About the assistantship
An British Council Assistantship is a great way to improve a foreign language, gain intercultural competencies and add an international dimension to your Essex degree.
Duration: whole academic year.
Location: variety of locations around the world.
Departure date: usually in September or October.
Deadline: Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year are now open and close on Wednesday 01 February 2023. You will still need to apply for your time abroad via Essex Abroad.
Eligibility: There have been changes to the eligibility for the programme. You can find the most recent information about the programme on the British Council webpages.
The role
- Support the teaching of English in a classroom setting (this can be a school or a university)
- Plan activities to facilitate and encourage English learning
- Educate locals on British culture
With a range of destinations to choose from, this is a wonderful opportunity to gain a professional experience, transferable interpersonal and organisation skills, cultural awareness and exposure to working abroad. This could be a more financially accessible option as during this program Language Assistants may have the opportunity to earn a salary.
If you're placed in a European country, you may also be eligible for an Erasmus+ grant in addition to any remuneration provided by the host institution. Please note that Erasmus funding (or any Essex Abroad funding) is an additional support to your time abroad and is never guaranteed. You should therefore budget to cover your living costs and time abroad outside of any funding. The current Erasmus grant rates range from €470-520 per month depending on the country. Find out more about funding opportunities from Essex Abroad.
Essex Abroad is proud to support this program and has successfully sent many students overseas to be British Council Language Assistants in recent years.
Eligibility
As long as you're enrolled onto the degree variant '(Including Year Abroad)' you're eligible for this program, regardless of your discipline. To join this program, you'll need to have an average first year mark of 50% or above and pass all second year modules on first attempt. Further details and how to apply can be found on the British Council website.
Get in touch
If you're interested in this program or have any questions about the British Council Teaching Assistantship, please feel free to email:
- Teresa Torres, British Council Language Assistantship co-ordinator
You can also find out more about what it is like to work abroad as a Language Assistant in this blog (written by a third party), by reading a article written by a previous Essex student on their application tips (written in Spanish), or by reading this blog from Jacob, who taught in Spain.