Job Discussion Forums

[BELS]

I think this is something worth discussing. For those involved or are thinking about being private teachers or freelancers. Teaching One to One or classes. This may include teaching one individual at their office or a group of student at a corporate company. This is something that should be taken seriously , and not for the ones who suddenly decides they are not happy with their current employment. You should have some idea of being self employed, being independent. I think you should also be serious of making a long term life in Russia.

What is accreditation? How does an individual or small school get accreditation?

Is small good? Or is big better?

How does a student decide what is best for them?

All who are interested, negative or positive in the idea of an association are welcome to participate in a discussion, in fact I am very interested in the negatives.

[bobs12]

Ever the negative, me...

I fear that going for accreditation is like sticking your hand in a barrel of bureaucratic snakes.

Doing it alone is like being the only soldier to raise his head out of the trench.

Can't really see any benefits - of the two guys I told you about earlier, the one who didn't go the whole way with opening a school seems to be doing better.

Good question about what accreditation is though; is it actually necessary? Would describing your business as a training consultancy rather than a training provider or school get you round it?

[Volodiya]

Oh, BELS. When are you going to learn that the way to succeed in Russia, as a freelancer, is to attract as little attention as possible- just enough so that the students you need can find you. Attention, and more organization than you need to earn a living, can only cause you problems.

You trying to be famous, or earn a good living and have a good life?

[bobs12]

One more move and I'll makeya famous, punk...

I must say I'd sleep easier at night knowing that there were no eyes on what I was doing, or even better - nothing to focus eyes on. Although that's maybe a result of paranoia induced by Mr King's Dark Tower. Does anyone have the parts that come after Wizard and Glass? I know it might be better to stop there and make up my own ending than to read Steve's two-page conclusion, but it's gonna be pretty annoying either way.

Back to the point. Low profile is definitely the best for an individual- I'm almost certain of that. A low profile and a reasonably watertight cover story, if that would put your mind at rest. Try a university for the cover. Cash only, no bank account, no incorporation. If any clients need reassurance, tell them your business is in the UK.

That wouldn't be lying, I think- back home you only need to say you're running a business for it to be true and more-or-less legal.

An association - well, that was among the ideas that I put into my site at the start, but not to form a legal entity. That would be impossible, and almost suicidal. Like sticking your whole head in the barrel and not just your hand. But at least a loose 'community' might go some way to making our lives more comfortable- sharing knowledge, resources, whatever.

That's kind of what we have here on this forum, in a way, though it's not 'ours'.

Forming a legal body with teachers would be a bit scary. We're all a bit unhinged. God only knows what we're all doing here in End World- probably all searching for our own Dark Towers. The trouble we could get each other into doesn't bear thinking about, and the bureaucracy and bribery necessary to stay out of trouble would just be too much hassle.

Imagine if the Feds or their cronies suddenly deccided they wanted to visit every registered member of the Association and make sure they were paying their bri.. er, taxes?

[Volodiya]

Looks like you understood what I was saying, Bobs12.

I love Russia, and I love Russian people. To survive, and do well there, you have to simply be practical, and sensitive to the environment in which you're working- not try to remake it in some image of how you think it ought to be.

BELS just hasn't learned that, yet. I hope he learns it, soon, before his "I can conquer all", attitude meets a rude awakening in Mother Russia.

BELS, no one wishes you anything but success. It's just that your naivete shouts at all who have had some real experience there.

Pay attention. You may yet make a life there. (Ask your girlfriend: even the most innocent Russia girl will know exactly what we're talking about....)

[bobs12]

A little harshly said perhaps, it's not fair to patronise, but yes, like anyone else here I think we (mostly, except some of the DOS's ) only wish each other success and safe passage. Rats, Dark Tower again.

One thing though is that we do need to pull together a little more, it would be nice if we were a little more open, sharing information like wages etc. - before BELS, how many people openly discussed their fees for private students? If we could all agree on a 'minimum' charge, or something like that, we might have a bit more success in areas like that. Or a 'minimum' wage for working with schools in the major cities.

Or maybe we'd just open the doors to Mormons and Backpackers. Ah well, the World Has Moved On...

[BELS]

Good accreditation to me is for individual private teachers having the reputation of keeping their students throughout the course. To have a record of students who have completed the full course of lessons , and achieved what they wanted and paid for. Achievements can be on the grounds of students passing recognised examinations., or perhaps students, their employers, or parents, whichever is relevant completing request forms of satisfaction at the end of their course. Good accreditation is best if it comes from its own customers who will recommend you, and from the local community in general that the private teacher happens to be practising his or her teaching.

Perhaps to many, accreditation means joining some organisation called �The Russian Association of Independent Professional English Native Speaking EFL Teachers� and for a �300 annual fee , they can stick a logo or coat of arms on their letter headings and advertising.

I personally would like to just to teach privately with my partner, and make a good living without fuss. But to avoid the fear of visits from authorities, it must be done properly. We will apply for a school license, and to get this license we must form a Legal entity. One of the requirements of this license is that one of the directors must be suitably qualified in TEFL, and the company must have a registered address. I think it is worth doing, and my partner will be more at ease if she is not worrying about the occasional visits from the authorities to check our papers. And there is another form of accreditation, a teacher who is licensed and checked with by the authorities. We think it�s worthwhile paying say $500 for company registration and about $1000 for a license. Bobs I can now confirm that you cant get round it, the fact that you are TEFL even as an individual is a responsible profession and must be approved by the authorities.

