If you are from a primary school and are interested in hosting a foreign language assistant for the first time, you may find our 'Frequently Asked Questions for Primary Schools' useful.
If you are interested in hosting a Chinese language assistant ensure you have read the information for schools before making your request.
2005-2006 was the first year of our programme with Japan. Four schools in England hosted a Japanese Language Assistant. Find out how Tomoe Sasaki got on at Hendon School.
A foreign language assistant can bring a language alive for a young learner. Working with small groups, your foreign language assistant can help improve your students' confidence in speaking and understanding a language. Assistants can bring with them a wealth of resources and ideas, websites, lesson plans, songs and games.
Your assistant can also help students with their understanding of the language and culture in different and creative ways. For example your French assistant could help teach Food Technology, your Spanish assistant could teach salsa and your Chinese assistant could teach calligraphy in art classes.
More advanced students will learn about current issues in the countries of the languages they are studying through the use of recent videos, DVDs, TV and radio programmes, sports and newspapers.
Foreign language assistants are usually aged between 20 and 30 and are either currently studying English in their home country or training to be teachers of English. They are selected by our partner organisation in their country, which is either the local Ministry of Education, their appointed agency or by us. Chinese assistants are all qualified teachers.
A reference and medical certificate are usually enclosed with the dossier. They are also asked to send a police clearance certificate to the school soon after being appointed. Assistants from France are not legally obliged to provide a medical certificate in advance, so you should request a medical form before the assistant arrives and ensure a post is offered 'subject to the receipt of a suitable medical certificate'.
We can provide assistants from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, Japan and Russia as well as other countries where these languages are spoken: -
French assistants can also come from Belgium, Canada, Senegal and Switzerland. German assistants can also be from Austria and Switzerland. Spanish assistants also come from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela.
We provided Japanese assistants for the first time in 2005-06. Terms, conditions and arrangements will be the same as for other assistants (excluding Chinese). They are likely to be training to teach Japanese as a foreign language at university.
Each assistant must work a minimum of 12 hours per week; additional hours (we recommend up to a maximum of 18) can be negotiated directly and must be paid pro-rata.
You can find out the costs involved in our information on how much will it cost.
You should not ask your assistants to take sole responsibility for classes unless they are a qualified teacher and agree to this in advance. Assistants should also not be asked to regularly discipline pupils, mark students' work (including exams) or teach subjects other than that of their own language.
Schools hosting Foreign Language Assistants are eligible for the Foundation Level of the International School Award. Further information can be found on the Global Gateway website. Please download the Statement of Intent here.
| 
