Job Discussion Forums

[santi84]

For those of you who have taught children (K-6), do you have any advice, tips, resources, books, etc.? My degree (TESL-related) was for adult education and only a few courses for children, but I would like to teach private lessons to children instead. My target audience is francophone who start 1-3x a week lessons in kindergarten. Going back to university is not an option at this time (I have my own kid with baby on the way).

Are there any books that specifically address private lesson for K-6 (or K-7) ? I have a good one from a university class (Vale, if I remember) but would like more resources.

[LongShiKong]

With just under 2000 posts, the Elementary Education Forum is one of the more active Teachers' Forums. Also check out the Activities & Games forum.

You reminded me of my intention to run a poll to test Spiral78s assertion that the vast majority of TEFLers teach adults.

[spiral78]

I didn't say that the 'vast majority' of TEFLers everywhere teach adults.

However, I will dispute the notion that the 'vast majority' of TEFLers in North America and Europe teach children.

I would agree that more TEFL training programmes should be available that focus on children, but I still think that the adult-student focused training is the standard for good reason; in many parts of the world, adults are the majority.

[Sashadroogie]

I'll second that. Try to stay away from the little people as much as possible - little brats keep hiding my bottles!

[santi84]

Thanks for the link, I will be browsing it today.

In my degree, we focused on grammar, educational theory, and didn't have any exposure to teaching children until the 4th year (which was basically too late). Here in Canada, TESL certification requires all your hours and observed teaching to be for over 18 only (a month full-time teaching for my particular program). So, even if you want to teach children, you need to teach adults to be TESL Canada certified. If you want to teach children, you are supposed to have done a BEd in TESL in the first place (which I didn't realize until my 4th year, DOH!)

[Expat101]

Teaching children privately and teaching adults in a classroom setting are completely different animals. A CELTA course focusing on adults can in no way prepare you for teaching English privately to children!

The most important factor involved in tutoring children are the parents. That's right, the parents. It's extremely important to establish tight bonds with them as it is a three-way partnership. While I have had excellent relationships with most of the parents, I have recently had a new 'difficult parent.' These kinds of parents are time consuming and cause many teachers to quit teaching altogether (after they have desperately gone out of their way to please them). Do a Google search about it! There is no teacher training class in the world that can prepare you well enough for dealing these nightmares!

As for the mechanics of teaching the children privately, you have to look at yourself as a unique mini-school where you must buy appropriate materials and make copies yourself. Don't expect the students or parents to provide them! Go to bookstores, stationary shops, youtube and the internet.

Expect cancellations.........................at the very last minute!

Tutoring children privately can be the most rewarding experience there is in TESOL. Beware though, it can also be the most frustrating.

[littlelauren86]

[LongShiKong]

[Expat101]

Most of my private students are expats from Korea who come from very wealthy backgrounds. I don't know why it is, but wherever I seem to go in this big world, Koreans tend to follow and find me. I'm not complaining. Maybe I'm a magnet!

I would caution against accepting privates from parents who say they just want you to talk to their children. They will soon be bored of this and complain about all sorts of things. These are the kinds of parents who tend to be 'difficult' because they don't have a clear idea as to what they expect from a private tutor.

The kind of students you want are the ones whose parents are determined to see their children do very well and they are not hurting for money. When they see their children do well with you, they will refer you to others. You never know what to expect. For example, this morning I got a call at about 8am from a very busy father who wanted to know if I could go to his daughter's international school to meet with her homeroom teacher and curriculum coordinator to go over her reading comprehension issues and go through a tutorial myself along with other private tutors who will also be attending. This is professional development! I consider it a opportunity to better myself as a tutor and hopefully get referred to when other students at this school are in need of private tutors.

This is a whole different kind of game than working for an employer. You really have to be an entrepreneur in your heart of hearts with a serious passion for teaching to make this work. Avoid 'difficult' parents if you care about your sanity. Just don't deal with them - it's not worth it. There's a world of other great parents out there who will be supportive and appreciate your hard work.

[LongShiKong]

[santi84]

Thanks everyone for the tips, links, and titles. I will respond tomorrow to each of you in detail (trying to make dinner, entertain a 2 year old, and sneak in a little post here!!!).

My students will be French Canadian children who have a lot more exposure to English than typical ESL students, due to television and being surrounded by English Canada and the US. Most parents are functionally bilingual but there is a huge pressure on these kids to become fully bilingual in order to succeed in university and in business. Few jobs in Montreal will hire uni-lingual francophones. Interestingly enough, the parents themselves aren't so bad in terms of pressure (at least compared to the Asian parents I have dealt with), but I suppose those who are, will be my customers

[LongShiKong]

How much can we attribute these parental issues Expat101 warns about to teachers' lack of familiarity with L1 and C1 (culture1)? I'd never dream of going out on my own without a proficiency in Chinese.

I presume your fluent in French, Santi?

[tttompatz]

Both Oxford University press and Cambridge University press have excellent resource material for teachers.

If you plan to make an occupation out of it (rather than a hobby for a homemaker) then you might want to add a YL cert to your TESL or look into an ECE certificate.

When teaching young ones the keys to remember are: action, activity, sight, sound, color. TPR is your buddy followed by craft based task based learning. Vocalize everything you do (all your actions and actives). Young learners will acquire language differently than older learners who actively "learn" language.

The focus is on comprehensible input and a no-stress learning environment. They will start to talk when they are ready. Do not expect language production the same as you would in an older learner class.

Songs (with actions to match) are a good start with ages 3-7 followed by other activities where they listen and do rather than listen and repeat.

Nothing happens in a rush (6 months is not unusual) but when they start to produce language output they will quickly catch up to their peers with age appropriate language abilities.

.

[LongShiKong]

[santi84]

First, I appreciate all the great responses. Took me a while to get back sorry, yesterday was my 2 year old's birthday. What a zoo.

Anyways...