My Year Teaching in France

students also study to receive certificates in public worksrelated fields such as electrical, plumbing, construction, carpentry, etc. While there were a few difficulties during the summer and at the beginning of my stay—things like the process for obtaining a French visa and having to deal with all the French bureaucracy—I was fortunate enough to have been guided by the liaisons of the program and to have been helped by the faculty and staff of the school once I arrived.

Written by: Dennis Ficklin Jr.

What’s up E.C.?

My name is Dennis—I’m a newly-college graduated East Clevelander and for the past six months I’ve been living in the south of France as a part of the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) run by the US-French Embassy. Before receiving my B.A. in Spanish and Francophone Studies in May of 2022, I was encouraged by my French and Spanish college advisors at Baldwin Wallace College to apply to TAPIF in the fall of 2021 and was accepted the following spring.

As the name suggests, the program is a type of paid exchange for those interested in foreign languages or living abroad. Participants are given the option to teach at an école primaire, collège, or lycée, which are the French equivalents of grade school, middle school and high school. I was placed in Beaumont-de-Lomagne, a rural village located in the south of France with a population of about 3,500 or so people. I didn’t think I would enjoy life in the countryside at first, but after a few months I’ve grown to appreciate the slower lifestyle as well as the views of the surrounding rolling hills and the Pyrenees Mountains in the distance. I was placed within the lycée professional Norman Foster—the equivalent of a technical high school—where the

As for the program itself, I mainly worked with the teachers at the schools to improve their students’ levels of English. Apart from giving lessons where I teach them about Black/American culture and life in the United States, I assisted the teachers by leading games, discussions and activities with the students that get them more at ease when speaking English. We even talked about our favorite sports, video games and anime! All of which are very popular here. Especially One Piece. As this is my first real experience being in the classroom as a teacher instead of a student, the opportunity gave me a better idea about my next steps for the future in terms of which fields or subjects I would see myself going into in the future.

For me, one of the biggest advantages of the program was having plenty of time to travel around France and as well as the rest of Europe. For an assistant de langue (language assistant), the program only required a maximum of 12 hours per week, which allowed me the rest of my day and even an off day. In addition to that, there were also two-week vacations every seven school weeks. There were also global and French holiday breaks. While I did miss out on a few birthdays and Christmas in Cleveland with my family, during the school’s Christmas and spring breaks, I had the opportunity to travel to cities such as Amsterdam, Rome, Lisbon, and Paris. I saw Christmas markets, monuments and famous churches such as Notre Dame. I also tasted the local cuisines such as Spain’s paella (a dish of saffron-flavored rice cooked with meats, seafood and vegetables) and Amsterdam’s stroopwafel (thin, round waffle cookie made from two layers of sweet baked dough held together by caramel filling). I visited museums and saw famous artworks such as The Wedding at Cana and the Mona Lisa— which isn’t that big up close, believe it or not. While there was a lot of walking, I loved each city—it’s been a very surreal and enchanting experience to see these things in person that I’ve only ever seen online or on TV.

If asked, I would say that my favorite location so far was definitely Rome, Italy. I mean it has everything— the Colosseum, The Vatican, the best pizzas and pastas I’ve ever tasted…it was wonderful! I took tons of pictures. A close second would be Amsterdam, though. The Netherlands was never far up my list of places to go, but I was convinced in the end and I loved it! The city is beautiful, especially with the River Amstel running through it. The food was very tasty, even the hamburgers! All the museums, shows and exhibitions were very entertaining and informational.

All in all, TAPIF was a great and rewarding experience. I encourage anyone with an interest in languages, French culture or traveling to apply. For more information, visit TAPIF.org.