AGE: You must be between 20 and 35 years old on October 1, 2024, the start
date of the 2024-2025 program. Applications from persons over or under the
age limit will not be considered.
CITIZENSHIP: You must be a U.S. cizen or permanent resident. You must have
a valid passport (and green card if you are a permanent resident).
French permanent residents of the U.S. and French-American dual citizens
ARE eligible to apply, as long as you meet all other eligibility requirements.
If you are NOT a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you may qualify for
another country’s equivalent program. More information on other programs
can be found here: https://www.france-education-international.fr/assistants-
langue-france/pays-concernes
EDUCATION: You must have completed high school plus at least three years of
higher education by October 1, 2024. You must have completed the majority
of your elementary, secondary and university studies in the United States.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE: You must be a native speaker of English and prove you
have at least a B1 level on the CEFRL scale.
PROFICIENCY IN FRENCH: You must be proficient in French.
If you do not have a university major or minor in French, you may still apply if
you have developed at least a basic proficiency in French (approximately 3
semesters of college French as a general guideline) and/or if you have lived
abroad in a Francophone country.
Students from all fields of study are encouraged to apply. However, all
applicants should demonstrate solid French skills and an interest in education.
Prepare the following items in advance. All hard-copy supplemental items must be
scanned and saved as JPG, JPEG or PNG files. Crop and rotate images for viewing.
REQUIRED OF ALL APPLICANTS
University Transcript
Obtain an official transcript from your university registrar office and upload
it as a PDF (less than 1MB in size). Do not send your transcript to TAPIF
admins via email. Unofficial transcripts will NOT be accepted.
Passport (valid through October 2025)
Scan the photo/information page + signature page of your passport.
Photograph of Yourself (Passport-Style)
Must be taken against a white background and clearly show your face.
Please crop photos you take yourself to the format of an official passport
photo.
Personal Statement in French (approximately 500 words)
Write about why you want to be a Teaching Assistant in France (personal,
academic, professional reasons). DO NOT have your French corrected by
anyone with knowledge of the French language (professors, friends,
family).
Prepare Your Language Evaluation
You must submit an outside evaluation of your French skills: EITHER a
recommendation from a university French professor or teacher from the
Alliance Française, OR scores from a standardized French-language test.
1.
2.
First Opon – University French professor / Alliance Française teacher:
Contact the person to ask if he/she is willing to complete the TAPIF online
language evaluaon form for you. You will register this person in the online
applicaon and he/she will receive further instrucons on how to access
the recommendaon form online.
Second Option – Test Scores from a standardized French-language exam:
Contact your local Alliance Française https://afusa.org/af-chapters for
more information about available exams, testing dates, costs, etc. Plan
well in advance as testing sessions in the fall/winter tend to fill up quickly.
Prepare Your Academic or Professional Letter of Recommendation
Applicants must ALSO submit a recommendaon from an academic or
professional reference. This cannot be the same person who does your
language evaluation. Contact the person well in advance of the application
deadline to ask if he/she is willing to serve as your second recommender.
Before Beginning Your Application
Online Application Instructions
Teaching Assistant Program in France: 2024-2025
Please follow along with this document as you fill out your application. This guide will
help you understand the application questions and program requirements.
ELIGIBILITY
Before starng your applicaon, make sure you meet the program’s eligibility criteria:
OTHER ITEMS
U.S. Permanent Resident Card (if you are not a U.S. citizen
Scan the front of your currently-valid green card.
Additional university transcripts (if necessary)
If you aended more than one instuon of higher educaon, obtain an
ocial transcript from each school.
Proof of Housing in France (OPTIONAL)
If you are claiming proof of housing in France for the 202-2025 academic
year, you must provide a utilities bill or lease in your name or in the name
of your host. If you are staying with a host, they must provide a letter
stating that you can stay with them during the length of the program, plus a
utilities bill or lease in their name.
Académie will be higher if both persons request a less sought-after region such
as Amiens, Clermont-Ferrand, Limoges, Reims, or Rouen.
A6.2 If you answered yes to A6.1, what is the name of your spouse / partner?
A7 Do you have children?
Note: If you plan to take a child with you to France, the school(s) where you work
will not be responsible for finding the child a place in the local school system.
A8 Application status: please select from the drop-down menu
A9-10 Do you have a drivers license? Will you have a vehicle in France?
A11 Do you have any specific needs or disabilities that should be brought to our attention?
A12-13 Please select your mother tongue from the drop down list.
