Rocking up in France

Former Global English TESOL graduate Jane Rocke writes about her adventures in TEFL in Normandy, France. Read her story below...

Before moving to France to help set up a church in Lisieux, Normandy, I did a Global English TESOL course. On arriving in France, in August that year, we rented a property with our family of 4 children, 1 dog and a guinea pig. My husband, a former partner with Accountancy Firm Ernst & Young, attended a 9 week intensive French course, whilst I enrolled on a course to be an English teacher in the French educational system at Caen University.

We bought a property in 2006 which we turned into a Chambres d’hôtes, and following a swift turn of events, and the increase of our family from 4 to 5 children (!), I became a supply English teacher and the maternity leave, that the French government generously paid me, enabled my husband to train as a TEFL teacher, too.

We decided to launch ‘Alliance Anglaise’ in 2008, a language teaching venture focusing on Business English immersion courses for the regional business community, using our B&B as accommodation for these intensive training weeks. As demand has grown at the younger end of the market to provide residential language training, this year we decided to launch The Language Hotel, which focuses more on the language holiday aspect and combines a language experience with visits to local attractions. Here we teach both English and French (I have an MA in French) to young people aged between 12 and 18. In both our ventures we are helped by qualified friends from the local community, and at the same time my husband teaches English at an Ecole Supérieure, in Caen, and at our local adult education centre. We feel very privileged to work as bridge builders between these two great countries, and in all that we do we love sharing our passion for both our old and our new homes.

What next? 

If you think you would like to follow Jane's example and train to teach English as a foreign language, then consider taking the Global English Advanced TESOL Course 150 hours for Europe, and consider adding on a Teaching Business English specialism. You can take a look at a section of the business materials you will receive in the PDF at the bottom of this page, or watch Louisa demonstrating how to teach a grammar lesson in the YouTube video below. 

You might also wish to take a look at our great article on freelance teaching in France as this is a great way to get started.

France is such a popular destination for our Global English graduates. Check out more French English teaching stories from our course graduates.