Can teaching others the language once referred to by Oscar Wilde as 'Silk', really help further your career?
In this post, we are going to explore that very question.
"I love the French language... it's a delightful language, especially to curse with. It's like whopping your ass with silk."
- Oscar Wilde
Becoming a tutor is rewarding for many people, but what are the long-term benefits?
French is a rich language. What you learn at school or use when writing is often very different from daily spoken French, that's why people, including professionals, seek out French tutors.
5 Reasons Being a French Tutor Gives You Good Career Experience
There are many reasons why people become french tutors, from a passion for the language or culture to needing extra money while studying at college. What we don't look at so much is the valuable career experience they gain during this time and the professional development that comes naturally.
Whether you're a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Apps like Babbel and Duolingo are proven to get you started on your French language journey.
Below are 5 Reasons Being a French Tutor Gives You Good Career Experience:
- 1 Completing Challenging Work - French Tutors work to develop lesson plans for their students and find the best ways to help them learn. Since each student is different, tutors find teaching strategies that work for each individual. Tutors also regularly gain new students as old ones no longer need their help, which helps the job to remain exciting and challenging.
- 2 Meeting and Engaging with Many People - These people may be their students, people related to the students or other educators. For example, a French tutor teaching young students often interacts with their parents or teachers. This can allow tutors to expand their social networks and make new professional connections.
- 3 Working Independently and Efficiently - Tutors typically work for themselves. They market themselves, find clients and provide their services. This opportunity to work independently is enticing for many people. Tutors get to make all the decisions regarding their careers rather than reporting to a supervisor. They also work independently to prepare lessons and complete other tasks, which is why they have to be extra efficient as they have no one to run tasks or documents by before giving them to students.
- 4 Scheduling and Time Management - Some tutors may provide lessons to students before school hours, while others may conduct lessons afterwards. Some tutors may use video conferencing tools to conduct sessions with students in different time zones. Tutors also have to create lessons which are both practical and efficient to fit into the available time. This ability to work under pressure is often highly sought after amount employers.
- 5 Being a Tutor Looks Great on a CV - Working as a French tutor will help you strengthen your CV. It demonstrates that you have experience working with students and that you have knowledge of your subject area. If you want to become a teacher, it can also help fill any gaps in your resume while you're searching for a position. Working as a tutor also provides you with experiences you can discuss during your job interviews, such as teaching methods you experimented with or particular challenges you faced. This can help you increase your value as a candidate.
Listening to music really works on your French listening comprehension.
Skills You Developed as a French Tutor That Make You More Employable
Tutors take on a lot of work especially language tutors, like the French tutors, where you are not only teaching your students about the language itself but also about culture. Therefore, it only makes sense that you have picked up many skills that would be transferable to other jobs, not only transferable but valuable in other areas of employment.
Below are 5 Skills You Will Have Developed Being a French Tutor:
- Organisation - Tutors often work with multiple students and may teach several subjects at different levels. They use organisational skills to keep track of all the different assignments, lesson plans and curriculum information they use in each session. This can include keeping a detailed schedule, maintaining a file on each student and reviewing lesson plans before every tutoring session. Organisation skills allow tutors to start each session in the correct mindset and give their full attention and focus to each of their clients.
- Patience - Patience is an essential skill for tutors because tutors have advanced knowledge in a subject while helping someone with little-to-no knowledge. Tutors can also work with students of all ages and learning styles, therefore, some students may get easily distracted and have trouble paying attention during sessions. By staying calm and being patient, you can not only ensure that the session runs smoothly, but you can also help your students practice self-patience to conquer challenging subjects.
- Communication - Successful tutors use their verbal communication skills to help their students understand complex ideas. As a tutor, you adjust your verbal communication style to match the comprehension level of each student. For example, the way you explain a concept to an adult or college student differs immensely from the way you talk to a child in primary school. Written communication is also important when tutors contact their students by email or write comprehensive notes for their students to use in the future.
- Adaptability - Being flexible and adapting to the needs of each student helps tutors be more effective and support the academic success of their students. Tutors track the progress of their students and pay attention to which techniques and strategies are most effective. When they notice a student struggling, they use adaptability to change their methods. If a student seems to respond to a particular technique, they engage more with that style of learning. This allows them to customise each session and make the experience personal to the specific goals of every student.
- Problem-Solving - Problem-solving is the ability to identify a problem and create solutions. Tutors regularly help their students problem-solve and reach new skill levels in a subject. Successful tutors can identify their student's weaknesses in a subject and can help them brainstorm solutions to resolve these issues. They use their problem-solving skills to empower students to develop their own resolutions and answers, providing support when necessary.
If you are already a french tutor you might get an opportunity to work in France as an English tutor too. Just think of all the beautiful places you could visit from Nice to Lyon.
Bilinguals Get More Job Opportunities
Not only does being bilingual give you more job opportunities, it also makes you stand out to potential employers who don't require extra language skills. Companies today serve increasingly diverse, multilingual populations all around the world. Good business owners know the power of a multinational consumer base.
Displaying your language abilities on a resume gives you an advantage over your competition. Not only can you claim to be bilingual, but you can have more insightful intercultural knowledge (especially if you were a tutor) than others applying to the same job as you who can only speak one language.
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