COORDONNEES
The postal address and telephone number provided here must remain valid
through October 1, 2025 (do NOT list a university address: if you are accepted to
the program, very important paperwork may be mailed to this address over the
summer). You must also provide a personal e-mail address (rather than a university
e-mail address; .edu email addresses will not be accepted by our tapif.org platform).
Notification of selection will be sent by e-mail to the address you provide in B7, so
please list an e-mail account that you check regularly.
TAPIF is a youth mobility program. Applicants already residing permanently in
France will NOT be given priority, and may be placed on the program waiting list for
positions that may become available during the summer, depending on availability.
B1
Address Line 1: Street + Number
B2
Address Line 2
B3
City
B4
State
B5
Zip Code
ETAT CIVIL
A1 Last Name
A2 First Name
A3 Sex
A4 Date of birth
You must be between 20 and 35 years old on October 1, 2024, the start date
of the 2024-2025 program.
A5 American naonality/cizenship status. We ask about naturalized citizens
since, if selected, your birth certificate translation requirements may differ.
A5.1 Do you have dual cizenship?
If so, please indicate your second (non-American) nationality here.
A5.2 If you answered yes to A5.1 AND your second naonality is from an E.U.
country, do you wish to work in France using your European Union cizenship?
A6 Marital status (Single, Living with Partner, Married)
A6.1 If you are married or living with your partner, is your spouse or partner also
applying to the Teaching Assistant Program in France?
We try to place spouses and partners in the same region, but cannot guarantee
the accommodation of such requests. Your chances of being placed in the same
Main Application Form
Complete this section of the application IN FRENCH. Do not translate proper names
into French (i.e. university name, street address, state, etc.). Remember to save
your answers at the end of the form by clicking “Sauvegarder”.
B6
Country
B6.1
Country of permanent residence
B7 E-mail address : again, note that use of .edu emails is prohibited by our
platform as they often lead to missed program emails and create confusion
B8
Phone number (landline/US number which will remain valid while you're abroad)
B9
B10
Phone number (cell)
US Passport Number + Information (if applicable)
PROFIL D’ASSISTANT(E)
C1
Académies souhaitées – Preferred Geographical Location
French school districts are called “Académies” and cover large regions
of France. You may select up to three Académies of preference on your
application, but you may only choose one from each group (A, B and C).
If you have no preference, write “NP” or leave the box blank.
Select ONLY ONE Académie from each group. This gives us a better chance of
assigning you to your second or third choice region if your first pick is not
available. In rare cases, we are unable to place candidates in one of their top
three choices of Académie. If this happens, we use the information provided in
the rest of the application file (hobbies and interests indicated by field of study,
work experience, personal statement, etc.) to try to find another good fit for the
applicant.
Candidates may be assigned anywhere within an Académie. We CANNOT take
specific city requests into account.
Few assistants are assigned to the city bearing same name as the Académie.
For example, the Académie of Toulouse is very large and only a small number of
assistants are placed in the city proper of Toulouse. Many placements are in small
towns and rural areas. The Académies of Aix-Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux,
Montpellier, Toulouse and the “départements d’outre-mer” (DOMs) have many
positions in rural locations where public transportation is limited.
Applications are considered on the understanding that if you are accepted to the
program and confirm your participation, you will commit to the position offered,
wherever it may be located within the assigned region of France.
Flexibility is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED!!!
Placement decisions are based solely on merit, so the most qualified applicants
have the best chance of being assigned to their regions of choice. Placements
depend on the number of requests received for an Académie vs. the number of
positions available in that area. Certain regions are more “competitive” than
others. The Académies of Lyon, Nice, and Strasbourg, for example, are popular
choices with only a limited number of spots available.
Note regarding Paris: VERY FEW positions are located in the city proper of Paris.
If you list “Paris” as one of your choices, you will be considered for all three
Académies in the Ile-de-France region (Paris, Créteil and Versailles).
Housing in the area can be hard to find and very expensive. Schools in the Paris
region are rarely able to help assistants find housing. Making ends meet on
the assistantship salary (€812 net per month) can be extremely difficult in and
around Paris. NOTE: To support housing costs assistants may apply for the CAF
Example 1
Choix 1: Besançon
Choix 2: Lyon
Choix 3: Poitiers
Example 2
Choix 1: Nancy-Metz
Choix 2: NP
Choix 3:
Example 3
Choix 1: NP
Choix 2:
Choix 3:
CHOOSE ONLY ONE ACADEMIE FROM EACH GROUP
If you have no preference, write “NP” or leave the box blank.
C2 Contrats d’enseignement souhaités – Contract Preference
You may request the age group to which you would like to be assigned. We
take these preferences into consideration but cannot guarantee that you will
receive your choice of contract. Many more positions are available at the
secondary level than at the primary level. If you have no preference or want
to work in both elementary and secondary schools, use the CTRL key to
select both.
