Language Assistantships

TUTORS’ BRIEFING

2 October 2009

Publicising the programme and

The Ambassadors Initiative•Become a more effective communicator

•Improve language skills

•Experience living and working in a different country

•Improve intercultural awareness

•Have a defined role in a community

•Improve presentation and managerial skills

•Increase confidence and independence

•Increase employability for a variety of careers

•Discover whether suited to a teaching career

Terms and conditions in the 17 different countries•Refer to pages 4-17 in the brochure

•Both undergraduates and graduates can apply for posts in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Latin America, Spain and Switzerland

•Undergraduates get priority over graduates when applying for posts in Italy and Argentina

•Only graduates and final-year students may apply for posts in China and Senegal

•Shorter appointment in Argentina, Austria, and Germany

•Final decision regarding appointments rests with the partner organisation, especially in cases regarding:

•non-UK passports

•disabilities and medical conditions

•older applicants

General points•Test-run the online system: enter ‘Surname’ DELETE and ‘Forename’ TUTOR

•No medical certificate this year

•Passport numbers required on Word doc

•Candidates with dependants must enclose letter re financial independence

•Foreign language ability: ‘Degree level’ explained

•Former assistants will be asked to provide host school report

•Foreign authorities cannot guarantee …

•NB France – requesting a 9-month appointment

•Successful completion of 2nd year of degree course is a requirement

•Meaning of ‘permanent address’ in the online registration

•Decent and recent (passport) photos … NB ill-advised e-mail addresses!

•E-mail acknowledgment of online registration

Review of application procedure •Online application process

•Tutor’s reference

•A grade A-D should be awarded for academic ability

•A grade 1-4 should be awarded for suitability to be an assistant based on what you know about the student

•Flexibility, maturity, adaptability and confidence are usually more important than academic ability

•Requests for specific areas cannot be guaranteed and certain areas are often oversubscribed – please advise students to research as many areas as possible, and guide them in their choices

•Applicants who are not native-level speakers of English are not eligible

The interviews•All short-listed applicants for Canada, China, Latin America, Senegal and Switzerland will be invited for interview

•A cross-section of applicants for Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Spain will also be interviewed

•We may hold some interviews for Germany at universities

•We do not normally hold interviews for Belgium

•Invited applicants must attend interviews and pay their own travel costs

•Please refer them to our website for advice on interviews

•It is recommended that students look at the ‘LanguageAssistant’ website prior to interview

•Feedback is not normally possible due to volume

•If an applicant is unsuccessful tutors will be informed of this

The allocation process•Matching Meetings are held for Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain

•For other countries, dossiers are sent to the partner organisation with recommendations for allocation

•Dossiers are sorted into first choice areas prior to the Matching Meeting

•A decision is made at Matching Meeting on region within France and Germany – dossiers are then sent to individual regions for allocation to schools by local inspectors

•Assistants are allocated to schools directly by the Ministry/authority in Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Quebec and Switzerland

•Candidates are informed of the outcome by e-mail – tutors are normally sent a spreadsheet by e-mail

•Assistants in France and Germany are informed of their allocation by the school or local education authority directly

Preparation•Pre-departure training (St Martin’s College in Lancaster, and Sussex University)

Our information packs

Are sent 4-6 weeks prior to departure and include (by email and post):

•Country Notes (administrative)

•Information on induction courses abroad

•‘LanguageAssistant’ manual

•Personal Safety leaflet

•Contact details of other assistants in current and previous years

•Certificate of service – to be signed and stamped by school upon completion of service

•A lot of this information is available for tutors on our website http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistants-documentation.htm

Support and advice during the year

Assistants:

•are employed by the school or education authority abroad, not the British Council

•are encouraged to speak up if they have a problem

•are encouraged to be culturally sensitive and give it a chance

•should be reminded that they are doing a job and must follow sick leave procedures and complete their contracts

•should follow recommended procedure supplied for solving problems:

•initially through mentor or senior teacher

•then through local education authority

•then through the British Council’s partner organisation in their country

•only then through the British Council in the UK

•are encouraged to support each other locally (British Council provides contact details of other assistants)

Language Assistant Support

• Language Assistant teaching page http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant

• 2 ‘Virtual Mentors’: one for primary, one for secondary teaching

• Tips

• Essential UK

• Web links

• Supported by ‘Language Assistant’ manual

www.languageassistant.co.uk

Erasmus Team

www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus

erasmus@britishcouncil.org

Tel: 02920 397405