Job Discussion Forums

[Cynthia Tax]

Does your employer have any say in whether you teach private lessons?

If not, are employers generally agreeable or do they try to interfere in your private teaching?

Can you advertise for private students?

What is the going rate?

How many of you do it?

[Mark Loyd]

Employers forbid it as does the law but employers have to turn a blind eye since particularly at secondary schools and unis most teachers are doing them. State school teachers have to do them to survive.

Never tell your employer that you are doing them. If you are working at a language school it is quite dificult to fit in privates as you are working evenings and weekends and your timetable is not fixed.

Advertising is probably not necessary as I have always found that I have had to turn down students because of time etc.

The going rate is going to start a huge debate now as you will get a range of replies from the realists to the complete fantasists. I think about 10 pounds an hour is about right. Cue the fantasists who tell you that they charge 100 dollars an hour.

I would say that most TEFLers who have been here a while do them and that almost all married TEFLers do them. Newbies are probably less likely to do them as they tend to be younger, have no kids, work in language schools and have fewer contacts.

[Cynthia Tax]

Thanks for the straight dope, Mark. I was hoping against hope that privates would pay more and be out in the open for a change.

Is it the same as the Taiwan situation, where the employer who applies for your work visa owns you?

[justme]

Hee hee... Work visa.....

But you seem to think you're getting one. I don't think they own you, but as far as I know, the visa is issued to work the contract of the place that got it for you, and I expect it could be somewhat of a paperwork nightmare to change it to another place with a different contract...

But I've never done it. Changed jobs with a work visa, I mean. I like to stick with the places that got me one because they're so few and far between...

[Mark Loyd]

At a certain chain of schools that DO NOT provide work permits and have their victims do visa runs they FORBID their victims from eking out their salary with privates.

[dmb]

What you do in YOUR free time is none of your employers business.

[bigbadsuzie]

Don't shout from the rooftops that you are doing them ,that way noone gets any grief . Putting an ad in a local shop window with a mobile number usually does it for me and get into the routine of making them pay a week or two up front ,that way if they don't show they lose their cash .
Don't make the mistake of overcharging 50 is enough less than that and they think you are not a professional,20 for example is a joke charge dollars or euros if you like they will find it if they want you . Ideally get them to travel to you not the other way round ,if that happens charge a bit more .

[NMB]

Because Istanbul is so enormous geographically, you'll definitely have to set limits as to where you're willing to hold your sessions. As far as your employer being agreeable...they won't be, but it doesn't matter -- Never, ever tell them. They'll be none the wiser, as there's no paper trail.

[calsimsek]

Dmb on Mark

[Mark Loyd]

[dmb]

I don't, the owner of the company does. Plus, taxis are paid and the techers get paid if the lesson is cancelled less than 24 hours before the lesson.

[Mark Loyd]