Of course if you are a TEFL backpacker wanting to travel and experience the Russian culture for a year, and just want to do a few one to one lessons on the side, to top up your wages, then keeping a low profile is the best way, but don�t form classes.

In regards to fees charged for one to one I think the going rate in Moscow is $25.00 per academic hour , of course careful consideration and planning should be used for travelling from one student to the other and getting home. There is a good forum on Expat.ru in the lessons section, where teachers are advertising privately free of charge, and where Russian students also advertise seeking teachers. You can get an idea of what a teacher charges on a one to one basis.

As for private teachers of classes, I would also like your contribution also. How much would you charge each student? What would your maximum class size be? Any preference to age groups or category of teaching?

I think wages that schools pay is simply supply and demand, they are business�s. If we look at the archives of this forum you may see what I mean when teachers will say something like � I don�t care about the money, I want to teach in Russia, I love teaching and experiencing the local culture and I want to learn more about the Russian language�. Some of these teachers would teach on a voluntary basis, in fact I believe some do, but they are spoiling it for others who want to settle in Russia and to have a decent standard of living for their wife and family.

I too love Russia, its people and my wife, we got married on December 29th 2004. And we both want to settle and work in Russia. My wife is no innocent girl, She is a well informed muscovite, knows about being in business the Russian way in Moscow , and is a qualified translator and TEFL. She has made many enquiries to the Russian authorities, and is adamant that the only way for us is the legal way. And we have come to the conclusion to do it on our own.

Perhaps those who have had experience in Russia and would like to contribute more in discussion , in how he could help in the success of us na�ve Expats to settle and live in Moscow for the rest of our lives?

In regards to an association , this is an interest from many groups of different forums, the ideas do vary on what kind of association, and what services that potential members would like to have, and not necessarily to be a Legal entity, I only want to contribute in discussion of an association. I have no wish to form an association myself, very soon I will be too busy, but there will be others who will volunteer. There is an interesting site just started , with the idea of bringing Teachers and students together, I was introduced to this on expat.ru

http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/englishcircle

[bobs12]

BELS, I'd get in touch with other teachers who've been here longer and see how they got by. I suspect that you could get round accreditation, and sleep even easier. I understand your worries, but I think all that's been said before still holds.

I recognise the situation, but I think it's not new to most people here, and that most people just keep a low profile and are none the worse off.

I know that feeling all too well - that living like that is unsustainable, and from time to time it gives me the jitters to think that it could all be brought crashing down on me. I think in reality though, the penalty you'd face for getting 'caught in the act' would probably be less of a hassle than making yourself legal.

Certainly, joining some self-proclaimed money-grabbing private association is going to sound like a joke to most of us, if I understood you right in that post.

In any case though, I think we'll all be very interested to see which way you decide to go and to know what you find out along the way.

Personally, I don't give private lessons outside of work as I'm just too squeamish about taking money directly from my fellow working man. My personal opinion is that private tuition (especially for a full course of lessons) is not worth the cost to the student that I would have to take to justify my time.

Groups are another matter, and I'd be happy to charge around $10 per lesson (1.5 hours) per student in a group of four (max. six), but that's just fantasy! In that case, the students are better off going to a school unless there is something that really makes them want to study together in a certain place.

I reckon that there is a lot more to be had from studying in a small group - more questions, more energy, etc. etc.

[BELS]

Thanks Bobs12 for your valued contribution, I would like to hear from others who have some form of interest in teaching privately.

[Volodiya]

Hi, BELS. This is your uncle Volodiya talkin' to ya.... I think you're gonna make it, 'cause you seem determined enough to push things through. Perseverance, that's the ticket.

I'm sure you didn't understand me to suggest that you should work illegally. [Re-read my post about getting a license as a private entrepreneur/teacher. It speaks of having permission to work in Russia, and paying taxes on your income, as I recall.]

What I am suggesting is several concepts to keep in mind, after I'm gone, for long-term success, in Russia.

1) Always ask yourself, what exactly am I trying to achieve?

[For example, do you and your girl want to freelance, or do you want to open a school? The processes to get there, the fees you'll have to pay, the documentation and permissions required, and the tax consequences will be different, for each.]

2) Ask yourself, what is the simplest way I can think of to do that?

Try to learn to think in minimalistic terms, when making your plans. It will serve you well in Russia, and not hinder your work in any important way. [Did you consider rule two when you rented a classroom- an apartment is more comfortable for your students; and, a classroom, in a school, draws unnecessary attention to what you're doing- see rule three, below.]

3) Do everything with as little fanfare and notoriety as necessary to get the job done. [In the future, you may want to refer to rule three when you're posting here.]

To be fabulously successful as a teacher, you need just two things- a mechanism that will give you long-term permission to live and work in Russia (one of these is outlined in my post about getting a license as a teacher) and, you need students. That's it: anything more is just fluff (unless you also wanna be famous- see rule one).
__________________

I'm sure your girl is great, and I'd probably wanna marry her myself, if I was younger; but, I didn't understand this part of your post, much at all- or, possibly, I misunderstood it-