TAPIF Housing | Where to stay when you first arrive

September 20, 2015Uncategorized Standard

I know I keep saying that I got really lucky with my TAPIF experience, but once again, I was fortunate to be able to stay with my host teacher’s family when I first got to France, and they were really understanding when I could barely understand French and passed out for something like fourteen hours on my first day (maybe my second too…). For people who don’t have that option or really prefer their own space, here are some alternatives, from cheapest to more expensive:

The view out of my window my first day in France!

Couchsurfing is a great way to meet new people (and it can even lead to more permanent housing!). Along with being a great way to get to integrate into an area right from the start, it’s also free, although it’s definitely nice to cook a meal or leave a gift. The availability of hosts may vary in different regions, but there are some even in a relatively small town like Bethune. Another alternative could be checking out alumni networks to see if there’s anyone in your area who can help you find accommodation .
Hostels can be another great way to meet people and stick to a budget, especially if you’ve been placed close to a city. If you’re really unable to find housing where you’ve been placed, you could always stay in a larger city and then commute while you search for housing, etc. If you’re in the Lille area, Hostel Gastama was fantastic (and some of the best sleep I’ve ever had!). I think it was a little more than 20 euros per night, and it’s incredibly clean with helpful staff who were very understanding of my not-so-great French. When booking hostels, I think I generally found the cheapest prices on Hostelbookers, but you can also compare it with Hostelworld.
Airbnb is another great option for slightly longer-term housing, although it might be a little difficult depending on what your phone/wifi situation is. If you’re able to find other assistants to split with, it can work out to being less than a hostel.
Hotels are the priciest option, but in towns without hostels or Airbnb/Couchsurfing hosts, or if you just don’t feel comfortable staying with other people, they’ll be your best bet. Booking.com can be a good place to start.

Sign up below for a worksheet on setting up support systems before going abroad.

Comments

Carla February 7, 2016 at 6:59 pm - Reply

Hi,

My name is Carla and I am doing some research about what it entails to teach English abroad. I hope you can answer some of my questions before I apply to the program to teach English abroad.

Can you give some tips of how much money (outside of what they pay you) you had to spend out of pocket initially to settle in and how much per month there after?

Do you have to have previous teaching experience to come up with the lesson plans that they expect you to?

What French level do they expect you to have to be able to successfully assist the teacher?

Thank you in advance for your time,
Carla

Bhavya Reddy February 9, 2016 at 2:01 am - Reply

Thanks so much for getting in touch Carla!

TAPIF suggests having ~$2000 (USD) saved up before heading over, and I think that was adequate (although the more, the better!). For TAPIF in particular, you’re better off being prepared for not being paid the first month if your bank account isn’t opened in time. This also depends on how much travel you’re hoping to do and where you live. In addition, you’ll want to have enough to cover other financial goals during that time, like student loan payments, retirement accounts, etc.

For each month after, we were paid 790 euros, which for me, was more than enough to cover expenses, including a couple of trips a month. However, I will say that I had pretty low base expenses, especially since I was not living in a major city. I wrote in more detail about my expenses here, but let me know if you have more questions about it!

In terms of teaching experience, it helps to have it, especially for the application itself, but it’s not expected. Most of the assistants I knew did not have previous teaching experience. Honestly, a lot of lesson planning was trial and error. After getting to know my students, it was easier to think about what types of lessons would work for them; someone once told me that it’s best to think about what you want students to be able to do at the end of the lesson and base your lesson around that.

In terms of French needed to do the job, TAPIF requires you to have at least a B1 level of French. I hadn’t taken French in about 5 or 6 years and had very little practice with speaking it, but I took the TEF exam and got tons of practice once I arrived in France as well. However, I was told not to speak in French with my students, so I used French for daily life, communicating with teachers, etc. Again, this may vary based on your school!

Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions!