As a FLA you will be working 12 hours a week in a primary school. However it could occur that your working time would be shared. In that case these 12 hours would have to be done in a maximum of three schools. You have to start on October 1st and you’ll finish at the end of April. You have to know that your are not supposed to be in charge of teaching but to work as an assistant with the Teacher. You could be asked to prepare lesson plans according to the guidelines given by the teacher. However you’re expected as well to share your home culture and you shouldn’t delay in preparing activities to share with pupils in that purpose.
A teacher, called a « Référent(e) » will help you for every administrative aspect of your installation (finding an accomodation, medical registration, opening a bank account…)
If you need help for teaching, you could join the district MFL Teaching Advisor. (Do not delay if you are dealing with troubles in your school !) However you’ll meet him at the beginning of October during the general meeting for all the FLA appointed in the « académie de Lille ». The District MFL teaching Advisor will visit you in your school as well.
CONTACTS :
PEDAGOGY
CONTACT A L’INSPECTION ACADEMIQUE DU PAS-DE-CALAIS :
Monsieur Olivier Misiurny I.E.N Référent relations internationales – Circonscription de Boulogne 2
1 rue Salvador Allende
62200 Boulogne-sur-mer
Téléphone 03 21 87 67 87, Email :ce.0620241a@ac-lille.fr
ou
Monsieur BRANLANT , Conseiller Pédagogique Départemental
District MFL Teaching Advisor
Inspection Académique de Pas-de-Calais ( suivi Pédagogique et administratif)
20, bld de la Liberté 62021 Arras cedex
Tel : 03.21.71.71.36/E-mail : willy.branlant@ac-lille.fr
ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTIONS :
CONTACT AU RECTORAT :
RECTORAT DE LILLE
DEVEP – Bureau des Relations Internationales
20 rue St Jacques – BP 709 59033 LILLE cedex
Tel : 03.20.15.94.78/ Fax : 03.20.15.66.36/ Email : assistants@ac-lille.fr
Witnessing from previous F.L.A in the Pas-de-Calais
Rose from Scotland, Jennifer from England, Madeline from USA.
1-About your staying in the Pas-de-Calais ?
Dear Willy Sorry for the very late reply ! I had a fantastic time as an assistant, thanks for all your help. I had an excellent time staying in Pas-de-Calais. It was great to experience French life and French culture in this region. – Rose
Pas-de-Calais is a lovely region, full of kind and welcoming people. There are lots of places to visit and I couldn’t fit everything in to the seven months I was here ! – Jennifer
I really enjoyed my stay in Pas-de-Calais. It is very different than other regions of France that I have been to, so it was neat to see a different part of French culture. I had heard that the people in the north of France were very friendly, and I did find this to be true. Everyone was very open and helpful which made my stay more enjoyable.- Madeline
2-About your experience ?
The school experience was always fun, occasionally challenging, and ultimately very rewarding. I feel my organisational skills, creativity and confidence have improved greatly as a result of working in an Primary School. Furthermore, I have learned how to be independent and responsible – both for myself and others.-Rose
I learnt about a different culture and met so many new people. I made new friends and worked in a lovely school. I learnt how to become independent and how to work in a primary school. I now wish to become a primary school teacher. – Jennifer
I learned a lot during my stay in France. I learned a lot about the French people and culture and how to adapt to living in another country. At school I was able to get some good practice at teaching. The other teachers that I worked with helped me to improve my teaching. I do feel that I have improved and become more confident in the classroom- I think I would like to become a teacher. I feel that my French has improved as well, which has also given me more confidence.-Madeline
3-One word – One experience – One idea ???
The only regret I have with regards to the assistantship is I wish I was more confident at the start, if you have no fears you can go further. An initial fear of trying new things maybe held me back in the beginning.- Rose
Fantastic ! This is the first time I have ever lived away from Liverpool and I have enjoyed every minute of it ! I am so happy to have experienced working in Calais and met all the lovely people here ! I have made friends forever and I hope to return in the future ! – Jennifer
One day that I will remember was a Friday at the end of the school day. One of my students came up to me as she was leaving and said « Have a nice weekend ! » I had just taught my students that phrase the weekend before and hadn’t repeated it since, but she had listened and remembered. I guess it just made me feel good to know that they were actually learning from me. Children can learn things so quickly, so it is especially helpful for them to study a foreign language at such a young age – Madeline
4- About your Teaching experience ?
My role was to lead the classes in English (always with another teacher there to help me.) When I taught the class I tried to speak as much as I could in English so that the students could hear my accent and try to figure out for themselves what I was saying. As far as special projects, with the CM2 classes we did an exposition of the United States, so that they could learn more about my country and culture-Madeline
5-What would you say to applicants for being assistants in the Pas-de-Calais about coming to the North of France ?
Say yes to everything, don’t be afraid to try new things and give yourself fully to experience. Embrace and enjoy !-Rose
Everyone I have met has been very welcoming and nothing but kind to me in the North of France. Being an assistant is a very rewarding experience and you learn a lot about a different culture and yourself ! It is important to get involved, talk to everyone and take part in everything. Make the most out of your time here as it goes too fast ! – Jennifer
Thank you to all our Foreign language Assistants !