Hey there,

I did French for six years at highschool, but I had a five year break before going to live in Paris. I found what I learnt came back pretty quickly, but when I was living there I didn't come close to being fluent - you either need to have a good circle of French friends or live with a family, as you're always working in English.

There were other teachers at my school who had no French and they still had a great time and found it easy to get by, as most people in such a large city have some English, and because you aren't supposed to speak in French to your students it shouldn't impact your work too much. I think the main danger in not speaking French is continuing to live a very English life as you just hang out with other expats, as opposed to not being able to get by.

I hope this helped :)

Hi Ellie!

Thanks for the article. I am just wondering, do you speak French or a small amount of French?

Good luck!

Great article .... I am teaching (predominantly business) english in Nancy, 300 kms east of Paris. It is a beautiful city, and full of keen learners! I did love the article, but can't help thinking that, if I wrote a similar article, and commented similarly on some of my female students, I would be accused of being ......... sexist? chauvinistic? sleezy? Don't get me wrong .... I wasn't offended at all at your comments (had a bit of a smile, actually), but it just made me think. Keep up the good work! It is great fun, isn't it?

Thanks again, Neil.

Merci bien, une histoire par excellence - not bad for digging from the depths of my high school French, n'est ce pas?

I must say I've not thought about teaching a Paris but, given that my favourite subject en ecole was Francaise (also the only one I got a pass mark for in my finals!) and given your wonderful article, I should give it serious consideration.

Thanks, Geoff

What a nice blog post! I like the fact that you're not only teaching English but also encouraging discussions AND focusing on topical material. This of course makes your lessons more interesting... and probably a lot more meaningful to your students.

It's another great way to look at lesson planning - thanks for sharing this different angle!

Lovely read , merci beaucoup!