Taiwanese graduate students have just been able to apply to work in France as a Mandarin teaching assistant in the 2019–2020 academic year. This wonderful opportunity is the result of the 2017 signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Education Division of the Taipei Representative in France and the network of Institutes of Education (ESPE), in France.

The ESPE network comprises 32 member institutes, each of which trains primary and secondary teachers and is also in charge of preparation for their qualification. The MOU provides Taiwanese students an opportunity to improve their teaching expertise by receiving professional training in the first year master’s degree program for teaching, education, and professional training (MEEF) in one of the 32 ESPE graduate schools. In addition to taking courses, they will also assist in teaching Mandarin in French high schools (12 hours per week) and/or higher educational institutions (6 hours per week). Each host ESPE will assign a tutor to supervise the student’s academic work and assistantship, and at the completion of the assistantship, the ESPE will file a final report on the student’s performance and issue a certificate for the credits earned.

The selection and placement of the successful applicant(s) will be undertaken by the General Inspector for Chinese Teaching of the French Ministry of Education.

During their 10-month stay in France, the student(s) will receive a monthly stipend of 800 USD from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan and their host ESPE will provide accommodation, and meals on business days. Taiwan’s Ministry of Education will provide each selected student with a subsidy of up to $1,750 USD for a round-trip airfare between Taiwan and France.

More information is available here: https://ogme.edu.tw/Home/world_detail_edu/239?fbclid=IwAR2Io2mfLSr2EjZOh8wX9YX9PEtgpLwAsfc3pEmupEnzUufrRMkvxbZyiNw

PHOTO: A typical class that a graduate student from Taiwan might work with as a teaching assistant