E-book on Starting an ESL Business

Almost on a daily basis, I receive emails from folks asking questions about teaching ESL to adults. Some of the questions are about teaching methods or grammar--most of those questions I answer with links to certain pages on my ESL website.

I also receive many questions about the business part of running an ESL tutoring business. And lots of questions about how to get started. I usually write back to the questioner and sometimes write the answer here in my blog if I have the permission of the asker to publish his or her question.

I've decided to try to put all these questions and answers (and a lot more) in an e-book about how to start an ESL tutoring business.

I'll be referring to all the prior questions I've received, but I'd like this book to be very thorough. Please contact me with any questions you might have about starting and running an ESL tutoring business.

If your question is addressed in my book, you'll get a free copy!

Thank you,
Debra

New ESL Teacher Starting Private Tutoring

Andrea from the U.S. writes:

Hello! I am a college student majoring in TESOL. I'd like to do private tutoring out of my home after I graduate in December. Do you have any good advice for someone who is interested in doing this? I've been doing an internship in a high school and will be going overseas for student teaching in the summer. I've found I am better at one-on-one instruction. Anyway, I'll be visiting this site more often, as it seems very helpful!

Hi Andrea,

I'm not sure if you were looking at ESL Tutor or Teaching ESL to Adults . On the ESL Tutor site, you can look at the list or Article Topics for things like "self-employment" or "meeting locations," etc. Incidentally, I don't recommend teaching out of your home; too many horror stories. Check out the Article Topics list and if you have any specific questions, please feel free to write again.

Good luck,
Debra

Becoming an ESL Teacher

Are you thinking about becoming an ESL tutor or teacher? Do you know where to get started? Are you wondering what your options are? Where to teach? What kind of ESL positions are out there?

Check out the Duties of an ESL Teacher to see if teaching ESL is something you want to pursue.

Teaching ESL to adults has been one of the most rewarding careers I've had. Is it right for you?

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Teaching ESL and Loving It

Sometimes my "job" as an ESL tutor is almost criminal! I get paid to have great conversations with interesting English language learners from all over the world. I get to "travel vicariously."

As a private ESL tutor, the majority of my students are advanced ESL students and mostly want to improve their speaking skills. I'm glad to oblige. I'm also fortunate that I've had a lot of life experiences and different careers throughout my life. I'm fortunate to know at least a little bit of most things. And it's particularly great when I don't know too much about something, because I can then ask my ESL students and they are happy to talk about things they know and teach me new things.

If you're considering a career change, teaching ESL or EFL is definitely a great possibility.

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Woes of an ESL Tutor's Day

Currently, Fridays are my "long days." I teach three ESL students in a row. Each lesson lasts an hour-and-a-half and I see my students back-to-back. I used to take 15-minute breaks between students, but I found that that just made my day too long.

Non-tutors may think that a four-and-a-half-hour work day is pretty easy, and it is, somewhat. However, when you have a "regular" job, especially in an office, you don't always have to concentrate for extended periods of time. You can check your personal email, surf the web, call a friend... And if you are focusing on work, you can move around, change your tasks, etc. Not all jobs require your complete concentration the entire time. Tutoring, and most classroom teaching, requires solid concentration.

The other difficult thing is having to sit for so long. By the end of my work day, my back is usually thrashed. It takes a little while to recover from sitting so long.

OK. That's my list of woes for today. I guess it's not so bad.

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Private ESL Tutoring vs. Classroom Teaching

Both have their pros and cons from the teacher/tutor’s perspective and from the students’ perspective. Speaking as a teacher who has done both, one of the biggest differences I notice is that in a private tutoring situation, the ESL learner has more input into the curriculum.

I always do a free Needs Assessment of each potential student. It’s during this time that I analyze the areas of improvement that I feel would help the student, but I also pay a lot of attention to what the student wants to improve and the reasons he or she wants to improve. I then design a curriculum for the student based on this needs assessment meeting. In a private tutoring situation, I’m free to change the curriculum as needed, so I keep the curriculum pretty loose. We may start out in one direction and I may find after a lesson or two that the student really needs more immediate help in another area.

