Lessons

What to Expect as a Primary English Assistant : 8 Questions and Answers

August 29, 2017

After my first TAPIF placement in Chambéry, I noticed that much of the TAPIF blogging community focuses on assistants in secondary schools. This is completely normal, as there are far more people placed at the secondary level! There are many commonalities between the expectations and experiences of primary and secondary assistants; there are also many … More What to Expect as a Primary English Assistant : 8 Questions and Answers

Starting a Pen Pal Exchange

June 19, 2017

In my two years of language assistant-ing one of my favorite activities has been establishing pen pal correspondences between my classes and American students. Having worked for a year in an American elementary school, I had pretty easy access to teachers interested in participating, and this past year, I managed to hook up no less … More Starting a Pen Pal Exchange

27 mars – clues

March 27, 2017

Today I had a lot of different slices in my head, but I can’t seem to get any of them out today because I’m excited about something else. Three of my fifth grade classes have been working on rooms in the house, hobbies, and family. vocabulary in English. These classes are really motivated and their … More 27 mars – clues

7 mars – English is hard

March 7, 2017

English is hard. Well, sometimes it’s easy: no crazy verb conjugations, no gendered nouns to memorize and accord with adjectives, no difference between formal or informal “you”. But then it gets complicated: pronunciation that has absolutely nothing to do with a word’s spelling, exceptions on exceptions on exceptions, not to mention all of the variations … More 7 mars – English is hard

Art Lessons to do with your Primary Students

November 9, 2015

One of my regular duties as an English teaching assistant was teaching weekly arts plastiques lessons for CP and CE1 (1st and 2nd grade). Their teacher occasionally came up with ideas, but she wasn’t very crafty (her words), so most weeks she left it up to me. Going off of various topics they were working on … More Art Lessons to do with your Primary Students

Flashcard games!

October 2, 2015

Here we go, current/future assistants, just in time for the start of your contracts. My favorite, easiest games that require little-to-no prep!! Plus, see here for my favorite art activities! Flashcard games GALORE!!!!! Flashcards and other visuals are so important to teaching new vocabuluary. Your colleagues may have flashcards you can use, especially for basic things … More Flashcard games!