what french ability is necessary?

[solongsekhu]

Hi everyone,
Thank you very much for all this information. This is a great site!

I recently found out about the teaching assistant program and I'm very interested. I probably won't apply until next year but I'm trying to figure out if it's feasible for me.

I'm wondering: what French language ability is necessary to be accepted and to function as a teach assistant? One description of the program I saw said French "proficiency" was required. I was hoping someone could elaborate on that. I started learning French this summer (after finishing college) so I'm a complete beginner. I'm taking a class and teaching myself as much as I can on my own but I certainly wouldn't call myself near proficient.

I also noticed on a past application that you need two French professors to fill out a little recommendation form for you. Since I never took French I didn't have any professors. I'm currently taking a class at a local community college. Could I use the teacher for this class? Is this part of the application a big deal?

Thanks a bunch for any information about this.

[AIMTeacher]

It depends. Some assistants arrive with virtually no French. Having said that, you will be expected by the school to at least function in French and there will be things that you'll need to set up using French. If you end up in a small town, then you really would be forced to do it all in French due to the lack of contact with English speakers.

I've met some who have taken French at college, but only took one or two semesters and have real trouble speaking French. Ask anyone related to French that you can, that teacher if that's the only one. They do look at those references, so it would be helpful if you could find another somehow, even if it's a French speaker who could attest your level of French.

When I applied for the program, I'd finished my studies, so I got my supervising teacher (French teacher) from when I was a student teacher to do one reference and the head of languages for my school district. Neither were my professors but both were in education and could confirm my level of French.

Not sure if this part of the application is a big deal, they don't really tell us what parts count for what.

[solongsekhu]

Thanks for the response; that's very helpful.

It seems like things would be generally smoother to set up and more enjoyable with a higher French ability so of course I want to improve as much as I can. I just know I started learning the language fairly late and it feels like slow going to learn it in the U.S. without any immersion.

[monet182]

I can't attest to what level is necessary to be there as I'm going to be an assistant this year, but I will say that only one of my references was a French professor, and the other was someone from the law firm I work at. So you can get accepted with only one French teacher reference.

[noitalever]

I think you should work as hard as you possibly can, and apply. Don't let this panic about level of French deter you, because sometimes you have to take chances. Maybe your first couple of weeks will be harder than someone with a higher level of French might experience, but it's an awesome opportunity and you will regret not trying.

Remember that you have a whole year to work on your French. In addition to your community college class, here are some things that you can do at home (on your own) - I have used all of this throughout my French learning:

Reading:
-read books in French (young adult ones are good, and start with something you've read)
-read online news in French
-try to cook something from a French recipe

Writing:
-find a French penpal via Facebook
-write letters/emails to your classmates in your French class
-keep a journal in French (don't worry about perfect grammar, it will come)
-keep a list of French words that you discover and look up definitions

Speaking:
-find a French convo group near to you (universities and colleges have them)...or start one!
-volunteer to help with a high school's French club
-read out loud in French

Listening:
-watch French movies (your library should have some)
-watch French news
-listen to French news radio online (RFI)

Other:
-go to sites like TF1.fr and RFI and play the kid's games in the games section
-make French flashcards and spend about 20 min/night going through them

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I found that doing this stuff outside of my classes helped me a lot with French. I think that you just have to keep doing a variety of things so that you don't get bored.

I really want to stress that you have a lot of time. The application recommends three semesters of college French, and you have two semesters and a summer left to prepare. I think you can do it, but you will have to work hard. Just don't miss out on this opportunity just because you're nervous.

[solongsekhu]

Thanks for the info everyone.

noitalever: I really appreciate the encouragement and excellent study ideas. I'm definitely going to do a bunch of those. I'm starting with the radio right now. I guess it's easy to get worried about something you don't know much about but I think you're right: no point in missing out on the chance!

[julie_in_the_88]

putting in my 2c, what I did when learning French is to speak to myself for 5-10 minutes a day just talking through what I was doing at the time keeping all English out of my head to learn not to translate in my head.

If you have DVDs with French subtitles, put the language as English and the subtitles in French, that way you hear everything and then can see what word in the subtitles corresponds whereas the other way around you'll be asking yourself which spoken word corresponds to the subtitles.

[torontogirl87]

I just got two regular professors to fill out the reference forms and they just asked me how my french was and I told them and they checked off that box. I got accepted to the program on that though, I had no French teachers in University. For the record, I'm a total beginner in French and super nervous to go with my limited French!

[sarahg]

Anyone else gotten in without a reference from a French professor? How badly will it hurt my chances?

I took French at a large public university and never actually met a French professor. My teachers were a French student on an exchange program and a graduate student who has since graduated. I don't even remember their names -- the only way I can think of to track them down would be to email the college (who never even responded to my requests when I went there) for names and googling. Maybe I have some old syllabuses or something I haven't thrown away yet, but I'd still have to google to track them down. Plus, neither of them knew me well and I wasn't an outstanding student in the classes (I've been studying on my own since then). Will it hurt my chances if I explain the situation and use professors who know me well and will give good references? Alternately, my high school French teacher still works at my high school (I found her name and email address on the website), and I'm pretty sure she'd remember me because I did really well in her class. I could ask her but I'm worried that it would look bad to have a reference from high school.

[monet182]

If you live near an Alliance Française, you could likely just go there, chat with one of their teachers for a few minutes, and have them write you a recommendation. It doesn't need to be someone who taught YOU French, just a French teacher generally.

[bgwrightncymetz]

There are definitely assistants this year that have very minimal French skills - I don't know what kind of recommendations they had though. If I were a beginner, I would definitely, definitely request to be in high school. In high school classes, it's better if you know less French (or appear to know less French) because the students won't be able to default to French. But in primaire, they know so little that it's impossible to ALways speak in English... plus, the teachers in primaire tend to know less English themselves (unless there is a designated English teacher) so it will be difficult in general for you in the school if you can't talk to the teachers in French. I don't think they would put you in primaire if you have a lower level of French though, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[SweetLou]

Hi,
I spoke to Carolyn at the French embassy about a few thingss and she said that "applicants must demonstrate a proficient level of French equivalent to level B2 on the European language evaluation scale". Sounds like that's just a guideline though, not the rule