Another difference between teaching in the classroom and teaching private lessons is that if something comes up in a tutoring session that I haven’t prepared for, that’s OK. I have enough experience that we can deviate from my lesson plan, if needed. (Flexibility is really one of the keys of a successful and happy ESL tutor.) I wrote yesterday about “air quotes.” I had a student a few days ago who wanted to know about these. It wasn’t a part of my lesson plan, but because it was just the two of us (as opposed to a whole classroom of students), we were able to deviate from my planned lesson.

The last difference between private ESL tutoring and classroom teaching, from the perspective of the teacher/tutor, is that the ESL student is, in many ways, “the boss.” After all, he or she is paying good money for the lessons. Of course, the ESL learner is also paying for my expertise in English; and he or she is also paying for my expertise in American culture. (This is one of the reasons many English language learners prefer a “native speaker.”) In an ESL classroom, the curriculum is usually dictated by the school administration and must be strictly adhered to. I appreciate the flexibility I have in being a private ESL tutor.

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How to Start Teaching ESL

Teaching ESL to adults or children is a great profession for a lot of people. For me, it was a career change and a great one. If you’re thinking about teaching ESL, you’ll have to think about where you want to teach, who you want to teach and what setting you would like to teach in.

If you live and teach in an English-speaking country, then you are teaching ESL. If you live and work in a non-English speaking country, then you are teaching EFL. You can teach in many different settings: private language schools, universities, public schools, or a coffee shop (with private students). The setting you decide to teach in will determine what kind of qualifications you need. You may need a Masters’ degree or only a CELTA or TESOL certificate. Sometimes, you may not need any additional training.

If you want to get a feel for teaching ESL before you make any big decisions, you could also become a volunteer tutor.

Go here to learn more about how to start teaching ESL.

Qualities of an ESL Teacher

If you're thinking about becoming an ESL teacher or tutor, you can ask yourself if you have the characteristics of a good teacher.

Here are the top 10 qualities or characteristics I think are essential for an ESL teacher or tutor.

1) Patient

2) Flexible

3) Curious

4) Empathetic

5) Intelligent

6) Cooperative

7) Knowledgeable

8) Enthusiastic

9) Resourceful

10) Genuine

Here’s a more thorough description of an ESL teacher.

Asian Americans Teaching ESL Abroad

I’ve got another Best Answer over on Yahoo! Answers. The question was:

Is there a chance for a Filipino to teach ESL in Korea and Japan?

My answer was:

My guess is that it's a slim chance, unfortunately. This isn't from personal experience, but from stories I've heard of other Asian-Americans getting jobs in Asian countries. When they have shown up for the job, the schools refused to hire them.

This is only the experience of a couple of people I've known, so it certainly doesn't mean it would happen to you. Maybe things have changed.

If you are looking at EFL teaching positions in Korea or Japan, I would send a photo of yourself or specifically ask them if there are any issues with you being Filipino before you make all your plans to go there.

It's an unfortunate reality, but maybe things are changing. Good luck.

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"Can I Teach English?

Do ESL teachers need to know the native language of the person to whom they are teaching English? I'm often asked by other native English speakers if I know Korean, Chinese, Russian, Chinese, etc. They are curious about how a person can teach another person if they don't speak the same language. As it turns out, I do speak some Spanish, but I try to use it very, very little with my native Spanish speaking students.

The short answer to whether someone needs to speak the native language of the non-English-speaking person when teaching them English is "no." In fact, it is often better if the the ESL teacher or EFL teacher does not speak the non-English language because it is very tempting to use the non-English language.

Current language acquisition theory and practice for adults (at least in the U.S.) is to speak to the English student solely in English. Theoretically (and in practice) this helps the student to learn the language faster.

This should be noted that this particular approach to teaching English as a Second Language applies only to teaching ESL or EFL. That is, this approach applies when the target goal of the student is to learn English. It does not necessarily apply when students have to learn another subject matter as well as English. This case happens, for example, when a child who is a new immigrant comes to the U.S. and is put in school to learn the subjects appropriate for his or her grade level, as well as English. In this case, the more reasonable approach is bilingual education.

So if you want to be an English as a Second/Foreign Language teacher, you don't need to know your students' languages, although it may be helpful in some instances.