip was the perfect way to start off the vacation. A beautiful, sunny day of adventure with a group of some of the best people I've had the pleasure to meet here. If that were the only thing I got to do, it would be more than enough.
 

Some of my other favorite moments from the break so far have been a Sunday brunch and exploring Chabeuil (the town where I teach). I've written before about how adorable Chabeuil is, so I won't keep repeating it. The middle and right pictures are from a church in Chabeuil.

Other highlights from the week
- Went to a church serve at a Protestant Church near my apartment. There's a Catholic Church even closer, but I thought a Catholic service in French might be more confusing than I could handle.
- Tried two new types of cheeses. My roommate and I have a list going on the fridge so we remember which ones that we've tried and liked. France has a lot of varieties, so the list should be long by the end of the year.
- Ate a duck burger. It is what is sounds like.
- Got my first card in the mail here. I was so happy today when I opened the box, and actually found something in there addressed to me. Thank you so much!

Although Valence has had an unusually warm and sunny fall so far, the temperatures have recently begun to drop. It's probably only dropped into the 50s today, but the wind makes it feel much worse. I've had people warn me about the strong winds that happen here, and I now understand what they are talking about. Walking to get postcards today, I was momentarily worried that the gusts might cause me to take flight. While Mary Poppins might be able to come and go when the wind changes, it probably wouldn't work out so well for me.

I am trying to convince myself that I like cold weather by reminding myself about scarves and boots and soup and hot chocolate. Unfortunately, I haven't been persuasive enough. It might require larger quantities of hot chocolate to fully convince myself.

Still, since I am so happy to be here, I'll be able to handle some cold weather in trade off for all the rest.

I'm looking forward to seeing what another month in France brings! Until later!

Halloween Comes To France

This week my students got an introduction to American culture because we talked about Halloween in all of my classes. Powerpoint presentations have a reputation for being a little boring, but my students did not seem to feel that way this week. By far, their favorite slide was one about candy. They tried to convince the director to let them celebrate Halloween at school. He reminded them that they'll get to dress up for Mardi Gras (which I cannot wait to see!), but the students suggested that they could celebrate Halloween by getting candy. Basically, they just wanted candy - standard international trait of all 8 year olds.

There are still some awkward moments while I'm teaching. Partly because I'm awkward. It happens. Occasionally. But, also, partly because it's odd to knock on the classroom door and walk in to start English. The teachers do have a schedule to let them know when I'll be there, and they are on top of things. Still, they do have to finish up whatever they are working on, and then transition into English time. Which is made more difficult by me standing in the classroom because for the children I'm new and distracting.

I work with 12 different teachers and 13 different classes, so we're all getting used to each other.  The teachers all have different ranges of English skills. Some of them stay up at the front, and I help alongside them for the lesson. Others assist while I do most of the activities and speaking. A few stay in the back of the classroom working on other things during the lesson. Thankfully, all of the teachers have been so helpful so far. I have a break between some of my lessons, and one of the teachers invited me to sit in during French literature time. Listening to the class begin to learn a poem was one of the highlights of my week. Another class wrote a newspaper (in French) which they told me about (Not during an English lesson, so they explained all of this to me in very slow French. I'd like to avoid speaking French with them, but some of them have only just begun learning English and only about an hour a week. Either I speak with them in French, or all we say to each other is hello, my name is... My solution is to tell them that I only understand a little French, so they very patiently explain everything with me while trying to use English when possible.), and the teacher gave me a copy to read. I use the word adorable too often to describe things, but it applies in this case as well.

What I am doing definitely takes a lot of energy, but since I work so few hours a week, I can't complain at all. I've been working about two weeks so far, and I now get two weeks off for the Toussaint holiday. Another thing that I am not complaining about. I'm looking forward to exploring the area around where I live in France. My goal is to do something or try something new every day. So, I'll be letting you know how that goes.

Teaching English in France: Week 1

I went to both of my elementary schools this week. They're in a small town that takes me about 25-30 minutes to get to on the bus (I bought a monthly bus pass!). I wondered what kind of town I would be placed in, and I'm very happy with the one that I got. If you're imagining an idyllic small town in France, this is probably what you're thinking of.