All contracts have a 12-hour per week schedule that can be divided among
up to three schools.
1D Primary School – 7 months (October 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025)
• Working with children aged 8-11 years old
• Assistant organizes oral activities on his/her own with small groups,
or works alongside the teacher with the entire class present.
• Prior teaching experience preferred
2D Secondary School – 7 months (October 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025)
• Working with students aged 11-18 years old (collège, lycée)
• Assistant serves as a resource person in conversation groups, provides
small group tutorials, facilitates English-language clubs, or works
alongside the teacher with the entire class present
• No prior teaching experience required
NP No Preference
C3 Indicate if you are willing and able to assist in one of the following areas:
Art, Business-Management, Sustainable Development, History, Hospitality-
Hotel Management, Sign Language (ASL or LSF), Literature, Math, Music,
Science, Physical Education, Computers and Technology, Theater.
C5
C6
C4 Would you be willing to work in a “zone d’éducation prioritaire” (ZEP)?
Implemented in 1981, the French government’s “Zone d’Education Prioritaire”
program designates schools in disadvantaged areas to receive additional
resources in the spirit of equal opportunity.
** If you would acvely prefer teaching in a ZEP, please write a short note to
this effect at the end of your statement of motivation (section F1) and we will
flag your application for a ZEP placement.
AUTRES RENSEIGNEMENTS
D1 Have you already participated in the Teaching Assistant Program in France?
If so, indicate your prior Académie assignment, level at which you taught, dates of
participation, and French “numéro de sécurité sociale” (if you still know it).
D2 Do you already have a place to live in France for the 2023-2024 school year?
* Applicants are in no way required or expected to have already secured
housing in France BEFORE applying to the program. This question is for
informational purposes only and is entirely optional.
If you answer yes, proof of housing is required
. This will not influence
admission to the program and will not be a decisive factor in your Académie
assignment. Placements are made solely on merit. If you are placed in the
Académie where your housing is located, then the Académie administration
will consider your proof of housing when making specific school/town
assignments. Placement near your pre-arranged housing is not guaranteed.
If not, provide the name of school, location (country), and dates of enrollment.
E7 Name of your current university or the most recent university attended (in English)
E8 Number of semesters
E9 Dates of attendance
E10 Areas of study – Major (and minor if applicable)
E11 Type of degree obtained and date (or predicted date) of graduation
E12 Name of any other university previously attended (if applicable) (in English)
E13 Number of semesters
E14 Dates of attendance
E15 Areas of study – Major (and minor if applicable)
E16 Type of degree obtained and date (or predicted date) of graduation
E17
Are you certified to teach in the United States?
If so, please provide the name of the state in which you have your certification.
E18 Are you certified to teach English as a Second Language (ESL)?
E19
What career would you like to pursue in the future? If not available, please write out.
E20
E21
If you are no longer a student, what is your current occupation?
If you are interested in hearing more about the French Embassy's scholarship/
fellowship programs for TAPIF alumni/future teachers please click yes or no.
C6 What type of location assignment would you prefer?
Small town / rural area, Small- to Medium-sized city, Large city
What type of location assignment would you prefer?
Small town / rural area, Small- to Medium-sized city, Large city
Which is more important to you, the size of place you live (C5) or the region in
France in which you live (C1)?
*By clicking this bubble you confirm that you will be available for the full 7-month
contract as an assistant de langue from 2024-2025.
D2.1 Full name of host in France
D2.2 Street name and number
D2.3 Postal Code
D2.4 City
D2.5 Telephone number
D3 How did you hear about TAPIF? Please select from the drop-down menu or
write in your answer (only if it is none of the options available).
PROFIL ACADEMIQUE
E1
Number of years you have studied French
E2
Your spoken French skills
E3 Your written French skills and your self-assessed level of French according
to the CECRL scale. (See the table here or by clicking the link in the application)
E4-E6 Did you go to elementary / middle & high school / university in the U.S.?
Statement of Purpose and Experience
Medical Report
F1 Why do you want to be a Teaching Assistant in France?
(approximately 500 words)
Apart from evaluating your motivations for the program, this text
also helps us evaluate your current French language skills. DO NOT
have your French corrected by anyone with knowledge of the French
language (professors, friends, family, etc.).
F2 Describe your experiences teaching or working with children or young people.
Job Title and Name of Employer + Please categorize your experience
Responsibilities
Dates
Hours/Week
F3 Have you traveled or lived abroad for more than 1 month outside of the U.S.?
