10 Things I’d Like to Tell my Students (as a former teacher)

Up until this past May, I had been a teacher for four years. Specifically, I was an ESL teacher who had taught English abroad in France. I taught various grade levels, from middle school to university level, from preteens to full-grown adults. I consider it my "first real job" out of college, and while it …

10 Differences Between Being a TAPIF Assistant and Lecteur d’anglais

Salut, tout le monde! Today marks the first official day of the TAPIF contract. Hundreds of assistant.es-- new and returning-- will be starting their seven-month stint of being a language assistant in France. Whether it's teaching in école primaire, collège, or lycée, hundreds of individuals from all over the world will experience a school year of instructing their respective …

What It’s Like Being a Lectrice d’Anglais in France

Salut! With la rentrée in full swing this time of year, I am reflecting on my time spent as a lectrice d'anglais back when I used to live in France for work. I spent two years working in the Lyon region between 2017 and 2019, teaching in a mid-size city to first and second-year undergraduate science students. While it …

Life Update #12: Done Teaching as a Lectrice!

As of this week, the last of my students have taken their final exams for the spring semester, thus bringing the school year to an end. It has been a long 12 weeks worth of instruction, testing, grading (and more grading), but now, all of that is over-- for better or for worse. Besides being …

Life Update #11: Fall Semester teaching DONE!

Greetings! A lot has happened since my last Life Update back in August (can't believe how time flies!). I'm sure that it's not much of a surprise, since living overseas can, of course, come with plenty of experiences. But considering that this is my second year in the same city, with the same job, I'd assumed …