Valence (where I live) isn't too large, but it is nice to have a more restful place to go to several times a week. Right now the weather is still warm and sunny. Hopefully, I enjoy it just as much when it starts to get cooler.

 

I had some free time after teaching to wander around the town. (While waiting for the bus to arrive. It only comes about once every hour.) The age of the cities in Europe always amazes me. I love how the old parts of the cities are right next to the newer parts.

Back to my experience at the schools.

The schools remind me of a lower and upper elementary. They are right next to each other, and I think that they share some facilities like the gym. I think that most classes have about an hour of English each week. I'll only be in each class for about 30 minutes though. The schools are small, and the atmosphere is much more calm that what I've recently experienced in the US.

I'm so excited about getting to spend time with these teachers and students.

Being the English assistant seems as if it might be the most fun position at the school. It's probably the closest that I'll ever come to being famous. All of the children know who I am, and they all want to talk to me. Everyone wants to be the kid that the teacher chooses to help me find my next classroom after the English lesson is finished.

A few of my favorite parts so far

• Kids constantly say hello to me when they walk by. 
• One class sang a song in English to welcome me to their classroom.
• Some of the younger classes think that I don't understand French at all. It's adorable.

I am impressed by the amount of English some of the classes know. I still have to remember to speak slowly though, use lots of gestures, and keep my words simple. Things get confusing easily. Some of the student are probably under the impression that I live in the Mississippi River since they didn't all get the concept of states. Oh, well.

I already love what I'm doing. Once I get used to figuring out how everything works (And, where all my classrooms are. Even though the schools are small, I can get lost anywhere.) I think that I am going to have a lot of fun.

Oh, and I've finished my first full jar of Nutella. I still haven't had an eclair yet though. That needs to happen soon.

Until next week,

My First Week

I promised pictures earlier, so here they are.

I was so incredibly lucky to get this apartment. Basically, it's perfect.

Except for the lack of hot water for the entire first week that I was here. It is fixed now though, and I had my first hot shower in the apartment last night.

Still, I cannot complain about this place.

That bookcase.

I could stare at it all day.

The family who owns the apartment has all these books. More than I could possibly read, but I am planning to give it a try. There is also a smaller bookcase in the hallway with children's book. Those will be easier for me to start with. So many books. All in French.

If my French reading skills don't improve while I'm here, it will completely be my fault.

Next, the kitchen.

There's plenty of space for me to cook and basically every kind of utensil that I could ever want to use. Including a a yogurt maker and a fondue pot.

I did not expect the apartment to be so nice. Actually, the reason that I chose this place was based on the fact that it had a balcony.

This balcony.

 

It will get cold here during the winter. Right now though, the balcony is my favorite place in the apartment. 

 

The view is pretty nice, too. It's been bright and sunny outside on most days so far. Which means that things like this happen.

 

It isn't very French to sit on the balcony with Harry Potter and a snack, but it is very Elizabeth. During the first few days that I was here, I had some relaxing time doing this.

Then, everything started at once. I met several of the other assistants, and my roommate came on Monday. I think I got lucky on this as well because they all seem like amazing people, and I am looking forward to getting to know them.

I don't want this to turn into a boring recitation of what I did each day this week, so I'm mostly going to skip over the orientation. All of the assistants went to Grenoble, and then, to Autrans in the mountains for training. Parts of it were boring. Other parts were actually helpful. There were over 200 assistants there, so I probably only met a small percentage of them even though it seemed like I met a lot. Although I enjoyed being there, I was glad to get back to Valence when it ended because I was completely exhausted.

Today has been my favorite day so far. The primary (elementary) assistants in my department (la Drome) went to one of the schools to watch a few English classes and try to do an activity with a class.

The first class that we went to was a class of nine year olds. Imagine what would happen if a group of nine foreigners had come into your 4th grade classroom. They definitely stared a lot as we first walked in the door, and they said hello to each person who walked it. So adorable.

Turns out that French primary schools also include preschools. 

