As one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, English can be spoken on any of the world’s continents. However there are places in Europe where the English taught in schools is not good enough for students to be able to speak fluently. And now the President of France Nicholas Sarkozy has led an assault on the old fashioned and ineffective teaching methods in France. The President’s latest assault on the way English is taught means that there are more opportunities in teaching English as a foreign language within the country at schools and private language institutions.

Many school leavers are choosing to pay for English lessons at private schools to improve on what they learnt at school. In national schools, children are taught English for six years, however the majority are unable to speak the language once they have left. So they are hiring private tutors at expensive costs to teach them English which they can use in conversation.

Sarkozy hopes that this method of teaching will spread into state schools. This is because France spends 5.9% of its GDP on education but its performance in the standardized Test of English as a Foreign Language leaves it 69th out of 109 countries. As Britain’s closest neighbour with a long history of political and economic relationships, this is a poor result.

It is no surprise that it is the French education system itself which is resisting learning better English. The Academie Francaise has been purging the French language of foreign words since 1635. There has also been a 25 year struggle to keep English-imported words out of French film and music.

This has made many students wary of speaking English before they have perfected the language on paper, for fear of adding to the demise of the French language. but there are more and more people who want to pay for a better knowledge of English. They know that they will build themselves a better career CV if they can speak fluent English as this is the dominant language in business worldwide.

With new attention being placed on the way languages are taught in France there has never been a better time to start teaching English as a foreign language there. Ideal if you want to teach in a foreign country without living too far away from home.

English is one of the world’s most common languages, spoken on every continent. However, there are countries close to home which are still to learn English in a successful way. French President Nicholas Sarkozy has attacked the education system in his home country for lagging behind modern teaching methods and hindering the effectiveness of English language lessons in French schools. Now schools and private language institutions are starting teaching English as a foreign language in different ways.

Now school leavers are taking their learning of English to the next step by paying for lessons in private colleges. Even though students in France are given English lessons for 6 years of their school life, they are taught in a written and not oral method which makes it harder for them to speak English confidently. So they are hiring private tutors at expensive costs to teach them English which they can use in conversation.

Now the President wants this method to be used in state schools instead of the traditional way. This is because France spends 5.9% of its GDP on education but its performance in the standardized Test of English as a Foreign Language leaves it 69th out of 109 countries. This is a poor performance for one of the world’s most established democracies and Britain’s closest neighbour after Ireland.

And it is no surprise that resistance to learning English to a higher level is coming from within France. The Academie Francaise has been perfecting the French language since 1635. There has also been a 25 year struggle to keep English-imported words out of French film and music.

Some students have been scared into limiting their knowledge of English for fear of eroding the French language. However there are those pupils who are willing to pay the expensive fees for private tuition. In terms of business, no CV is complete without the ability to speak English detailed on it.

So with different teaching patterns coming into French study in the near future, the time has never been better to teach English as a foreign language in France. It is the perfect destination for those TEFL teachers who would prefer to stay a little nearer home whilst still enjoying a more relaxing way of life.

As one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, English can be spoken on any of the world’s continents. Yet many countries close to home are falling behind those further afield in terms of the standard of English that students are taught. French President Nicholas Sarkozy has attacked the education system in his home country for lagging behind modern teaching methods and hindering the effectiveness of English language lessons in French schools. This battering of the way English is taught in French schools has led to bigger opportunities for teaching English as a foreign language in France’s schools and private teaching institutions.

The latter is how many people are choosing to study English once they have left school. In national schools, children are taught English for six years, however the majority are unable to speak the language once they have left. So they are hiring private tutors at expensive costs to teach them English which they can use in conversation.

Sarkozy hopes that this method of teaching will spread into state schools. France really needs to improve its standing in the Test of English as a Foreign language because it stands only 69th out of 109 countries even though it spends 5.9% of its GDP on education. As one of Britain’s most historical neighbours with a long term economic and political relationship, this is surprising.

It seems however that the resistance to learning any other language than French is coming from within the education system of the country. The Academie Francaise has been purging the French language of foreign words since 1635. And in terms of French culture, English imported words have been kept out of film and music for 25 years.

Some students have been scared into limiting their knowledge of English for fear of eroding the French language. But private language tuition is growing in France. In terms of business, no CV is complete without the ability to speak English detailed on it.

So with different teaching patterns coming into French study in the near future, the time has never been better to teach English as a foreign language in France. And France is a great location to teach if you do not want to move too far away from home.