Assistant teacher programme of the Educational Exchange Service

A Foreign Language Assistant (FLA) is an assistant teacher, usually a native speaker, assisting a teacher of modern foreign languages in another country in lessons about the native language of the assistant.
The assistant teacher programme is meant to be a benefit for assistants and pupils. It should help to improve the language skills of the foreign pupils on one hand and is, on the other hand, an excellent opportunity for the assistants to deepen their language skills and their cultural knowledge, as well as a chance to get an insight into a different educational system.
The responsible institution behind the assistant teacher programme in Germany is the Educational Exchange Service (Pädagogischer Austauschdienst), which is a governmental institution of the ministers of education of the federal states in Germany that organises and arranges international exchange programs in education on behalf of the federal states.
Duties
A Foreign Language Assistant either assists teachers in their German lessons or teaches small groups on his/her own. Foreign Language Assistants have to work maximum twelve hours per week, mainly in secondary schools. Tasks vary and include conversation exercises like roleplays, providing sources and interesting information for cultural studies lessons and rehearsing exam situations. The duration of stay is usually eight to nine months. In order to apply for the post as an assistant teacher interested students need to have completed at least four university semesters leading to qualified teacher status.
The aims of such programs are to contribute to international understanding, to support language learning initiatives and to promote German as a foreign language abroad.

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