Elise is a Canadian TAPIF participant who grew up in Toronto and is passionate about bilingualism, cultural exchange, and global experiences.
With a background in French immersion and a degree in journalism, Elise brings a unique perspective to her time teaching English in France. Through her blog, she shares candid reflections on navigating life in a small French city, teaching in the public school system, and embracing the challenges and rewards of cultural immersion. Elise’s journey is both relatable and inspiring for TAPIF applicants and individuals curious about life abroad.
How did you learn about TAPIF?
I grew up in Toronto and attended a French-immersion elementary school and an English high school. I knew that as an Anglo-Canadian living in Toronto learning French at home would be almost impossible. I am a new grad from Carleton University’s Journalism program. I found out about TAPIF through a family friend who is a high school French teacher. TAPIF, or the Teaching Assistant Program in France is a program organized by the France’s Consulate that allows native English speakers to live in France for a period of around eight months and teach English in France’s public school system. For many people this opportunity allows you to easily get a foot into life in France while working 12 hours a week. This program is catered towards people who want to be teachers, but it also attracts people from all walks of life. I am working towards being a bilingual journalist. For others it might be a career as a translator, historian, scientist, librarian, businessperson, the list goes on.
Why did you apply?
Being a new university graduate is confusing. I knew I wanted to do a master’s but needed a little study break. I had done an exchange semester in Denmark during university and through that learned that I wanted to work in the European media scape. Although I loved my time at university in Denmark, I found out quickly that I was at a disadvantage language-wise. I was in a class with people from 16 different countries, most of which spoke at least two languages fluently, I in fact did not, and I wanted to change that. Although the teaching part might not be 100% what you want to do, TAPIF is a fun way to immerse yourself in a culture and language in a way that also gives back to local communities in France.
What is your school environment and routine like?
The role of a language assistant can vary. I live in a small city located in the Auvergne Rhone Alps region about two hours north of Lyon. I arrived here at the end of September, and I live about 20 minutes by foot from my school. Personally, I have a two-week rotational schedule at one college (middle school) teaching children aged 11-14. Two things to know about the TAPIF program are that you will never be left alone with students, and you will never teach more than 12 hours a week which makes this a low stress job. As I am placed in a more rural part of France a lot of the students have a lower level of English. I work on getting the students to speak as much as possible during my lessons by playing games or comparing topics in Canada to topics in France. I teach a few hours a day and I have one weekday off, usually Friday which has helped me to be able to travel in my region.
The role of a language assistant can differ depending on what level you are with. I have a friend teaching at a local high school who helps with American politics and history classes as well as more specialized classes like English literature and is expected to base classes on whatever material the teacher is working on. On the other hand, I have a friend who is working in a primary school who is working on basic English like animals, colours, and songs with her classes.
What are some highlights or memorable moments?
So far my biggest highlights of this program can be broken down into three categories, the people, travel and how rewarding TAPIF can be. I was quite disappointed at first to not be placed in a large French city, but it has turned out to be the best part of my experience. I have become friends with some of the teachers at my school and other assistants which has given me the opportunity to go on hikes, weekend away trips, and learn more about French people and French culture. I have even gotten to eat lunch with an elderly French couple in their village of 80 people and have shared a glass of wine and pot of fondue which a men’s mountain biking group on the top of a mountain during a hiking trip.
Secondly, as a Canadian being part of TAPIF has given me the opportunity to travel and see more of Europe. During school breaks I have been able to spend time in other cities in France as well as travel to Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands which were all a blast.
Lastly, TAPIF (in a small city) REALLY helps you learn French. In my city there are almost no English speakers which forces me to speak and improve every day. I have found that people in smaller parts of France are always interested to know why I decided to move here and are always helpful in terms of correcting my grammar and sentence structure if I ask for help.
As a current TAPIF participant, what are your future plans and TAPIF has prepared you for that?
I’ll be participating in TAPIF until the beginning of summer then looking to put my journalism degree and newfound French skills into practice. I would love to find work somewhere in France as a journalist or in a French-speaking area of Canada. I think TAPIF has helped me to realize that learning French and working in French are a possibilities now, which is something I didn’t think would be possible even a year ago.
What advice would you give to future applicants?
Here it comes. The advice section. My main piece of advice is being open to anything. Although you can make requests in your TAPIF application, they are just that. Requests. I requested to be placed in the city of Toulouse and specified on my application that I wanted to be placed in a city with young people and a university so I could meet more people my age. Instead, I was placed in a small city, in the west of France with no university or college of any sort. Sometimes it feels like there are more cows than people, which is an adjustment coming from Toronto, but it has also helped me to learn about French culture more than I would in any big city.
My second piece of TAPIF advice is knowing you won’t be making a lot of money. The TAPIF salary sits at around $1100 a month which is enough for me to explore my region of France (on a budget) and afford a basic life in my city. I know some other people find the salary to be tight especially if they are placed in a more expensive region of France so I would consider having some money saved before starting TAPIF.
My third advice is to get involved! My time in TAPIF has been great because I asked to become involved with my school’s sports teams as well as becoming a member of the local library, sports associations and by attending the same types of events that the locals here do. Overall, if you can be flexible and embrace the culture of your French region, TAPIF is a great way to explore France’s culture.
How can people connect with you?
If you have any questions feel free to reach out, I can be contacted via my website : https://byelisekieffer.wordpress.com/