Before moving to France, I had taught English as a Second Language (or ESL) for about seven years in the United States. So I knew the industry well from the perspective of an American living in the United States. I had no idea, however, how much I would love teaching in France as a Maitre de Langue Anglais. So I thought I’d take a moment to explain why I loved teaching in France as a Maitre de Langue Anglais.
Comparing France to the US
Compared to the United States, the ESL industry in France is completely different. And with good reason. The United States is one of the biggest countries in the world, with hundreds of millions of people speaking English. Thus, they would naturally have a huge supply of native English speakers who could become English teachers. France, in comparison, doesn’t have as strong of an English teaching education system as some of their neighbor European countries. As a result, there are much fewer English speakers, and even fewer native English speakers. After Brexit, the supply of native English speakers who can teach English is even lower than ever.
Supply and Demand
Many institutions would consider an American native English speaker a commodity if they can speak French and live in France. This is because it’s hard enough to learn French, move to France, and become a long-term resident of the country.
The result is a simple economic study of supply and demand, and the quality of the positions reflects this reality. With a huge supply of native ESL teachers in the US, there’s a low demand for the teachers. So the positions that are available are almost always part time, and depend on school need. This means they could give you five classes for the summer but only two classes for the winter. Or they could give you no classes altogether in case something like borders close or a pandemic hits).
Part Time is not Ideal
This means that if you want to earn enough as an ESL teacher you must work 2-3 part time jobs. Between private language schools and university classes, you eventually might get that coveted job of full time assistant director. Part-time work comes with all the lack of benefits too: no 401k, paid leave, stability, or healthcare plan either.
Full Time as Maitre de Langue is Much Better
In France, however, most positions offer you complete stability for 10-12 months no matter what. You’ll earn the same each month regardless of how many students you teach or how many hours you put in. Instead, you have a quota of hours to full, per your contract. For a lecteur / Maître de Langue you’ll have 192 hours per school year, whereas a contractual have 384 hours. If you go over your quota, you can get overtime pay, but go under, and you could get in trouble.
This means spending many hours teaching, preparing, and grading during some months (like November and March). On the other hand, your summer is still paid but completely free. Almost 3 full months paid. The way they rationalize this is that they are actually paying you less than they should each month. Instead, they pay over twelve months instead of the 9-10 months that you’re actually working.
It’s More Work, but it’s Worth it
385 hours is a lot of work as a contractual, I’m not going to lie. If you’re not experienced it can feel like they’re throwing you in the deep end. But 192 hours as a Maitre de Langue felt like the perfect amount of hours. This translates to only five classes to teach. 4 classes of 2 hours per class with 10 classes per semester. And 1 class of 1.5 hours per class with 12 classes per semester. If you have similar students studying similar things, you can repeat the same lesson plan for different classes, or improve on lessons as you try them out with one group to make sure they’re better for another that’s similar.
Great Work-Life Balance As Maitre de Langue
Combine the manageable work schedule with all the school breaks and observed holidays, and you have plenty of time to get to know locals, practice your hobbies, travel, and live. It’s a wonderful work-life balance. Which is definitely nice to have the first few months if this is your first job in France working, since you need so much time getting acclimated to the new city, country, and culture.
So why did I love working in France as a Maitre de Langue? Because of the yearlong stability I never enjoyed in the United States, and because of the wonderful work-life balance I was able to enjoy with a work schedule that was considerable, but very manageable.
