Life Outside of School

At times Deauville will seem like a small town without much to do, especially during the winter months. In fact, once you arrive at the house, you'll find a folder of old letters tucked away on a bookshelf from previous teachers, and most warn about the long winter months from December to early March. Mais pas peur. You'll have a car at your disposal, and we suggest that you use it wisely.

You can't take the car just anywhere, though. It can't go beyond the Calvados region, but you have permission to take it to Caen, Rouen, and Le Havre. (There are plenty of other Normandie cities to explore, like Honfleur, Falaise or Lisieux.) In Caen you've got everything you need as a young person: shops, restaurants, and bars. You can go see a movie for relatively cheap, and always be on the lookout for concerts.

If you decide to get a SNCF youth card, and we recommend that you do, you can take the train to spend a weekend in Paris and explore the shops and museums. You'll have about 7 weeks of vacation time and make the most of it. Collectively, the Americans managed to visit Norway, Germany, Finland, Scotland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria on their vacations.

On weekends, when the weather is nice, the gang likes to go hiking. Hiking in Normandie is muddy and wet, and you might want to consider buying rubber boots at the beginning of the year to make it worth your while. You might also want to consider buying a cheap bike for the year. Biking along the coast on a warm day is one of my best memories of this place, and I highly recommend it.

Beaches are everywhere. In the summer months you can go swimming, and we were lucky enough to have many warm days in September when we arrived. Take advantage of those days - they'll soon disappear!

Extracurricular Activities at the School

Along with teaching and planning lessons, English assistants in Deauville are also expected to help out with different extracurricular activities throughout the day.  

The school has a two hour lunch break (unheard of in the states) in which the younger kids eat while the older kids have activities for one hour, and then switch.  Normally one person helps out with the lunch while another helps with activities and then switch with the kids.  Helping out in the canteen consists of guiding kids to the canteen, helping serve the kids, and keeping them from getting too crazy.  We also get to eat with them, which is a good way to encourage them to use English.  During the activities, we normally just watch over them while they play in the courtyard or play game and draw in a classroom. Because there are three of us, we don’t normally have to work the full two hours, allowing us to have breaks during the day.

At the end of each school day, we also help out with the garderie, during which we help the kids finish their homework and watch over them until their parents pick them up.  This usually ends at 6pm, but only one of us has to work it each day.

A new addition this year, the school now has a one hour period for after school activities or workshops.  Centered around a different overall theme each trimester, they usually consist of an art project or some kind of cultural studies.  Our role this year was to host one class per week, under the theme of an ‘English club’.  At first, we mostly played games that worked with large groups of kids in which they had to identify flashcards and similar activities.  Jesse, the other American this year, started on an art project painting the New York City skyline.  With only one hour per week, these after school activities don’t take up too much of your time.

Each year the Americans are also in charge of the Halloween party that is held at the school in Deauville, Tourgéville and Saint Arnoult.  We designed different games for the kids to play, carved some pumpkins with our classes, and gave out candy.  It is a fun break from normal classes and the city sets up a haunted forest for the kids to walk through at the Fracasse party.

There are also two other jobs that are expected of us outside the school, hosting an English circle for adults and tutoring senior year high school students for the TOFEL English exam.  The English circle is held bi-weekly for the employees of the city to practice their English.  We usually plan a simple game or activity to keep it light and allows for normal conversation.  For the tutoring, there are two students from Deauville that receive a scholarship to study at University of Kentucky for one year.  To do so, they must pass the TOFEL exam.  Starting in February through March or April, we met with one of the four candidates once a week to help them with any problems they have with English or do a practice exam with them.

Life as a TA

Well, first off, we're not exactly teachers' assistants. We plan our own lessons, lead classes tout seul, and often design our own materials. If you want to know what an average day is like, then remember the job is your basic 9-5 work schedule. We may have an hour during the day to relax, but for the most part, the day is filled with classes, planning, and activities.

Jennifer with her GS class (kindergarten age)

Take a usual Monday as an example:

8h45/9h
Classes begin. Jennifer heads to the maternelle (preschool) for her 9 o'clock class, and Kevin starts his day at Fracasse at 8:45. It's nice to walk less than five minutes to work, and we try not to mind the common Normandy rain. Classes at this time last between an hour and 90 minutes, divided between two groups.

10h45
Meeting with Ivan. During this time, usually while sipping coffee, we discuss discipline problems in class, ideas for lessons, and afternoon activites. They're mandatory, but relaxed. You'll learn Ivan is serious about the job but goofy at the same time.

12h-14h
Your duties will be split between the petits and the grands. The younger kids (petits) eat lunch during the first hour and have activites involving drawing, painting, or sports during the second hour. This schedule is flipped for the older kids (grands). They play first, then eat. You may have to work just one hour during this block or both. Eating with the kids can be a good time to test their English. Ask questions like, "Are you thirsty?" They're used to us Americans, we're integrated into school life, and they'll love talking to you.

14h-16h
Sometimes we have class during this block, and sometimes we don't. On a Monday Jennifer has two classes for two hours, but Kevin spends the afternoon planning lessons.

16h30
This is the activity time for kids. This current semester we have English clubs for each age group. Jennifer works with her kids (the CPs or kindergarten/first grade) and Kevin with his kids (CEs or second/third grade). We play games in English, and Kevin is designing a video project with his group.

17h30
Homework time! You'll assist the kids with reading, spelling, verb conjugation, multiplication tables, poetry recitation, etc. We're not expected to stay beyond 6 o'clock, so usually once 18h hits, we pack our bags and head home. You won't have to do this every night, maybe once a week.

Overall, you'll be amazed by how quickly the time passes.

Kevin with his kids during English Club

Tips for the future TAs:

1. Bring a watch
2. Don't worry about planning your lessons before arriving. Ivan will give you a packet with all the info you'll ever need
3. Don't worry about which age group you'll have to teach. Chances are, you're going to work with all the kids in some way, all the way up to CM (fifth graders)