Job Discussion Forums

[Tretyakovskii]

Where I live, English Teachers in English Language Training Centers are paid anywhere from 50 to 120 pesos per contact hour, the smaller sums being at mom and pop operations and the larger at the most popular national/international chains. Most people would not see this as a lot, and would be happy to be making more. Some who post here do make more, and can explain how they do it.

People who've looked into English Teaching abroad have noticed the wide gap between countries with regard to teachers' pay- contrast the middle east, or Korea, with Mexico, for example. They will also have noticed that teachers with credentials, teaching at large international schools, can enjoy a relatively high standard of living, with fine take home pay and a generous package of benefits. But, what I'm going to suggest here is an approach not unique to any one person but applicable to any who are willing to be entrepreneurial, to a degree- in any country, perhaps.
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My first job as a teacher, abroad, was at a university where the pay was relatively low (as it is, in a number of developing countries). It didn't take long to figure out that teaching privately, especially teaching groups privately, would pay more. So, I set about looking for people who would study with me in groups, each making their contribution to an hourly rate that was more than any person studying one to one could be expected to pay. Getting permission to work independently, I began to advertise and ran from 60-80 students studying with me, in groups, for a number of years.

I also experimented with teaching in organizations. This paid reasonably well, at times, but seldom matched what I could average with groups of private students. I also found it less time efficient, with the commuting involved, which reduced the actual hourly return. Working individually, no matter how much energy you have, there will be a limit to how many hours you will want to work, each week: making more, per hour of time you spend at teaching, and limiting the number of uncompensated hours, becomes important.
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Getting started, you should be prepared to do whatever comes along- to get your name in circulation, make the contacts you'll need to build your "practice", and discover the opportunities that may lie beneath the surface. There are a great many qualities and skills needed to be a good English Teacher, but the one thing an English Teacher can't do without is students! Finding them, and keeping them happy is key, if you want to make more from the hours you spend teaching, and you have to start, somewhere.

Many people will be content with their current situations, and thinking about how they might make more will not interest them; but, over time and moving towards teaching groups, privately, rather than through a school, can put you in a wholly different league, income wise, as a teacher of English, abroad.

[Spector]

This goes back the point someone else made on a thread I started, saying that you can go independiente and get your own classes once you know what you are doing. But how would that work in practice? It sounds dumb probably, but where do you host these classes?

[Tretyakovskii]

Not dumb. When you're trying something new, everything's a question mark.

Most of the time I've rented apartments for my classes: two rooms works nicely, you can send part of the group off with a task while you give the others more personalized attention. Furnishings can be simpler, and cheaper than what you'd need if you were using the apt for a home. Picking a location with good links to public transportation is very important, as is a reasonable place to park if your students choose to drive to your classes.

If you live alone, you can consider doing the groups in your home, if it's big enough.

An office is an option if you can get one cheaply enough. Keeping total overhead low is important if you're trying to improve the bottom line. Anytime I contemplated a change, or an increase in overhead, I've asked myself, will this improve the bottom line, or make teaching more enjoyable for me or my students (both worthwhile to consider).
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To avoid confusing those who've read my other posts, I will mention that this is not what I'm now doing, in Mexico, where I'm just getting started teaching, and currently have two positions, both in institutions- one underway, and the other to start later this month, if everyone follows through on what's been promised. However, at some point in the future, this will be an option for me, here, as well, having received permission to work independently in Mexico.

[Samantha]

I believe the majority of us who have had experience with private lessons here in Mexico, find it best to go to the student's home or place of business. Relying on students to come to you is hit and miss...lots of miss.

For a teacher starting out, and on a limited budget, renting a home or apartment here only as a place to teach English is not usually practical. For one thing, Mexican landlords have in their heads that if you are running a business you can afford to pay more rent and up goes the price. For another, it's very difficult to predict your student load from month to month.

[Tretyakovskii]

Samantha, the thing that most teachers seem to fear, when contemplating working exclusively on their own, is their ability to attract and retain students. Many will avoid doing what I've suggested for this very reason. Of course, solving that problem is what will separate those who can make a success of what I'm suggesting from those that cannot.

As to where you conduct your classes, that simply represents decisions you make as you go along. In most cases, rent will represent your biggest single item of overheard, unless you teach out of your home.

People who study languages vary widely in their self-perceived needs: your students will be the ones who self-select for a program such as you're offering. Make your program attractive enough- which is more about the teacher and their skills if they work alone- and the students will come to you. If there were a national peculiarity, and Mexicans would not leave their homes or businesses to study English, there would be no language schools in the country. Individuals who insist on lessons in their homes, and language companies that insist on lessons in their facilities, will not be your clients- except during the transition period to working for yourself, on your own premises.

Over time, even companies and organizations can be won over to the concept of placing their employees in your groups, rather than having their employees taught, on premises. One of my best clients had an average of fifteen to twenty of their employees in my classes for a period of over five years.

[Samantha]

Tretyakovskii wrote:

[Tretyakovskii]