Teaching at a community college? French

[okloverboy]

I'm interested in teaching introductory French courses part-time at a community college or university. I would love to teach language courses - I'm not so interested in literature or conducting literary research.  I have a MA in French as well as a Juris Doctor, and I have studied abroad in Switzerland and interned for the UN. However, I do not have any teaching experience. How do I get my start?

Edited June 1, 2013 by okloverboy

[Zeugma]

Hi there,

Because you have a MA in French, you could theoretically instruct French language courses at a community college. However, MA candidates usually get second pick to individuals holding a PhD (who would already have at least 3-4 years of collegiate language teaching under their belt as part of their doctoral training). As you may know, it is extraordinarily difficult to teach French language classes as a "Lecturer" at a four-year university with just a MA and no teaching experience. Having a Juris Doctor and abroad time spent in a Francophone country, although very wonderful in themselves, would not help your chances if you do not have a robust teaching portfolio. What I would suggest (and I have a colleague who was in a very similar boat!) is to pursue a MA in Education, while teaching at the high-school level. Most private high-schools would not require you to have a language teaching certificate. Besides, starting at the high-school level is a great way to get your feet wet as you embark on a teaching career. As you pursue your MA in Education, you would have ample time to build a collegiate teaching/pedagogical portfolio, which is what hiring committees carefully consider. Though I might add, landing a job as a French Lecturer is difficult these days given the large amounts of PhD Candidates in French focusing on Second Language Acquisition. Seemingly, that would be your primary competition for those coveted spots (even at the community college level). 

Best of luck!  

All best,
Z