Guidelines for language assistants in France

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GUIDELINES
for language assistants in France

Time abroad

Accommodation

Insurance

Pedagogical
websites

Health insurance

Everyday life

2009 2010
Map of "Académies"

France is divided into thirty geographical sectors for schools and universities
called "académies". In general, "académies" are named after the region's
major city.

2
14 Guidelines for language assistants in France
Hello!
You have just been assigned a job as a language assistant in France. During
your stay, you will become familiar with daily life in France, learn how French
schools operate and gain experience in a new job.

This "Carnet de route de l’assistant de langue en France" is designed to provide
you with important information and advice which you will need before leaving
your country and during the first few weeks of your stay in France.

When you arrive in France, you will be given the "Guide de l’assistant" where
you will find additional information. You can read the 2008-2009 edition at:
www.ciep.fr/en/assistantetr

Wel come
toF
rance!
This document is available online on the CIEP website:
- English version: www.ciep.fr/en/carnet-route-assistant-langue

Guidelines for language assistants in France 3
You have just been appointed
I as a language assistant
You have received an "Arrêté d'affectation / Arrêté de nomination"
(Certificate of appointment). This is the official document that appoints you as
a language assistant. An example of this document is provided below but this may
differ from one "académie" to another:

Ministère de l’Éducation nationale
Académie :
1
ARRETE DE NOMINATION
DRH
Chapitre : 3197

LE RECTEUR

Vu l’arrêté ministériel du 5 janvier 1989 modifié portant sur la délégation de
pouvoirs du ministre de l’Éducation nationale aux recteurs d’Académie pour la
nomination des assistants étrangers de langues vivantes

ARRETE

Mlle ..................... Né(e) le ..................
domicilié(e) : ................................
Grade : ASSISTANT ETRANGER
Discipline : ASSISTANT ETRANGER D’ANGLAIS

2 3
Adresse d’affectation : ........... LYC/CLG/LP/IA/etc. ............

Est affecté(e) à compter du .......... jusqu’au .............. à 100.00 % 5

6
Pour y exercer à titre principal à :
4
à titre secondaire à :

Fait à ............, le .............

Pour le Recteur et par délégation
Pour le D.R.R.H. et par attribution
Le Directeur des Personnels Enseignants

Destinataires : intéressé (1ex) Établisst (1ex) Rectorat (2ex) Financier (1ex)
I.A (1ex) D.D.T.E.F.P (2ex) CIEP (1ex)

4 Guidelines for language assistants in France
You have just been appointed
I as a language assistant
See our website:
www.ciep.fr/assistantetr
You will find explanations in
English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.
If you have been posted to a primary school, visit the website:
www.primlangues.education.fr
If you have been posted to a secondary school, visit the website:
www.emilangues.education.fr/

3.
Explanation of acronyms:
2. EE: école élémentaire
The school to which primary school (6-11 years)
you are administratively IA: Inspection académique
"attached". administrative services for primary level
In certain cases CLG: collège middle school (11-15 years)
LYC: lycée high school (15-18 years)
(primary) you will not
LP: lycée professionnel
work professional high school
in this school.
1. (15-18 years)
LGT: lycée général et technologique
The "académie" general/technical high school
in which your (15-18 years)
school is located
(see page 2).
6. ATTENTION ! 4.
E
1. If you are from a non-EU country, If you are
you will have received a letter that you assigned to
should keep carefully. You must return this several schools.
to the ANAEM (Agence Nationale de l'Accueil
des Étrangers et des Migrations - National Agency
for Migration) as soon as you arrive in France.

2. Make sure that your 5.
"certificate of appointment" is stamped Normally, this
by the Direction départementale du Travail, percentage
de l'Emploi et de la Formation corresponds
professionnelle (DDTEFP). to the number of hours
It must be stamped in order for you that you will
to obtain your visa. teach in each
school.

Guidelines for language assistants in France 5
7
II Before you leave
1. What you should do AS SOON AS POSSIBLE:
Contact the head of your future school or the contact person whose name you
have been given.
Be aware that most schools are closed in July and August
Write to the head of the school indicated on your official certificate of
appointment:
"Madame la Directrice, Monsieur le Directeur" for an école primaire ;
"Madame la Principale, Monsieur le Principal" for a collège ;
"Madame la Proviseure, Monsieur le Proviseur" for a lycée ;
or "Madame l’Inspectrice, Monsieur l’Inspecteur" for an inspection académique.
- to briefly introduce yourself,
- and ask some questions such as:

• Quelle est la taille de l’établissement (nombre d'enseignants et d'élèves) ?
How large is the school (number of students and teachers)?
• Quel est l’âge des élèves ? Combien de professeurs y enseignent ma langue ?
How old are the students? How many teachers teach my language?
• Est-ce que je travaillerai avec des professeurs d’autres disciplines ?
Will I be working with teachers of other subjects?
• Dans quel environnement géographique et social se situe l’établissement ?
What is the school's geographical and social environment?
• L’établissement a-t-il un partenaire ou un établissement de jumelage dans mon pays d’origine ?
Does the school have a partner school in my country of origin?
• L’établissement a-t-il un site Internet ? Si oui, quelle en est l’adresse ?
Does the school have a website? If so, what is the address?
• Quels sont l’aéroport et la gare ferroviaire (SNCF) les plus proches de mon lieu d’affectation ?
Which airport and train station (SNCF) are the closest to my assigned school?
• Quelles sont les possibilités de logement à loyer modéré dans ma ville d’affectation ?
Dans l’établissement lui-même ?
What are the possibilities for affordable accommodation in my assigned city? Within the school itself?
• Qui devrai-je contacter à mon arrivée ? Puis-je avoir l’adresse, le courriel et le numéro de
téléphone de la "personne contact" ? Où devrai-je me rendre en arrivant et à quelle date ?
Who should I contact when I arrive? May I have the address, e-mail address and phone number of this "contact person"?
Where should I go when I arrive and on which day?
• Pouvez-vous me donner les nom, adresse et courriel de mon éventuel prédécesseur ?
Can you provide me with the name, address and e-mail of the previous language assistant, if there was one?

2. Other things you can do before leaving:
• Look for schools near your home that are interested in an exchange project with a
French school.
• Open an e-mail account on a free server if you haven't already got an e-mail
address. This will allow you to contact other assistants, the people in charge in your
académie, or the Centre international d'études pédagogiques (CIEP) which is in
charge of coordinating the exchange programme for foreign language assistants
(assistant@ciep.fr).
• Take out comprehensive travel insurance to cover medical emergency, costs for
accident, illness, repatriation and death.

8
6 Guidelines for language assistants in France
II Before you leave
3. What you should bring
• Some money !
An international credit card is highly recommended to facilitate your transactions.
Plan a personal budget to cover your initial expenses (telephone, rent, daily living
costs) until you receive your first pay slip; you will get it at the end of November (salary
for both October and November).
You may, however, ask for a salary advance at the end of October (70 to 80 % of total
salary), if you have asked your school's administration before October 10th and have
opened a French bank account.
N.B. : - Travel: from and to your home country is not covered by the French government.
- Accommodation: you will have to pay your landlord/landlady one month's deposit.
- If you rent through an agency, you will need to add the agency fees (usually equivalent
to one month's rent).

• You should also remember to bring:

If you are from a member state of the If you are from a state
European Union outside of the European Union
• A valid ID card or passport. • Your passport must be valid beyond the
end of your contract, and have a long-stay
• The European health insurance card (covers
type D visa stamped by a French
medical expenses for short stays). The
consulate before departure.
application form is available from a post office
or social security office in your home country. • The letter from the ANAEM.
• An official French translation of your birth
certificate.
TIP :
ies of
Whichever country you are from make se veral photocop .
all these documents
Your insurance policy (cf. page 6, § 2) if you have one.
Your certificate of appointment.
If necessary :
• an international student identity card (ISIC);
• a letter of recommendation from your bank;
• a letter in French from a person who will act as guarantor for the regular payment of your rent;
• proof of car or motorcycle insurance, if you bring your vehicle.

N.B. : You do not need to change your numberplate.

Guidelines for language assistants in France 7
11
II Before you leave
• Teaching documents

It would be useful to bring with you a variety of authentic teaching materials:

• Visual:
- pictures of your family, your friends, your house, your city or town, your school
or university;
- a plan of your home town, a map of your region, tourist brochures;
- postcards, posters;
- menus, recipes, games;
- notes and coins of your local currency (other than the Euro).

• Written press:
- national and local press, weather reports, recipes, horoscopes;
- magazines for children and teens, cartoons, picture books;
- advertising flyers, student newspapers, sports press;
- What’s on? magazines, radio + TV listings.

• Audio:
- audio recordings of poems and nursery rhymes, stories and songs;
- radio advertisements;
- audio books;
- karaoke DVDs.

• Audiovisual:
- excerpts from television newscasts;
- video clips, TV adverts, weather reports, ...

N.B. : Not all French schools are equipped with the PAL system (for video). DVDs are
therefore advisable.

Do not hesitate to bring any documents related to your own interests,
hobbies or areas of expertise, that might interest students.

