At Butrfly we love to put the spotlight on our au pairs. This article is written by Dana, a young American au pair in France. She tells us about her experience as a language assistant in a primary school.
‘One of the most important things in my decision to be an au pair was being able to teach children English.’
That’s why I was so delighted when, during the second week of the year as a school au pair, the teacher of one of my family’s children asked me to come to her class to give language lessons. I accepted immediately.
Every afternoon, the youngest daughter would ask me: ‘Oh Dana, have you spoken to the teacher? It’s really important that you come to my class’. Finally, when the teacher and I discussed it, we decided to give lessons on the theme of Christmas. When I arrived at school on my first day, I could feel the excitement of the pupils: there’s a new guest from a foreign country. I heard a lot of ‘Hello! Hello!’ and a few ‘ah that’s [daughter]’s nanny’.
After the introductions, I started the lesson with a book that the teacher had given me a few days earlier. It’s a simple book about a mouse at Christmas and it’s perfect for beginners in English. After reading the book aloud, I showed them photos corresponding to the vocabulary in the story. We worked with the first five words (the tree, Father Christmas, cookies, presents, Christmas stockings).
The following week, I came back to class and we started with the first five words. I was so proud of how much they remembered. I should point out that these lessons take place during the last 45 minutes of school on Fridays; and for a seven-year-old, it’s sometimes difficult to concentrate on a difficult subject at this time of day. After a review of the previous week’s vocabulary, we continued with the book and added six words.
‘In my opinion, and from my experience, learning a language is fun.’
It’s more alive than other materials.
It’s difficult to study a language with a rigid structure, like those in science for example. So, with the pupils, I sing, I draw and we play games. The teacher has given them little memos with the pictures that correspond to the vocabulary and during each lesson, we play games with them.
It’s important for me to say that the teacher helped me a lot. I’m not a teacher and I was apprehensive before the first lesson. She knew that and made sure she could give me all the material help I needed. What’s more, she stays with us during the lessons to make sure everyone feels comfortable and safe.
Giving these lessons is the best part of the week for me. The students always have the same excitement from the first session.
‘I think being an au pair is an experience that can sometimes be full of uncertainty.’
For many of us, it’s literally about travelling the world, discovering a new territory, a new culture and learning how to manage our emotions when we’re far from our landmarks.
However, one thing I’m very confident about is my ability to speak my mother tongue for one hour a week. So I feel like I can teach it to the children, even just a few words, and see their smiles light up their faces.
This moment is part of the reason why I became and enjoy being an au pair.
