Working in France

From Erin Rondeau, French major who graduated from Mason in spring 2011 and is currently a teaching-assistant in Brittany:

"Working for L’Académie de Rennes in Brittany, France has been a whirlwind but fulfilling experience. 
I have the pleasure of working with multiple levels: students who attend le collѐge as well as lycée and lycée professionel-
- older students who are not following the traditional high school path. In Lorient, students are amazed by Americans and 
everything about America. Our food, culture, celebrities, and life are constant topics of conversation both with my students 
and with my colleagues. As someone who wants to teach language, being here has proved invaluable. 

I’m not only challenging my own language skills, but I’m better at establishing what works and what doesn’t in a language 
classroom. From helping collѐge kids use complete sentences to helping lycée professionel students with job interviews, 
I am never bored.  I have my own classes (sub-groups of the main class) and with some teachers develop a combined 
lesson plan, while with others I am given the opportunity to create my own.The program gives me plenty of free time to travel,
and having five weeks of paid vacation over the course of my 7-month contract helps with that, too! 

Brittany is beautiful with its rocky beaches and the oldest city in Brittany—Quimper—is 
just a 40-minute train ride away with its cobblestone streets and unique boutiques.
Each region has a community of assistants from all different countries giving you 
immediate opportunities to meet new people. I have grown close to another assistant
here who is Italian, so we speak only French with one another… or attempt (poorly) at
charades :-). 

I have loved my stay thus far, have already learned a lot, and look forward to 
continuing through the spring.

I think it’s a great program for anyone interested in language, global studies, or education."