12
8 Guidelines for language assistants in France
III As soon as you arrive in France
The académies and / or inspections académiques, usually organise an induction
course in late September or early October for foreign assistants in France.

It is compulsory to attend because it is a good opportunity to ask questions and meet
the people in your académie who are there to help you during your stay. During the
course, you will receive information about administrative formalities that you will need
to deal with, and instructors will give you tips on how to succeed in your job as an
assistant. It is also the chance to meet assistants from other countries.

During this induction course, you will receive "Le Guide de l'assistant de langue
en France" which contains a lot of useful information about the French education
system, the role of an assistant, as well as administrative formalities.

Your first concern on arrival in France will be to find accommodation. You have
several options: private rental, a hostel, a room in a university residence, housing
provided by the local town hall of your town of appointment or, in some cases, a room
in your host school. You should in the first instance ask the head of your school or
your mentor teacher if they can suggest accommodation.

You may also look at ads in free newspapers, at universities, in the Centres
d'information et de documentation jeunesse (CIDJ), in the Centre national des
oeuvres universitaires et scolaires (CNOUS) and on the Internet (see addresses on
page 13). As soon as you have found accommodation, do not forget to ask your
landlord/lady for an "attestation de logement" as proof of your address in France
which is required for many administrative procedures.

Make sure you have sufficient funds to cover your initial expenses (rent, deposit, etc.).

Guidelines for language assistants in France 9
13
III As soon as you arrive in France
On your arrival, you will also have a certain number of administrative formalities to
deal with as soon as possible, although these may take several months to finalise (i.e.
social security card, residence permit - titre de séjour, etc). Your host school will help
you with these formalities, telling you which documents you need, and where and
how to obtain them.
If you have any problems, do not hesitate to contact your mentor teacher at your
school, the académie contact person nearest to you, or as a last resort, the
Language Assistants’ Programme Officer in the rectorat of your académie.

When you arrive at your school, you will be given the
following document:
• a procès-verbal d'installation (to be signed, photocopied) which certifies that you
are taking up your position.

You will need:
- to deal with formalities with your school's administration in order to receive your
salary;
- to open a bank account and ask for a "relevé d'identité bancaire" (RIB), which is a
document stating your account details;
- to obtain a residence permit from the town hall, police station or prefecture.
Citizens of the first 15 member countries of the European Union are not
required to have a "titre de séjour". For further information, visit:
www.campusfrance.org
- to ask your headteacher’s secretary to enroll you with Social Security
(Sécurité sociale), the organisation that manages basic health and accident
insurance in France: www.securite-sociale.fr;
- to subscribe to a civil liability policy, (assurance responsabilité civile) which
is compulsory in France (ask your school for advice);
- if you wish you can subscribe to a "mutuelle" (for top-up health insurance)
preferably the MGEN or MAIF.

N.B. : if you join a mutuelle, you will benefit from better health cover (more comprehensive
reimbursement of medical expenses).

- to ask your school for a professional card (carte professionnelle) as it
is useful for obtaining discounts at certain museums and bookshops.

10 Guidelines for language assistants in France
IV Your job in France
• Weekly duties
You will work 12 hours per week. These hours may be in one school or spread across
several (no more than three, see your certificate of appointment, page 4 § 4). Your
timetable/schedule may vary during the year depending on your host school's
requirements.

• School holidays
You are entitled to the same holidays as your French colleagues during the period of
your contract (see page 14).

• Assistant's role: n be invented
Other roles ca , according
- practise oral language skills with students; within the school
ojects
to specific pr
- work alongside language teachers in the classroom; personal
an d your own
not hesitate
- support the teaching of non-language subjects; interests. Do es.
to su ggest activiti
- make recordings to enrich audiovisual materials in the school;
- prepare teaching materials;
- provide personal tutoring for students;
- take part in exchange projects;
- organise and run a language club;
- teach the language curriculum (primary school assistants with a 9-month
appointment).

N.B. : for the primary 9-month programme, the assistant is in charge of all language teaching.

• Timetable
The week usually runs from Monday morning to Friday afternoon. Students have
between 26 and 32 hours of classes per week.
Normally, each teaching period is 45 minutes for primary school and 55 minutes
for collège or lycée.
The school day begins between 8 and 8:30 AM, and ends at about 4:30 PM
for primary schools, 5:30 PM for collège and lycée.

• Monthly salary
As of November 6th 2008, the salary is 952,45 € gross or around 780 € after tax
deduction.

