How to Become an English Teacher in France

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: January 6, 2023 References Approved

Teaching English is a popular and practical way to support yourself while living or traveling in France. Because of the great demand for English teachers, finding employment is seldom difficult. However, French authorities require foreigners to go through several steps before working in France. It’s important to avoid travel difficulties by getting your visa and other paperwork in order. You’ll also want to be prepared to teach and live abroad by getting the right education and learning about your new home.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Deciding Where to Teach

1
Apply to a business teaching job. Most of the business English classes in France are organized through the French Chamber of Commerce. Teaching takes place in a classroom environment or at the business itself. As a business English teacher, you might be teaching technicians, engineers, accountants, or salespeople.^{[1]
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- Contact the French Chamber of Commerce to learn about business teaching opportunities.
- Private companies like inlingua also often recruit English teachers for other businesses.^{[2]
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2
Teach at an academy or school. Teaching in a French public or private school (an academy) is the most common course for those wishing to teach English in France. Depending on the school you work for, you might teach a single grade or a single age group (such as elementary, high school, or middle school students), or you might be responsible for teaching all ages.^{[3]
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- There are a wide variety of ways to teach at a school or academy. You could apply directly to schools that advertise for teachers online, or you could contact the French Ministry of Education for information about its teaching programs.
- Americans could apply to be school teachers through the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF).
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3
Teach private lessons. Private lessons will probably not provide enough income to live on, but if you’re looking for some extra money, they’re a good option. To get started, check French web forums and job boards asking for private lessons. Alternately, once you’ve settled into a job, ask your French friends and contacts if they know of anyone interested in taking English lessons.^{[4]
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- You might also choose to advertise your tutoring services in the local paper or in web forums for French people interested in learning English.
- Due to their high student populations, university towns like Grenoble, Bordeaux, Montpelier, and Toulouse are especially good places to pick up private lessons.
- You can often charge 15 to 20 euros (about to $20 to $28 USD) an hour for lessons. You will not need a work permit for these types of informal arrangements.
4
Apply at the right time. While businesses hire year-round, the bulk of teaching jobs get filled during the summer (in advance of the fall school semester) and in the fall (in advance of the winter school semester). Look for jobs during these times to increase your odds of finding a position.^{[5]
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Decide where you want to work. You can apply to jobs almost anywhere in France, but jobs in Paris are the most sought-after and competitive. You might have more luck if you apply for a job in the French countryside or suburbs.^{[6]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Getting the Right Education

1
Get a bachelor’s degree. For most English teaching jobs, you’ll need a four-year college degree in any subject. Certain subjects like education or English can increase your odds of landing a job teaching English in France.^{[7]
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2
Get a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA). The CELTA is necessary for teaching in French schools and academies. To take the CELTA, you’ll need to register with an authorized exam center.^{[8]
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- Use the Cambridge English portal at http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/find-a-centre/find-a-teaching-centre/ to find a CELTA test site near you.
3
Get another TEFL certification. CELTA is the most prestigious language certification, but depending on the job you apply to, you might be able to get away with another certification in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). These fall into a number of different types – some are 100-hour courses, some are 120-hour courses, and some are 140 hours or more.^{[9]
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- Certificates with less than 120 hours will probably not be recognized as valid.
- The more hours your certification course requires, the better your chances of landing a job in France.
- Online TEFL certificates are often not accepted as valid by employers, and certificates obtained through a traditional classroom course are given more weight in the application process.
4
Learn French. To teach English in France through a government program, you must have an intermediate proficiency in French. That is, you should be able to communicate in everyday situations, complete daily tasks, and hold conversations of substance in French. To develop this ability, take as many French courses as possible in high school and college.^{[10]
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- Even if French is not required for your job, it’s a good idea to learn the language since you’ll be living in France for the duration of your teaching contract.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Meeting Other Requirements

1
Be of the proper age. Some jobs require that you fall within a prescribed age range. The Teaching Assistant Program in France, for instance, only accepts applications from people 20-35 years of age.^{[11]
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Prove your command of French. Some jobs will require you to speak French. There are three main ways to prove that you’re proficient in French. The job to which you apply will provide information regarding how they want you to prove your command of French.^{[12]
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- You could be asked to submit your university transcript to show what grades you got in your French courses.
- You might need to write a personal statement of motivation in French.
- It’s also possible that you’ll need to obtain a letter of recommendation from a French language professor or an evaluator from Alliance Francaise.
- If you haven’t taken many (or any) French courses, you could choose to take a standardized French language test. This is rarely necessary, but acing a test like the TEF, DELF or DALF could help your application.
3
Have some prior experience in France or abroad. To teach English in France, you’ll need to have a certain degree of adaptability and cultural understanding. If you’ve spent time traveling or working in France or another foreign nation – especially one within the Francophone world (French-speaking nations) – you’ll increase your odds of finding work as an English teacher in France.
4
Have some prior teaching experience. Some jobs require prior work experience as a teacher. If you’ve taught English (or another subject) in your home country, you’ll increase your odds of getting a job teaching English in France. If you have experience teaching abroad in another foreign country, you will become even more attractive in the eyes of employers.^{[13]
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5
Obtain a visa. If you’re not in the EU, you’ll usually need to obtain a work visa before you can become an English teacher in France.^{[14]
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Research source} The process by which you obtain a work visa varies depending on your country, but generally, you’ll need to obtain sponsorship from a school or other employer in France, then apply through your nearest French embassy or consulate for a work visa.
- Citizens of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada might be able to teach on a student visa. Those between the ages of 18-30 could apply for a working holiday. Contact your local French consulate or embassy for more information about student visas and working holiday opportunities.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Managing the Logistics

1
Find out more about the institution. Before applying to and accepting a job at a given institution, find out as much as possible about it. If you have friends or relatives in the area, ask them to scout it out for you. Check forums and reviews for the school online to determine if it’s a good place to work.^{[15]
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- If a particular school contacts you about a job, ask them for the phone number or email address of a current native English teacher. Talk to this person about their experience to find out more about what it’s like to work at the school.
2
Arrange your housing. Sometimes your host institution or recruitment agency will provide or help you obtain housing. However, your housing situation might also be left entirely up to you. If you have friends or colleagues in France already, you could ask to stay with them (at least temporarily). Otherwise, stay in a hostel for a couple weeks while you search for an apartment near your place of work.
- Use a travel guide to identify affordable hostels in the area where you’re working.^{[16]
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3
Read your contract carefully. Your contract will delineate important details regarding your working conditions. Pay attention to details like your salary, holiday pay, whether you’ll be paid for preparation time, and how many working hours are expected of you. Additionally, find out if your school or sponsoring institution will pay any travel fees you incur when going to France.^{[17]
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- Insist on getting these important details in your contract. Don’t accept verbal confirmation of a particular working condition in lieu of a black-and-white statement in your contract.
4
Decide if you want to be an entrepreneur. Some English teaching jobs allow you to register as an “auto-entrepreneur.” Under this status, you will be legally registered as a freelance teacher rather than as a regular employee. Auto-entrepreneur status could allow you to demand a higher wage, but you’ll have to figure out how to pay taxes French on your own.^{[18]
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- If you’re only teaching English in France for a short time, it’s best to avoid becoming an auto-entrepreneur since the administrative challenges can be significant. If you’re in France for the long haul, though, you might want to consider it.
- Additionally, you can only register as an auto-entrepreneur if you have more than one client. So if you’re working full-time at a school or academy and take on a part-time private lesson, you could qualify for auto-entrepreneur status.^{[19]
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