Assistant Teacher

Originally conceived only for students planning to become teachers, the PAD programme (see below) is now also open to other students. However, students planning to enrol or currently enrolled in the Master of Education programme might especially want to consider spending time abroad as a Foreign Language Assistant (FLA) or 'assistant teacher'. To be eligible, you have to have completed at least four semesters in the B.A. phase. For more information refer to this Informationsbroschüre published by the Kultusministerkonferenz.

As a FLA you will work with the Modern Languages Department of your host school(s), assisting in the teaching of German. Your weekly teaching load should be around 12 hours. The assistantship lasts 8-9 months (September/October – May), and you will be paid a reasonably generous salary (around £800 in the UK; see link for details: Informationsbroschüre).

You will usually be working in a secondary school either assisting the language teacher with the language classes or teaching small groups on your own. Your role will be to improve your students' confidence in communicating in your language and help classes to become more interactive and fun by discussing contemporary aspects of youth culture in your country such as current affairs, education, sport, fashion, films, TV, lifestyles and celebrations. You will do this by planning activities and games and using photos, travel guides and maps as well as texts from newspapers or the Internet. https://www.britishcouncil.org/language-assistants/la-in-uk