Guidelines for language assistants in France 9
11
V Some useful websites

1. Welcoming foreigners to France
• The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.france.diplomatie.fr, for all information
about required formalities and for a list of consular service addresses in France.

• CAMPUS FRANCE: www.campusfrance.org, for practical information about various
aspects of life in France.

• The ANAEM Agence Nationale d'Accueil des Étrangers et des Migrations (National Agency
for Migration): www.anaem.social.fr

2. National education
The French Ministry of Education provides an overview of the French education system at:
www.education.gouv.fr

• The Eduscol website (the French Ministry of Education's website for teachers) can be
very useful if you want to know about the latest developments in teaching:
www.eduscol.education.fr

• The Centre international d’études pédagogiques (CIEP), in charge of the Foreign
Language Assistant programme: www.ciep.fr, for information, texts and documents
that are useful for language assistants.

• The website: www.primlangues.education.fr provides teaching material for primary
level.

• The website: www.emilangues.education.fr provides teaching material for secondary level.

• A resource book, "la mallette pédagogique", has been developed for English and German
language assistants working in primary schools. It can be downloaded from the CIEP web-
site: www.ciep.fr/assistantetr

• Your académie: www.ac-(name of your académie).fr
(Examples: www.ac-paris.fr; www.ac-orleans-tours.fr; etc.)

12
6 Guidelines for language assistants in France
V Some useful websites
3. For all PRACTICAL INFORMATION
concerning administrative formalities, accommodation,
transport, money:
• The CNOUS (Centre national des oeuvres universitaires et scolaires):
www.cnous.fr
• The CIDJ (Centre d’information et de documentation jeunesse):
www.cidj.asso.fr
• L’Étudiant: www.letudiant.fr for all university addresses in your region, advice
and addresses to help you find accommodation
• For accommodation: www.anil.org ; www.fuaj.org ; www.cnous.fr
• Train travel: www.sncf.fr
• Coach travel: www.eurolines.com
• Exchange rates: www.xe.com/ucc/fr
• Look up your school's telephone numbers: www.pagesjaunes.fr

For assistants whose language is:
• English, British Council website: www.languageassistant.co.uk
•German, PAD website: www.kmk-pad.org, Goethe Institut website: www.goe
the.de, Österreich Kooperation website: www.oek.at and the Centre suisse
de formation continue de l'enseignement secondaire: www.wbz-cps.ch
• Italian, Istituto italiano di cultura website: www.iicparigi.esteri.it
• Portuguese, website of the Portuguese Embassy in France:
www.embaixada-portugal-fr.org
• Spanish, the Ministry of Education website:
www.mec.es;
Instituto Cervantes website: www.cervantes.es and website:
www.parismemata.com
• Russian, the blog from the French Embassy in Moscow:
http://assistants.francoblog.ru

Guidelines for language assistants in France 5
13
School holiday calendar
primary and secondary level

Year 2009 - 2010
ZONE A ZONE B ZONE C

First day teachers Tuesday September 1, 2009

First day students
Wednesday September 2, 2009
(collège and lycée)

All Saints'
Saturday October 24 to Thursday November 5, 2009
Day Holiday

Christmas Holiday Saturday December 19, 2009 to Monday January 4, 2010

Saturday February 13 Saturday February 6 Saturday February 20
Winter Holiday to to to
Monday March 1, 2010 Monday March 22, 2010 Monday March 8, 2010

Saturday April 10 Saturday April 3 Saturday April 17
Spring Holiday to to to
Monday April 26, 2010 Monday April 19, 2010 Monday May 3, 2010

Summer Holiday
Friday July 2, 2010
begins

School ends after the last class and resumes on the morning of the scheduled dates. Please check
with your school's headteacher.

ZONE A : Caen, Clermond-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy-Metz, Nantes,
Rennes, Toulouse.
ZONE B : Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Besançon, Dijon, Lille, Limoges, Nice, Orléans-Tours,
Poitiers, Reims, Rouen, Strasbourg.
ZONE C : Bordeaux, Créteil, Paris, Versailles.
For the following académies: Corsica, Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique, Mayotte,
Polynésie française and Réunion, see the website:

http://www.education.gouv.fr/pid184/le-calendrier-scolaire.html

14
2 Guidelines for language assistants in France
Personal notes

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...........................................

Guidelines for language assistants in France 15
Centre international d'études pédagogiques
Unité des assistants de langue vivante
Département langues et mobilité
1, avenue Léon-Journault - 92318 Sèvres cedex France
Phone: 00 33 (0)1 45 07 60 00 - Fax: 00 33 (0)1 45 07 60 76
Contact: assistant@ciep.fr - Website: www.ciep.fr/assistantetr

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