Location
  • France
    • Lyon
Length
4 - 12 weeks
Classroom Audience
Early Childhood

Program Details

Qualifications
  • Native English speaker
  • Camp counseling, childcare, &/or teaching experience (a professional reference letter is required)
  • Clear criminal history
  • 20 years old is the minimum age requirement for foreign counselors
  • High school diploma from a high school in an Anglophone country
  • Correct grammar and spelling on application
  • Kind, caring and friendly : a people-person!
Classroom Audience
Early Childhood
Housing
Apartment
Weekly Classroom Hours
10
Age Min.
20

Pricing

Salary / Benefits
- A salary for all days worked : 1170 Euros / month .
- Shared dorm-style housing with other counselors, bedding included.
- Meals included.
- Free laundry services are available at least once a week.
- No fees associated with the obtainment of your temporary work permit (North Americans).
- Absolutely no application fee to apply to this job.
- All counselors may request a 50€ defrayal of train travel to their village.
- Accident insurance while working for work-related injuries.
- We have multiple camps running simultaneously across France. Nacel pays for any work-related transportation costs if the counselor changes camps.

Working at American Village Camps is a good first ESL job.
It gives you experience
- Implementing lesson plans (2 hrs of ESL class, daily)
- Using ESL games
- Working with beginners
- Practicing TPR
- Perfecting your communication skills
- Meeting other ESL teachers
- Getting international work experience
All the while having fun with games and activities in English.

For more seasoned ESL teachers, it is a good fit if you are ready to get out of the classroom and onto the playing field! This is a language camp counselor job, there are no ESL office hours, if the kids have questions, they will ask you while playing with you in activities!
Starting Price
$0 USD
Price Details
There are no costs to apply to this job.
Hired counselors must pay their own transportation to and from France.

Salary information:
- The position is paid €1170 per month.
- Travel reimbursement up to €50.
What's Included
Accommodation Meals Transportation Wifi
What's Included (Extra)

We have multiple camps running simultaneously across France. Nacel pays for any work-related transportation costs if the counselor changes camps. All counselors may request a 50€ defrayal of train travel to camp.

What's Not Included
Activities Airfare Domestic Airfare Airport Transfers SIM cards Visa
What's Not Included (Extra)

There are no fees associated with the obtainment of your temporary work permit. All counselors must be able to enter Schengen Zone as a tourist (for example: US or Canadians are allowed this with a valid passport.)

Your personal tourism activities are not paid for by the employer.

Oct 06, 2020
May 09, 2020

About Program

Work in France this fall! We are currently hiring for positions at our overnight camps!

- Housing and food provided
- Lead fun recreational activities in English (sports, field games, arts and crafts, etc)
- Ensure the safety and well-being of the campers under your care
- Teach up to 2 hours of English classes, daily. Working at American Village Camps is a good first ESL job, it is a childcare position that also gives you experience - putting into place the techniques you learned in CELTA, TEFL or TESL training.

The full job description is available on our recruitment website.

*COVID applicant location requirement*:

Due to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on worldwide travel, we are hiring candidates in France. Candidates applying outside of France, must supply additional information. Read more on our website.

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Earn money in France without speaking the language.
  • Make fun memories with international counselors.
  • Have a positive influence on the life of a child.
  • Gain teaching and lesson planning experience
  • Join a team that promotes positivity and creativity!

Related Programs

Program Reviews

9.33 Rating
based on 3 reviews
  • 9-10 rating 100%
  • 7-8 rating 0%
  • 5-6 rating 0%
  • 3-4 rating 0%
  • 1-2 rating 0%
  • Benefits 8.3
  • Support 8.3
  • Fun 10
  • Facilities 8
  • Safety 9
Showing 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Default avatar
Holly
9/10
Yes, I recommend this program

Perfect Summer Job!

