Korean Job Discussion Forums

[javis]

I am not an ESL teacher, so forgive me if this seems like a stupid question. I wanted to ask on this board if a particular service is usually available. I know someone who wants to improve their basic english skills, but wants to do it at home due to having to take care of a small child. She's tried internet tutoring, but wasn't too successful due to having no face to face reinforcement. Anyway, is home tutoring for adults typically available? Is it expensive (the location is a smaller city in Gyeonggi-do)?

Thanks in advance.

[Lucas]

[javis]

[Okie from Muskogee]

[javis]

[SeoulNate]

At home is usually something that can be done, usually with an introduction from a friend or something.

Will probably cost more as it will have to include travel time for the teacher.

As for the rate, you get what you pay for.

Can you find someone to teach for 20k an hour? Sure. Will they be any good? Probably not.

In home tutoring w/ a native teacher that knows how to conduct a 1 on 1 lesson, I would expect to pay around 60k+ an hour.

[Speck7]

[thegadfly]

While I am not suggesting or advocating that anyone teach illegal private lessons, it is not uncommon to hear of folks teaching lessons in a student's home, and while Speck7 may think it is pretty funny, rates of 40k-90k an hour are not uncommon. In Pohang, the "going rate" is 40k an hour or so, and when I was in Seoul, I know of at least one person that didn't teach a private lesson unless it was 75k an hour or higher...and he had all the hours he could handle at that rate.

A serious teacher that is actually going to prepare a lesson and create a study plan is going to charge around 50k or more an hour. A "free-talking" chuckle-head who might follow the pages of a book and is little better than a parrot or tape recorder is going to be willing to do it for a lot less.

You get what you pay for...and some folks ARE that special, Speck7.

[Troglodyte]

It's not uncommon to tutor people at home. It's much more common for children but it could be adults as well. Most teachers wouldn't care about the age.

The going rate in a medium to large city starts at 50k per hour. If there is a block of 3 or more consecutive classes then you might lower that to 40k. If you'll be repeating the same lesson for more than one group, all of which are at the same level, then you might go as low as 35k but that would more likely be for a block of 5 classes (with a possible hour break somewhere in the middle). I think that in smaller cities then going rate starts at around 40k but it probably varies a lot. Those are the base rates though. They go up based on a bunch of factors. If you have to travel to get there, you increase the rates based on travel costs and lost time. If you aren't using a textbook but the student wants a customized course - the rates go up. If they want a special purpose course - the rates go up.

As far as supply, there are a lot of teachers who are willing to teach at people's homes. Usually these type classes are informally set up through acquaintances (friends of students or neighbors or such). A lot of them aren't good at it so they don't always last long. For conversation practice, that's another thing. Those are fairly easy, but if you're doing it for a living, then you can't really lower your rates too much.

[emetib]

If she can't find a good in-house tutor would she be interested in this?

http://www.englishview.kr

It is real-time 1-to-1 teaching with a native speaker using a videophone. She would get a level test, constant feedback, and monthly reports. She would also have constant interaction with the main office. The fee isn't bad.

As for private tutoring costs, I'll have to echo what the others are saying. 50,000 won is the base fee I was familiar with in Seoul and Ilsan. My friend was easily teaching students at 100,000won an hour. Most connections are found via word-of-mouth, especially in finding a "good quality" teacher. She could advertise for a teacher on the internet (e.g. Craigslist), but the quality of course is a crap-shoot.