Location
Context (i.e. studying, tourism, work)
Dates
To be completed by the applicant in English. Please note: this confidential
information is required by French authorities and is not used in the TAPIF
selection process.
Dependent Waiver
Background Check
The dependent waiver outlines the terms and conditions of applying to the
program if you intend on bringing dependents (spouse, partner, children, etc.)
with you to France. All applicants must complete this form, even if you do not
have dependents. Please enter your name and nationality, then electronically
sign and date the form.
If you decide to bring dependents with you to France, it will be your
responsibility alone to research rules for visas and other paperwork for
accompanying persons.
If accepted, you will be required to provide a copy of a federal-level background
check (specifically, a Federal Identity History Summary) in order to finalize your
recruitment with the Éducation nationale. In this case, you will receive more
information on this process in late spring/early summer of 2024. We ask
candidates to self-report the state of their Federal Identity History Summary
during the application process only to better advise you in the event of arrests or
charges appearing on your record, especially if you have concerns about the
seriousness of the charge. In no case will the information you self-report to us about
your background check be used as an evaluation criteria of your application.
Attestation and Signature
This section of the application provides the terms and conditions of applying to the
Teaching Assistant Program in France. It also explains your responsibilities should
you participate, and attests that you will provide proof of a clean (or otherwise
acceptable) criminal record to the Embassy in order to secure your position in a
school in France. Please electronically sign and date the form. This section is
required for all applicants.
Supplemental Items Upload
Files must be uploaded one at a time (browse and upload each document
separately). All files must be in JPG, JPEG, or PNG format. PDF files are acceptable
for the university transcript only. Maximum file size is 4MB. Crop and rotate all
images.
REQUIRED ITEMS
University Transcript
You must provide an official transcript from every college/university you
have attended. If courses/grades/credits from transfer institutions appear on
your home university transcript, then you do NOT need to submit a separate
transcript from the transfer institution. If you studied abroad, a separate
transcript is required only if the study abroad courses/grades/credits do not
appear on your home university’s transcript.
Request an official copy of your transcript from your university registrar,
then scan and upload the document to your application. If your transcript is
issued in a sealed envelope, you may break the seal in order to scan the
transcript; we will still consider the document official. Print-outs of non-
official online transcripts and hard-copy transcripts mailed directly to the
Embassy will NOT be accepted.
PDF files are acceptable for the university transcript only.
Scan of Passport (valid through October 2025)
Scan and upload the first photo/information page + signature page of your
passport. If you are a permanent resident of the U.S., you must scan and
upload the ID pages of your passport from your country of citizenship here.
Photograph of Yourself (Passport-style)
Must be taken against a white background and clearly show your face. You
may take the photo yourself with a digital camera, but must crop it to the
format of an official passport photo (from the top of your head to your
shoulders). Scan of U.S. Permanent Resident Card (Required for non-U.S.
citizens
This section of the application must be completed IN FRENCH. Do not translate proper names into French
(i.e. university name, etc.). Remember to save your work at the end of the section.
If you are a permanent resident of the United States but do not have U.S.
citizenship, you MUST include a scan of your green card here. Your application
will not be reviewed unless you upload both a scan of your passport from your
country of citizenship and your U.S. Permanent Resident Card (green card).
OPTIONAL ITEMS
Additional University Transcript 1 & 2
If you attended more than one university, upload additional transcripts here.
Proof of Housing in France (letter from host)
If you are claiming proof of housing in France (question D2), you MUST upload
a letter from your host stating that he/she will house you for the length of the
2023-2024 TAPIF program. This letter is not required if the French utilities bill or
lease is in your name.
Proof of Housing in France (utilities bill or lease)
If you are claiming proof of housing in France, you must upload a utilities bill
(i.e. gas/EDF bill) or lease in your name, or in the name of your host.
Other Use this area to upload any additional documents or pages. If you are
selected, you will be required to provide proof of a clean criminal record by
uploading an FBI background check to this section. You will be sent
instructions on how to obtain this document in April or May.
Recommendations/Language Evaluation
You must submit one language evaluation AND one general letter of
recommendation with your application.
1. The language evaluation can be either:
A letter of recommendation
attesting to your French skills,
written by a university
French professor or teacher
from the Alliance Française.
Scores from an official
standardized language
test like the TCF, TEF,
DELF or DALF.
OR
2. The general recommendation can be from an academic or professional
reference, attesting to your skills and personal qualities.
Sign and date the honor statement on the main recommendation page and click
“Sauvegarder.” Then use the drop-down menu to select which method you will be
using for the language evaluation. Once you select your method and click the “page
suivante” button, you will be taken to the appropriate registration page.
