So many of you are probably wondering what do I actually do here when I only work 12 hours a week...?
Well, first of all, the job is pretty good. Its like the holiday version of my normal job back home. I prepare an activity for the class, go in, run it and walk away. That's it.
What kind of activities? Well, for the Secondes (Year 11 equivalent) I try and link an activity to what they are doing in their classes, e.g Murder Mystery. Last week, I did an activity on what Christmas is like in NZ and this week we will sing the Pukeko in a Ponga tree song (The 12 days of Christmas - NZ version). That will be probably be quite challenging for them but I'm sure it will be fun in the process. Some classes are preparing for their Bac examinations at the end of Terminale (Year 13 equivalent). This involves analysing a document in English for 5 minutes then having a conversation about it for 5 minutes, so I get sample documents and we practice this together. They have a varied level of motivation, which can be interesting/challenging at times. Another group I take for History/Geography in English and they have to research an idea then at the end of 6 weeks give a presentation to the class in English, which I mark. The last round was on NZ, and three groups talked about the Rugby World Cup! :) This same group I see again later in the week and we do games to improve pronunciation and to promote conversation. I also have two groups of students who are post Yr 13 and are working towards a technical certificate but have to talk about their work experience in English for thier exam at the end of their course. So I basically spend time talking to them in English, which is interesting as they are not very strong in English and it can take 5 minutes to get one sentence. So that's 12 hours of my week. I work 3 days and the gaps in between classes I use to prepare lessons, plus those days we have an hour lunch break when we eat a MASSIVE meal at the canteen.
I've also managed to pick up tutoring for two girls who asked for some help so that is a little bit of extra on the side.
So what do I do the rest of the time? Good question!! So I have Mondays and Wednesdays free. Well, I usually sleep in, catch up on emails/messages with friends, sometimes do my blog, plan my next trip or sort out photos from the last trip. I often have to go into town to sort something out so I'll walk into town (about 10 mins walk) and look around. I sometimes have to do my washing at the laundromat, so thats another trip into town. Usually have to go to the supermarket and/or the boulangerie for food/bread/pastries. The last few Mondays I've been away making the most of my three day weekend. Sometimes I do Zumba or go running with my friend Sandrine. I've been reading a lot of books. Sometimes in the evenings, I'll hang out with my friends here, or we'll go to someone's place for dinner. I don't know but somehow I seem to fill my days.
Most weekends I've been away, but the few that I am here for, usually Friday night I do something with my friends (this Friday it was the Christmas Party at our place), chill out Saturday, look around L'Aigle - Christmas Markets this weekend just been, watch DVD Saturday night and chill out again Sunday. Sunday you can't do much as everything is closed. But like I say, the weekends I am here are rare so usually I'm ready for a quiet weekend anyway.
Coming up... off to Paris this Saturday and early morning train Sunday to St Raphael where I will be until just after Christmas. Then, heading to Toulouse on the 27th to catch up with my friend Nathalie, who lived in NZ two years ago, for New Years. Looking forward to spending time with friends, to seeing Provence again and enjoying (hopefully) warmer/sunnier weather.
Hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year, wherever you are.
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