Newly Qualified ESL Teacher Needing Advice!

[sophiemclark]

I'm a newly qualified female ESL teacher (CELTA), thinking about doing some private tuition in the London area but no idea where to start! Do I advertise Online? The paper? Is it safe to offer tuition at clients' homes? How much should I charge? etc. Any help would be much appreciated. I need a gentle push to make the leap to do what I really want to do... TEACH! Thanks!

[esltutor]

Hi Sophie,

I'm a private ESL tutor in California. I've been teaching privately for a little over two years. I couple of months ago, I started a blog about teaching students privately (as well as grammar tips, etc.). My blog is at Teaching ESL to Adults (this is a different site than the one listed under my name below). I have some info there on advertising for new students (I use craigslist.org), some info on where to meet students (I meet my students in a coffee shop, and I highly recommend that you do not go to people's homes--with certain exceptions). I can't suggest how much you should charge in London, but checking other listings under "Lessons" in craigslist will tell you what the going rate is.

I keep two to three different ads running on craigslist at all times (as students come and go). The students I've gotten from these ads has allowed me to earn a modest living at tutoring. I highly recommend that when you write the ad, you think about the problems your student is having and how you can meet those needs. Most people list ads telling all about themselves and don't tell how they can help the student. I first address their potential problems, then how I can solve them, then I write a little about my qualifications.

Good luck!
Debra
Teaching ESL to Adults

[MarkHarrison]

Originally Posted by sophiemclark

I'm a newly qualified female ESL teacher (CELTA), thinking about doing some private tuition in the London area but no idea where to start! Do I advertise Online? The paper? Is it safe to offer tuition at clients' homes? How much should I charge? etc. Any help would be much appreciated. I need a gentle push to make the leap to do what I really want to do... TEACH! Thanks!

Sophie,

As Debra has said, Craigslist is worthwhile (though it's not as predominant here as it is in the States.)

For London-specifics, gumtree . com is a good UK equivalent. Personally, I'd advertise on both! (If I type in the full address without the dots, the forum software seems to give the full advertising title of the home page, not actually the URI.)

Language tuition in London seems to be about £8-10 / hour. There are rates of up to £15 / hour for private tuition advertised, but these tend to be the "Oxford graduate teaches XXX for A-level" type thing.

Regards,

Mark