French is a Romance language, with many similarities to Latin (from which it derives), Spanish, and Italian. With around 175 million people speaking French as their first language in countries as diverse as France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Haiti, Niger, Québec, Switzerland, and elsewhere, it’s no surprise that French is the second most popular language for instruction after English. With such high demand, it’s critical that those who want to teach French can figure out how to do so.
Of course, expert knowledge and fluency in the language are essential for teaching French, but aside from that common criterion, becoming a French teacher can be accomplished in a variety of ways, depending on whether one wishes to instruct native or non-native speakers and the age group of students. Because international organizations like the World Trade Organization, Interpol, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the International Court of Justice, the International Secretariat for Water, and others use French, one could tutor people specifically in French for business or diplomacy to enable them to do business with or work at organizations like the World Trade Organization, Interpol, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee, the International Court of Justice, the International Secretariat for Water, and so on.
If you wanted to teach native speakers in their own country, you’d need a different set of skills, such as expert dialect knowledge and a focus on grammar, mechanics, syntax, and literature. To teach non-native speakers, you’ll need to be bilingual, fluent in both French and the native language of the students you’ll be teaching. Teaching French as a foreign language differs from teaching French to native speakers in that the first case frequently uses the students’ native language as a comparison or contrast point.
The credentials required to become a French teacher will vary depending on the age of the non-native students you wish to teach. An advanced degree, such as a PhD, may be required to teach at a college or university, and it may be preferable if it comes from a French institution or one where French is the first language. Because French instruction at this level is frequently provided a Romance Languages Department, fluency in one or more other romance languages may be advantageous in obtaining a position as a French professor.
Both subject area criteria for French knowledge — generally demonstrated at least a bachelor’s degree — and expectations for specific teacher education, and possibly a degree, may exist in public and private schools for students in kindergarten through high school or the equivalent. In the United States, each state’s Department of Education establishes standards for public schools, while private or independent schools establish their own. Native French speakers studying English at a French university can spend a year assisting Australian French teachers in one or more schools as part of a France-Australia exchange program. The schools benefit from the expertise of native French speakers, who have numerous opportunities to improve their English fluency.
Anyone who wants to become a private French tutor has more leeway when it comes to credentials, as well as more freedom to organize their time and teach in experiential ways, as well as develop approaches that suit their students, whether or not they would work with a whole class. Tutoring can be done part-time and from any location in the world. Set programs, on the other hand, such as the College Board’s Advanced Placement French program, have very specific approaches to language instruction that participants must be trained in.