Great to work on a multicultural team, learn more about ESL, and have diverse experiences. Since AmVil the games, lesson ideas, dances, etc have been so useful in childcare and teaching experiences I've had since then! Overall, really loved my AmVil experience and glad it was exactly two months (I think beyond that I would have been exhausted). It was also a great was as an American to spend a longer time in France while making some money and gaining work experience! Plus most of the kids are a delight and I'll forever remember some of the kids I met through AmVil.

Long work days and hard to try not to speak any French to kids (if you already happen to know French). They will try you and see if you crack! Many camps are further from town which means usually on the weekends leaving camp. There's often a lot going on and kids to entertain which often is so fun! Yet it's shadow side is if something needs to be addressed to the team may take a few hours till the next team meeting and there can also be improv (which scared me a lil at first but then I began to enjoy it).

11 people found this review helpful.
lake
Joanne
9/10
Yes, I recommend this program

The American Village Experience

I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated Queen Mary University with a first class degree in English Language and Linguistics. I figured completing a TEFL course wouldn't hurt - and then I had to decide how I would utilise such a qualification. American Village were actually the first company I applied to. And I am so glad I did. I've met people I cherish fondly still, and experienced things I never believed possible.

Surmising my entire experience at camp is difficult. It's a true rollercoaster of emotions, there's moments filled with uncontrollable laughter, and there's times where you just want to break down and cry because it's suddenly got too much.

But it's okay, because you're surrounded by your other counselors, and they truly make the experience worth it.

Camp life is difficult, and the days are long. You won't be finished until gone 10pm most days. You also won't get a lot of free time. Or alone time. So, if you're someone who cherishes their privacy and requires solitude, I'd suggest American Village isn't for you.

My advice to anyone considering the program would be to stock up your knowledge of cheers and dances. Bring a towel. And if you really want to get fancy, bring your own blu-tack (it will inevitably run out).

If I had to choose one memory to encompass my experience, it would probably involve the many times I've dressed up as a goblin to scare children into cleaning their rooms.

And that's pretty tame, in all honesty.

If you're an enthusiastic, creative, fun-loving person, I'd say give it a go.

Camp life is far from perfect, but it's my kind of perfect.

10 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ethan
10/10
Yes, I recommend this program

AmVil makes you realize who you are

I signed up for American Village the final week of my undergrad. I just wanted a reason to go back to France and didn't care how I did it. Up to the moment I arrived on site, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but oh boy, it changed my life. Before campers arrive, you set up your site and get to know and work with counselors from all around the world. The bonds you form as a team in these few days create an unforgettable experience, not only for yourselves, but for the campers as well. During the session, you have counselors teaching English in the morning, activities (in English) in the afternoon and a big activity in the evening. At all points in the day, counselors are able to be who they are, and many, myself included, are able to dress in fun costumes to make learning and living in English fun for the campers.

I did this camp for 4 years in a row. I started as a counselor, having never been to a camp myself, and worked my way up to Head Language Counselor, Office Intern and even Site Director. I feel I was truly able to realize my personal potential through American Village. As a part of the AmVil team, I learned how I cope with cohabitation on little sleep, how to work as a team, as both a teammate and leader and how to turn a simple piece of cardboard into a couture outfit that is only needed for a 5-second skit. As an Intern/ Site Director, I learned how to communicate during recruitment, site set up and with the central office, in my case in English AND French.

I have met so many amazing people from around the world, many who I still talk to today and meet up with as often as possible. However, the impact we have on young campers gives an indescribable sense of pride, especially when you have them several years in a row. To see young people grow from year to year and become more confident in their own skills is powerful enough, but to realize the impact you are having on a young person's life as they are learning a language and about a culture that they may not be fully familiar with is incredible.

In conclusion, do it for the fun, do if for the campers, and most of all, do it for yourself. You will never forget the thrill of your first Congress and the tears that come while waving and chasing the bus of departing campers, whose lives will never be the same after just a few days at AmVil.

What would you improve about this program?
When I first started at AmVil, some of the sites were less desirable than others and there was a lot more preparation for counselors. However, when I went back last year, there was an incredible amount of materials available to counselors, so that we could focus more on creating an experience for the campers and not the pre-planning.
11 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers