FETAC communication Level 5
Project: your vocation
Name of the job: French teacher
Qualifications required for the job: For anyone leaving college to be a French teacher, the applicant need to have his BAC or Baccalaureate by the end the year.
A degree in French literature from a university, with optionally one or two years in Hypokhâgne.
National selection organised by the ministry of education. Once selected the scholar need to sit the CAPES or (Certificat d'aptitude au professorat de l'enseignement du second degré) in modern literature. This being only for candidates aiming at least at colleges’ vacancies. For higher position you will need a master.
In my case I would need to sit a few more exams such as the DAEU (Le diplôme d'accès aux études universitaires) and the DAEFLE (Diplôme d’Aptitude À L’enseignement Du Français Langue Étrangère)
A teacher must cover a large panel of skills and attributes to do a decent job.Be dynamic and show some authority
The teacher must have a very strong physic and mental health. He must have a positive attitude at all time and have some confidence. Classes require a lot of organisation and energy.
The teacher must be enthusiastic, meticulous and flexible but also firm. Nevertheless, the most important is to remain calm in any circumstances.
Flexibility, understanding, and adaptability
The teacher must be careful not to demoralise his pupils. He must be aware of the difference between each learner. He must then be ready to adapt his methods and change his ways to do things for them. An understanding teacher is the key of a successful scholarship.
Charisma
The teacher must be able to maintain pupils’ attention. He must choose wisely the words use during the class and be explicit.
Team spirited, sociable
The teacher must be able to work in a team. If he is assuming a tutor’s position, he must be capable to lead his team.
Unions and bodies attached to the profession.
Unions :
For the public schools : SE – UNSA (Syndicat des enseignants de L'Union Nationale des Syndicats Autonomes)
For the private schools : SNPEFP – CGT (Syndicat national des personnels de l'enseignement et de la formation privés de la Confédération générale du travail.)
Body :
The ministry of education and science and its actual head Mister Luc Chatel.
Interview of a teacher of the University of Angers.Why did you decide to become a teacher?I really loved and the years that I spend at school, I wanted to stay in this wonderful environment. I also enjoy the fact that I passing on my knowledge to the students which will have an impact on their lives. It gives a purpose to my life.
What is the nature of the job?I must teach French and how to organise their work, understand what is expected from them, all this must been done according to the ministry’s program and before the end of the year.
What are your duties?I must prepare my class, correct the weekly tests and troubleshooting quizzes.
Those must be adapted to the level of the class, but still challenging.
I also have to organise activities and trips of an educative nature.
Like every teacher in this university, I have to fulfil my duties of tutor. There are meetings with the parents where we give feedback and sometimes warning about the child’s behaviour and scholarship.
I must keep informed the official bodies on the progress of every single pupil and scholar. This is the new idea of the ministry.
What does your everyday life look like?In this university, we must have our classes ready on a weekly basis. So I just need do plan them for the coming week, in addition to my duties.
What are the positives and negatives aspects of your job? Well, the negative part is definitely the paperwork as it takes me about five hours a week.
It takes a lot of your time. This is a weekly frame: (teaching 20 hours, preparing the class 10 hours, paperwork 5 hours)
For the positives one there are the social interactions with my students, the need to keep your-self up to date in order to give the right information. However, it is also a safe job and quite a lot of holidays!
Finally, what are your career opportunities, and the hierarchies of your job?After I had finished my graduation, I had to work in Paris for the first three years, only after that was I entitle to ask for a transfer.
When you have more than five years of experience you can apply for a headmaster position. You have to sit the national examination, managed by the official body. Alternatively, you can choose to become a master. For that, you need to join the IUFM that is where masters are trained.
A beginner gets between 1700 and €2000 a month.
Finally, you can only measure the rank of a teacher by the number of years of teaching.
The Mastered staffs are in a different scheme.
