How to Teach English in France as a Couple
From the time that we discovered the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), Jalen and I knew that we wanted to participate together and eagerly searched online for personal testimonies from couples who had done the same. To our surprise, we couldn’t find much of anything! Although the TAPIF FAQ page briefly addresses couples participating in the program, that’s just about the only information that’s easily accessible online. We’re excited to be filling that gap with our content here on our blog, on our YouTube channel, on our Instagram, and on our Twitter. In this article, you’ll learn about both the disadvantages and advantages of applying to and participating in TAPIF as a couple.
Downsides
1. There’s no guarantee you’ll both be accepted to the program.
While TAPIF allows couples to apply to the program, they evaluate each person’s applications completely separately. There are no joint applications and each half of the couple must individually qualify and be accepted into the program. In other words, one person’s stellar qualifications won’t help their significant other get hired. If both people are individually accepted to TAPIF, only then will their “couple status” be taken into account by the program for placement decisions. Jalen and I didn’t stress too much about being accepted independently as we had similar credentials and knew that we were both qualified to be assistants, but it is nonetheless an important factor to consider for couples applying to TAPIF.
2. You’ll have to be flexible about placement.
To increase your chances of being placed near your partner, you might have to give up your dream of passing the Eiffel Tower on your way to work. The good news is that France is so much more than just Paris! Because TAPIF places participants based on individual merit, they suggest that couples skip selecting the most popular regions, like Paris, Strasbourg, Lyon, and Grenoble, and opt instead for less-desired ones like Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Limoges, Reims, and Rouen to boost their chances of being placed together. TAPIF does their best to place couples in the same Académie, or region, but city and school assignments are up to the French school districts. In short, it’s possible that you’ll be placed far away from your significant other even if you are both accepted to the program. Read about how Jalen and I overcame our placement complications here.
3. The program isn’t made for couples.
While TAPIF does accommodate couples participating, the program wasn’t designed for couples. Some of the hitches that may come up for couples include not receiving your arrêtés de nomination (work contracts) or visas simultaneously, having separate accommodations at orientation, having drastically different work schedules, and being placed far apart. As we’ve told our readers repeatedly, every TAPIF assistant will have a unique experience – and the same goes for TAPIF couples.
Benefits
1. Two paychecks mean a bigger budget.
Assistants make around 790 € per month – a very modest income. One of the biggest advantages of doing TAPIF à deux (with a partner) is doubling your budget! A greater budget will allow you to have higher quality housing, give you more money for essentials like groceries, and help you afford to travel. Unlike some other assistants, Jalen and I never had to search for roommates or scrape together money for a night out. Though the TAPIF stipend is livable for single people, it’s even better when you have two!
2. You can assist each other with everything.
From stressing about visas, to navigating France’s bureaucracy, to planning English lessons, it’s nice to have your significant other to lean on during TAPIF. While some assistants report feeling lonely or isolated during their stay, Jalen and I perfectly understood one another’s struggles and got to share in one another’s successes daily. When participating in a program that doesn’t hold your hand, it’s wonderful to have a significant other who does!
3. You get to experience life abroad together.
It goes without saying that experiencing new things, particularly something as special as living abroad, with your partner is awesome. Discovering a new corner of the world together can bring you closer and create treasured memories. As a bonus, if you’re both placed in the same Académie, you will have the same work holidays – which means 8 whole weeks off together! TAPIF gives couples a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy an amazing time in a country famed for romance.
Jalen and I loved being TAPIFers together and couldn’t imagine doing the program any other way. If you’re a couple interested in TAPIF, we highly recommend the experience! If you have any questions or want more information, feel free to leave us a comment!
4 Comments
Guillemette alias Mademoiselle Guiga
Hello!
I just discovered your blog and it seems that you had a great experience in France as part of the TAPIF!
It is funny because when I was a student, I didn’t an internship to organise the Language Assistant Exchange program at the French Embassy (in Argentina). I loved meeting all the Assistants and helping them. I hope you had good support when you arrived! (I haven’t had the chance to read all your articles, maybe you explained that)!
Are you planning to come back to France once the global health situation has improved?
Good luck for the repatriation reverse cultural shock! I have always found it hard than the initial one!!!
Jalen & Maria
Hello,
That sounds like a fun internship! We have lots of articles about our TAPIF experience that we are sure you will find interesting. We are indeed planning to come back to France! We will be posting on our blog, on YouTube, on Instagram, and on Twitter with updates very soon! Thanks for reading and all the best!
Sabrina
Hi there! I’ve read some of your blog posts and I love how informative you are about the TAPIF program. If I have a friend that I want to do tapif with but that isn’t my partner, do you think this option of telling tapif that we are partners would work to get us situated in the same city? Do you know if this is even allowed? We’re just friends but we both want to do tapif and we figured it would be easier to survive in a foreign country if we’re together and can room together.
Jalen & Maria
Hi! Thank you for reading. We suggest you check out the TAPIF FAQ page (https://frenchhighereducation.org/teaching-assistant-program/prospective-applicants/faq) to get the most complete answers to your questions.
Unfortunately, the TAPIF application, and the Assistants de langue program in general, is mostly geared towards individual participation. As you likely read (https://thefrancofile.net/tapif-roadblock-placement/), we had trouble being placed together even as a couple!
In short, TAPIF doesn’t allow applicants to apply as friends. If you aren’t a couple, TAPIF does not take your relationship into consideration.
However, if you are both ready to do the program independently, but still would like to be placed near each other, you can try avoiding some of the most popular regions (Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg and Grenoble) and choose the less popular ones on your applications (Amiens, Caen, Limoges, Poitiers, Reims and Rouen) for a better chance. This strategy won’t necessarily get you placed in close enough proximity to live together, but could make it possible to see each other more regularly and support each other abroad. Good luck!