TESOL in France

Every week we get asked about teaching English in 'Paris', as though this was the only city worth considering in the whole country. Firstly the competition is huge for work in Paris and unless you are actually here and can door knock, the chances of getting something from long range are very very slim. Add to that low wages [competition for work keeps them down] and high rents and you could be much better off working 'out of town'.
There are many major cities and large provincial towns all over the country. The days when Frenchmen clung desperately to their language and refused to speak in any other seem to be history. The government insists that companies have training budgets and learning English features high in popularity, also schools have English in the curriculum and new generations are emerging with good basic English. Beware though, also gone are the days when just beeing a native speaker were enough to get work. You need relevant and recognised qualifications from an accredited trainer, such as English Explorer. A good place to start looking in any country is the Yellow Pages for names and phone numbers, in France its the Pages Jaunes found at www.pagesjaunes.fr and then search for Enseignement:Cours de Langues.
The Centre International d'Etudes Pedagogiques offers around 1500 positions for classroom aides, to assist French school teachers in teaching the English Language. Again you need qualifications in TESOL or similar, as well as a working knowledge of French, since you will work in the Government schooling system. Please remember that ALL countries have rules regarding working visas, make sure that you know what these are and dont get into a 'situation' from non compliance.
English Explorer has a comprehensive data base of names, addresses--both street and email, also phone numbers that we supply to our enroled students. We also give you advice regarding working conditions salary etc, as we know them at the time.
This year we have looked at the south of France and it seems to us that there is work available 'out of season'. During the summer and holiday months there are a flood of English nationals, as well as North Americans, wandering around the country and taking up part time work as and when they can. This supply, or rather over supply dries up as the days shorten and the temperature drops. Our on the spot checking happened in very early spring. Temperatures were certainly down, in fact we encountered sleet and snow,

the tourist crowds had certainly not yet arrived. If you are not going to be stationery in an area for more than a short time, then an established language school will suite your needs, but dont neglect to look at offering private lessons. Some tear offs left on notice boards, shops and at community centres is often a good economical way to get started and if you are any good word of mouth will soon spread your name around.
The most important thing about getting work in Europe is to be there personally and think outside of the big centres for more success.