I studied English Literature at the University of Ulster - Coleraine. My level of French was B at GCSE

I was placed as a Comenius Assistant in Vannes, Brittany.

As a Comenius Assistant in the school I was treated like another member of teaching staff, I was able to have my own input into each class- this was very important for me as I then trained to be a teacher. The school was a small high school in the private sector. It was in the town, just behind my first studio. I didn’t stay in this accommodation as it was too expensive but other teachers in the school helped me find somewhere else more affordable.

The new place was about 10 minutes walk from the school and the centre of town, so perfectly located and much cheaper!

I had the normal duties of a teacher- taking the register in the morning and ensuring that the students behaved but my primary role was to increase their enthusiasm for language learning and expand their cultural knowledge. I saw each class in the school more than once, naturally developing bonds with all of them. I accompanied some students on a 2 day trip to Bel Ile en Mer off the Brittany coast and was responsible for a group of 8.

I used a variety of teaching styles and mediums and was always helped along the way to develop them further! I was invited to attend some school meetings and class reviews - always asked for my opinion and I found it very useful to learn how the French school system operated.

I quickly made friends, involved myself in local sports activities, volunteered at matches and as a result my French went from 0 to almost perfect in a short space of time!

I didn't apply for funding for language classes or teaching materials - I had built up a rather good stock of teaching materials myself and also, thanks to friends that are teachers, I got some fantastic advice, As it was a career I intended pursuing in France and had trained for - I invested a lot of time in preparing and considered the assistantship as a post.

The Grant was certainly adequate for the area I lived in. I did a lot of travelling, by a variety of means. The grant allowed me to travel, eat, shop and do a lot of other stuff as well!

The main challenges included the discipline and the attitudes of some of the students in the school. The school rules differed from those I had encountered before and indeed, the language barrier at the start was hard to overcome but as I spoke only in English in the classroom and encouraged the students to - this barrier soon disappeared.

I absolutely loved it! I have some fantastic friends now, some of whom were my colleagues and I also went to observe classes in another school in the town, where I had made a friend who was an English teacher. We are all still in contact and I now live in Nantes which is not too far away. I go to Vannes regularly and they keep me up to date with any openings for jobs in the area!

Benefits – developing new teaching methods, from working with many different teachers. You also get to build up a strong sense of character/ confidence as coming to another country where it is not your first language and being responsible for teenagers isn't easy! Useful skills in communication- creative too! It's amazing how you can be understood without vocabulary!

Planning/ time management- lesson plans, activities, travelling. Responsibility- getting up early as school starts earlier, etc.

Thanks to the Comenius programme I got a real insight into teaching in a French school and the support to do it!