If you choose the rst recommendaon method (1 language evaluaon from a
university French professor or teacher from the Alliance Française + 1 general
recommendaon from an academic or professional reference):
Complete the registration section for each recommender using the person’s name
and e-mail address. We prefer that you register the French-language evaluator in
the 1st spot, and the general reference in the 2nd spot (the actual recommendation
forms are the same, however, so it’s ok if you accidentally do it the other way
around). Each recommender will be sent an automated e-mail containing
instructions on how to access the recommendation form online. The instructions
e-mail and recommendation form are both in English. Recommenders may write
their responses in either English or French.
You will receive an automated e-mail once each recommender submits their
recommendation. You will not be able to submit your application until both
recommenders have successfully submitted their recommendations.
If you choose the second recommendaon method (scan of test scores + 1
recommendaon from an academic or professional reference):
Scan the test results page from the TCF, TEF, DELF or DALF and upload the file to
the box at the top of the page. Then complete the registration section for your
academic or professional reference using the person’s name and e-mail address.
The recommender will be sent an automated e-mail containing instructions on
how to access the recommendation form online. The instructions e-mail and
recommendation form are both in English. Reminder: the recommender may
write their response in either English or French.
You will receive an automated e-mail once your recommender submits his/
her recommendation. You will not be able to submit your application until your
recommender has successfully submitted his/her recommendation.
Please make sure you enter the correct e-mail addresses for your recommenders.
You may check the status of your recommendation(s) by visiting the
“Recommendations/Language Evaluation” tab.
If your recommendaon is incomplete, you will still see the button beneath
the person’s registration area that says “Renvoyer le courriel d’instruction à
cette personne”.
If your recommendaon is complete, you will see a red time-stamped
confirmation message below the person’s registration area.
If you need to change your method of language evaluation, use the drop-down menu
at the bottom of the page to access the other method’s page.
Notes
Unsolicited materials uploaded to your application (i.e. resumes, additional
recommendations, etc.) will not be considered during the review of your
application.
All payments are non-refundable, even for candidates who do not submit
applications in the end.
Applications submitted to the Teaching Assistant Program in France become
the property of the Teaching Assistant Program in France. Your application and
accompanying uploaded materials will not be sent back to you, nor will they be
copied or forwarded to another party on your behalf.
Remember: all selected applicants will be required to submit a Federal Identity
History Summary (background check) in summer 2024. This is a requirement of the
French educational authorities. The French educational authorities reserve the right
to modify selection decisions based on the candidate’s Identity History Summary.
IMPORTANT
Your application is not complete until you run the
Application Inspector and click the active “Envoyer” button
in the Submit Application section.
To confirm that your application has been successfully submitted,
make sure you see a timestamped confirmation message on the
Submit Application page AND check that you receive the automated
confirmation message at the e-mail address provided for question
B7 (make sure to double check your spam folder for this
confirmation if it does not appear in your inbox).
If you have any doubts as to whether or not your application has
been successfully received by the program, please send an e-mail to:
tapif@frenchculture.org
Payment
The application fee for the Teaching Assistant Program in France is $90 and is
non-refundable. You must pay this fee online using a credit or debit card.
You will see ‘MCUFEU’ on your bank statement after paying this fee.
Complete the payment form using the card holder’s information and click “Payer.”
Please be patient and CLICK ONLY ONCE. When your transaction is approved, you
will be taken to a confirmation page. You may print this page for your records. After
your payment has gone through, you must return to the application to finish the
application process. NOTE: PAYING THE APPLICATION FEE DOES NOT
AUTOMATICALLY SUBMIT THE APPLICATION.
Application Inspector
You must run the Application Inspector before submitting your application. This
will check your application for missing elements and tell you if any required sections
or questions remain incomplete.
If you are missing a required element, you must return to complete it before you can
submit. Remember to save the section in question after you are done fixing the
missing element. You must then re-run the Application Inspector and get the “ok”
before continuing on to the "Submit Application" section.
Submit Application
Once the Application Inspector verifies your application as complete, the “Envoyer”
button will appear active on this page (the button will show as inactive until you
have completed all sections and received the go-ahead from the Application
Inspector).
Click “Envoyer” to fully submit your application. A timestamp will confirm that your
application was successfully submitted, and you will also receive an automated
e-mail confirmation at the e-mail address you provided for question B7. Make sure
to double check your spam folder for this confirmation if you do not receive it. The
Application Deadline is January 15, 2024.
Notification of selection will be sent by e-mail in April 2024.