So, I got to watch an English lesson with French preschoolers. The teacher starts off with a song in English before each lesson so that they know they are about to speak in English. She brought out a little wolf and a UK flag. They have been learning colors, so she had clothes for the wolf in different colors. So far they know red, blue, orange, pink, and green. Today they learned yellow. After the lesson, they colored wolves in different colors. We got to walk around the classroom to interact with the kids. 

I loved it!

I also got my schedule for classes today. Sadly, I don't have any preschool classes. My kids should range in age from 6 to 10. It's slightly younger than I thought it would be, but I am not complaining at all. I love working with younger children, and I might not have a chance to do this again since I have vague plans to teach high school when I get back to the US.

When I got my schedule, I also found out that I have Fridays free. Three day weekends will give me time to travel around Europe. Since that's part of why I wanted to come to France, I am happy about that as well.

Still, I am slightly nervous about going to meet all of the teachers on Monday and figuring out how everything works at my schools. Today has made me feel better, but I won't know exactly how things will go until I get there.

Arrived in France

I am happy to say that my journey from MS to France turned out just fine. It did take a while (longer than I would have liked), but I am so glad to be here.

Even though I've been excited about returning to France, I've also been nervous over the last few weeks. Last time that I came, I felt extremely overwhelmed during the first couple weeks. I thought that this would probably be the case this time as well, and I was not looking forward to that time of transition.

However, this time I feel unexpectedly comfortable being here. It seems perfectly normal to walk around Valence. I really do love France. It is hard to find the words to explain exactly what it is about this place. If I tried, I would only end up with the cliches that don't truly show how this place is.

I have only been here for two days, so there may still be awkward transitioning time later, but I don't think that it will be on the same level as last time.

It also probably helps that the contact person for my area is absolutely amazing, and she's incredibly nice. I am lucky to have her. The paperwork here is a nightmare (this is normal for France), but she has done a lot of work to have everything under control. I just do what she tells me to do.

My French does still need some work. I am certainly not as good at speaking French as when I left France last time. It will come back with time though. Even though I don't speak as well as I did before, I feel more comfortable speaking with people. Before I hated knowing that I was making mistakes. Now, I don't care as much. Yes, I make plenty of mistakes, but I know that as long as I keep trying, the mistakes will happen less and less often.

I think one of the things that I've learned since the last time I was in France is that I don't have to be perfect all the time. And, it's a relief not to always try to be.

Pictures of Valence and of my apartment will come soon.

I've had some time to explore. I found the grocery store and other important shops, but, I'm also having  difficulties with jetlag.

All that I can think about it how long I have left until it's an acceptable hour to go to sleep. I might be able to make it a few more hours.

6 pm is a perfectly normal time to go to sleep, right?

Another Beginning

Hi friends,

I'm starting a blog for the time that I will be spending in France. Partly so my family can see what I'm doing and partly because I kind of wish that I had kept something similar last time I was there.

What I'm doing: Teaching English to elementary children in France. I will be teaching from October until the end of April.

About the program: According to TAPIF (Teaching Assistant Program in France) the goal of the program is to "strengthen English-language instruction in French schools by establishing a native speaker presence, while also providing American Francophiles with excellent teaching experience and first-hand knowledge of French language and culture."

Why I'm doing this: Because I love children, English, teaching, and France, it would be more surprising if I weren't. I spent my junior year of college studying in France, and I've missed it more than I expected that I would. Initially, I thought about applying to this program after graduating, but I wasn't at all interested in teaching at that time. Then, I discovered that I am happiest when I am working with children (thanks CLS and MCM!). Trust me, no one was more surprised to find that out that than I was. That series of events plus a few other things eventually led me to applying to TAPIF.

What's going to happen: I have no idea. Things in life rarely happen the way that I expect for them to. Usually what happens is better than I could ever have imagined even though it sometimes seems like a messy disaster during the middle.

What I'm looking forward to: Teaching French children, traveling around Europe, meeting new people, speaking French, eating pastries and eclairs and crepes, and going to Switzerland.

There's still a little bit of time left until I leave, so right now I'm concentrating on not driving everyone around me crazy with my impatience to get to France.

More updates will follow when something exciting happens.

Or possibly when I'm bored in an airport in a few days. 

Because that is likely to happen.