Job Discussion Forums

[ramble_on]

Hello everyone!

I will use this opportunity to thank Dave for allowing me to become a part of this forum and also to introduce myself. I am a young girl from the United States and have been traveling and working in Italy for about a year. I have never studied Italian but by now I manage to speak and understand it pretty fluently (even a few of the dialects)! Until recently I have always done seasonal work in bars and restaurants but recently I decided to try something new and teach english. I was hired as an english teacher at a small, private school in the south of Italy. Unfortunately there are very few people signed up for courses at this school and therefore I am only teaching a few hours a week (and of course this fact was never communicated to me beforehand). The pay is not substantial so I am in a little bit of trouble financially. I am thinking about trying to teach private lessons (there are many university students who would probably be interested) but since I only have 1 week experience as an english teacher (and a lack of TEFL training) I really don't know how to go about it and am looking for some tips from someone about conducting conversational lessons. I'm sorry if this question has already been asked many times but I couldn't find any threads about it or a FAQ. The school where I am teaching will not give me a personal set of the Pearson books that they use so I am kind of on my own. If someone could please tell me something about how to go about this I would really appreciate it...

How can I advertise? How much should I charge? Should I offer a reduced price to students if they come in pairs ? Where should I conduct the lessons? (I rent a room in an apartment with 2 students but the kitchen and living room are pretty small). Without books to use with the students will I spend so much time on the internet looking for material for lesson planning, and then photocopying or printing worksheets, that its not worth it (I don't have a computer, I go to the public library or an internet caffe). I am feeling a little discouraged.....I would like to do this but maybe its more worthwhile to look for a second job at a restaurant or bar again

Thanks in advance!

[Jetgirly]

Ask yourself this- would you PAY for lessons from someone with no teaching experience, no teaching qualifications, no location in which to teach and no teaching resources? I sure wouldn't, and I don't imagine the average Italian consumer would be particularly impressed with your qualifications (especially if you don't also have a degree).

Also, it would be REALLY unethical to use the resources from your school job to teach private students. The fact that you even considered doing it makes me think it was a good idea for the school not to give you a personal set.

My advice is to stick to service jobs. And work legally.

[Kootvela]

Experience comes with practice, so don't be harsh with the newbie. Surely, the situation is not in ramble_on favour but it's a start anyway.

Finding private students will depend on how long you are planning to stay. If it is a long-time project, I suggest renting a small place for teaching purposes because working at home (your or student's) does not create academic atmosphere and many are too relaxed by this fact (as my students keep telling me, thus I'm renting a place). You can try finding students who can have lessons in their work premisses, usually in-company clents, that would involve travelling but the pay would be better. It is advisable to work legally so that you can invoice them.

Advertisement online is the cheapest. Try placing your advertisements on internet advertisement websites. You can also set up a website or a blog and advertise there (I have a website). Rates should depend on: how many people, who's travelling and how far, type of lessons (conversation, general or business English). Group rates are always lower than individual rates. You will get materials when you decide about the type and lenght of the course. Start now because summer is coming, always a bad season for teachers!

A word of warning: since you have no training and experience, I suggest you first work for a term with your present company and see how it goes. You may not like it or find too challenging.

[Betti]

Teaching private students is not as easy at it may first appear - especially with a lack of experience. In theory, conversation lessons sound simple, but they depend so much on your students' abilities, willingness to talk, the ability to sustain a discourse for an hour. Some students are monosyllabic, others can talk for Italy and maintaining a conversation with the former is exhausting. Also, you need to plan the lesson theme, grammar involved etc - otherwise (for lower levels) mere conversation probably isn't all that helpful.

However, the practicalities. I agree with the last reply - you should probably get a little more experience at your current school. Maybe you could try and initiate new publicity for the school - thus increasing the possibility of more teaching time.

I have been teaching privately for nearly a year and it has taken me quite a while to get established. I designed some posters and put them in various bars, shops etc. I had a small core of students from when I taught part- time. Nearly every student has brought me someone else. I visited local schools and handed out heaps of business cards. Gradually the clients started calling and now I average between 5 and 6 lessons a day and run some outside courses as well.

I teach at home - but my 'classroom' is kept as such - nothing personal, students stay only in this room, I offer water but no other drinks and I keep strictly to the time schedule (normally one hour). All initial meetings take place in a bar, NOT at home. If you are unsure about a student - don't accept them. I also try not to reveal too much personal information. Obviously, after a time, you can build up quite strong bonds with students but I feel it is important to keep a little professional distance.

Experience is obviously preferable - many students also want to study for exams, so don't accept them if you have no experience in this arena - it is not fair on the student. However, an engaging personality will take you a long way and Italians are great at passing your name and number on if they like you.

I'm not sure if any of this is helpful, but I wish you luck!

[SueH]

[Cristallina_xx]

I've been teaching privately and for a school for about a year and just wanted to add a bit to this discussion.

I try to encourage my private students to pay in advance so that I don't need to worry about collecting payments. I charge 20 euro an hour as a casual rate, or 150 euro for 10 one hour lessons if they pay in advance. This also allows me to plan a programme for my students as I know I have them for 10 hours. My students appreciate the discounted rate and are often happy to pass on my contact details to their friends. Further discounts can be offered for 2 or more students in the one lesson.

I use my own home for some lessons, go to my students' homes for others, and also have access to space in a small hotel which I can use whenever I like. In exchange for this I offer 'free' lessons to the staff of the hotel. There is no way I could afford to rent teaching space!!!

My advice to ramble_on would be to buy some grammar books which show rules and provide exercises that you could use with older or more advanced students. A good one is English Grammar Practice for Italian Students, by Michael Vince and Lelio Pallini. This book is in Italian, but you said that your Italian was pretty fluent anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to understand. However, for children, you will need to be a little more creative. Good luck!!

[spiral78]

The original post is over a year old...she's sunk or swum by now

[Cristallina_xx]

Oops... I only read the day and month... it's taking longer than I thought to get used to 2009! Thanks for the advice/