European Foreign Language Assistant (EFLA) - Chinese Language Assistant (CLA)

European Foreign Language Assistant (EFLA) - Chinese Language Assistant (CLA)

European Foreign Language Assistant (EFLA) - Chinese Language Assistant (CLA)

Letter and Application Form

We would like to invite you to apply for one or more European Foreign Language Assistants (EFLAs) and/or Chinese Language Assistants (CLAs) for the academic year 2014-2015.

European Foreign Language Assistants (EFLA): The EFLA programme, which you are encouraged to consider as part of your programme for teaching Modern Foreign Languages, is organised through the British Council on an annual basis. Language Assistants bring language and culture alive for pupils and students, igniting their interest in the subject and raising standards across the school. Their presence in the classroom encourages pupils to communicate confidently in another language, a skill that is essential for young people in today's global economy. ·

Hosting a Language Assistant has a significant impact on the entire school community, as well as on language lessons specifically. They can improve standards (as recognised by Ofsted) and enrich the whole curriculum.

We host over 60 EFLAs in Essex every year and the annual feedback that we receive from schools is excellent. Please see below for some feedback from participating schools.

“They are essential, an absolute necessity”

“Our assistants this year have been very professional, hardworking, taking initiative and team members. We invest a lot of time in their training and well-being to maximise their teaching with the students in groups and in class or one to one. We will definitely be part of the programme next year.”

“Our FLAs have been a great asset this year, both the French and the Spanish are working at a very high level, we are deploying them effectively to meet our curriculum needs. We will definitely be part of the programme next year.”

Many schools in Essex have participated in the programme for many years and have made very good use of their Assistant's expertise.

Most EFLAs are in higher education in their home country and are seeking an eight-month placement abroad to perfect their English, in many cases also looking to gain pre-teaching experience, and to support foreign language learning in our schools. Although they are not qualified teachers and have limited previous teaching experience, it is intended that they supplement language-learning by working alongside the class teacher.

As a guide, the 2013/4 cost of an EFLA for a core 8-month period of October to May was £7,032, excluding the employer's National Insurance contribution and any London weighting.

If your school cannot afford to employ a 'whole' Assistant for the year (12 hours a week), you may wish to identify a maximum of two other local schools to share the timetable and cost with you. These could be nearby schools in an education cluster. (If you share an assistant equally with two other local schools, four hours each, the cost per school is currently £2344). One school acts as the host school, and is responsible for administration and pastoral arrangements for the Assistant, arranging accommodation and assisting with travel.

Ifyouwouldlike anAssistantbutdonothaveaschoolyouareabletopartnerwith,pleasestill apply andwe willdoour besttofindapartnerlocally.

Chinese Language Assistants (CLA): For the academic year 2014/15 the costs for employing a Chinese Language Assistant (CLA) have been reduced due to CLAs subsidised by Hanban(

  • CLAs receive an allowance from Hanban
  • Schools pay equivalent of National minimum wage (currently £6.31 per hour plus London weighting if applicable) and National Insurance contributions for 12 contact hours per week for the contract length of 9.5 months (mid-September 2014 to 26 June 2015). Please note that CLAs can do 12 contact hours a week (excluding preparation time), which can be extended to a maximum of 20 with prior agreement from the British Council (due to immigration regulations).
  • Costs can be further reduced by sharing the CLA between up to three primary and/or secondary schools (e.g. 4 hours in each school)
  • The CLAs are different from the EFLAs as they are all experienced and qualified teachers in China, and can be from your Chinese partner schools/regions if possible. They are native-level speakers of Mandarin with an excellent command of English. They will bring Chinese language and culture alive in the classroom and through extra-curricular activities. Hosting a Chinese Language Assistant offers the entire school community an opportunity to learn about one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, while gaining language skills and an international perspective. When CLAs are from your link schools, they will also help develop the existing school partnerships and facilitate communication.

Please note that if you would like a CLA from your partner school in China, we can contact your Chinese partner school and their local authority on your behalf to see if they are able to send a teacher. We will then advise your partner school to recommend suitable candidates according to 1:3 ratio and submit the candidate application forms to the British Council China by 11 April 2014. The proposed teachers must first pass the British Council and Hanban selection process (application and interview) in order to be hosted by your school.

CLAs can work in schools to support an existing Mandarin provision or introduce the language and culture to pupils for the first time. Their role can be tailored depending on the requirements of the school to include:

  • teaching small groups (up to half the class) on their own or the whole class in the presence of a teacher
  • cross-curricular teaching, in subjects such as art, geography and history, to introduce or broaden understanding of China and Chinese culture
  • creation of lesson plans and teaching materials (e.g. worksheets and recordings for listening practice) based on China and contemporary Chinese culture
  • support to prepare pupils for examinations (e.g. one-to-one speaking practice)
  • delivery of interactive classroom activities on topics such as current affairs, education, sport, fashion, films, TV, lifestyles and celebrations relevant to China (and curriculum requirements if relevant)
  • development of teachers’ linguistic and cultural knowledge
  • support to set up an international partnership with a school in China and/or the running of joint-curriculum activities
  • organisation and running of extra-curricular or cross-curricular activities, including lunchtime and after-school clubs, bringing the language and culture alive across the school community

ThisyearEssex Education Services ProfessionalDevelopmentTeamwillbeadministering and managingtheprogramme.Joanne Daynes and Dawn Clementswillbeoverseeingallarrangementsandapplications fortheacademicyear 2014/15inliaisonwith theBritishCouncilinLondon.

The package of support services provided by Professional Development is: LiaisonwiththeBritishCounciltoagreetheplacementoftheEFLAand/orCLAwithyour school

  • MatchingofEFLA(s)andCLA(s)toyourschoolandprovisionof officialdocumentation
  • Adviceandguidancetoyourschoolrelatingtotheplacementincludingre-placementofEFLA(s)andCLA(s),whererequired
  • Threehalf-daysofinductionandinformationfortheAssistantson:

Fri 10October2014,

Fri 24 October 2014

Fri 14November2014,

from9.30 – 12.30atthe Essex Cricket Club in Chelmsford.Thesesessionsincludeinputonbehaviourmanagement,curriculumcontentandteachingandlearningstrategiesandactivities.ForCLAs,wewillalsoinclude trainingsessionsspeciallyforteachingMandarinandChineseculture.

  • Ahalf-daysessionforschools(1teacherperschool) onFri19 Sept2014 from1.00pm- 4.00pm atEssex Cricket Clubin Chelmsford, focusingon"EffectiveUseofYourForeign LanguageAssistant".
  • AccessfortheAssistanttoanonlinesharedforumoflearningandteachingresources andsupport

Thefeeforthisserviceisdeterminedagainstactualcostseachyearandthisyearwillbe £335perAssistant andwillbecharged to the schoolattheendofOctober2014.

Ifyouwouldliketoparticipateinthe2014/15 EFLA programme,pleaseemail

Please return your expression of interest form (please fill in both pages) by noon on the 17 March 2014, you will need to confirm this by 28th March 2014.

WewouldexpecttoreceivetheallocationofEFLAsandCLAsfromtheBritishCouncilbefore theendofMayandindividualdossiersshouldreachschoolsintheweekfollowingthehalf­ term. Ifyourequireanyfurtherclarificationoradvice,pleasecontact Jo or Dawn on 0333 0139834.If your enquiry is about CLAs, please contact Zhong Wang or Athena Page at the China Educational Links Team on 03330130775 or .

Yours sincerely

Keren Prior

Head of Professional Development

Essex Education Services