Chapter 19: Getting Specific: Teaching Just One Student and Business English 277
✓ Many students miss the dynamics of classroom debates, swapping
speaking partners frequently and working in a team. Whereas the
teacher generally takes the role of the classmate during practice
sessions, it isn’t possible to engage in the same range of activities as
you can in a class.
✓ Lessons are much more expensive compared to group classes.
✓ Whereas in a school, the student may have more than one teacher; with
one-to-one lessons there’s less opportunity for exposure to another
accent or style.
Talking pros and cons for the teacher
One-to-ones offer a lot to consider from the student’s point of view and
this is no less true for the teacher. Your own experience, personality and
circumstances affect your decision regarding this kind of work. I look at the
advantages and disadvantages in the next sections.On the whole, one-to-one lessons can be very rewarding as long as you and
the student monitor progress regularly, but you need to find out exactly what
the course entails for you before agreeing to do it.Your students are your best advertisements. Give them a few of your business
cards to distribute and ask them to mention your services to friends and col-
leagues. Let local people know what you do too, and try to get some ads up in
universities and on other notice boards.Appreciating the financial rewards
Firstly, the obvious plus is that you can make more money per hour, whether
you work for a school or for yourself.Most students pay at least 30 per cent more due to the increased amount
of preparation and the more intense nature of the work, but don’t use this
rate as the basis for charging your own private students. Remember that the
school incurs overheads. So find out what the local schools charge individual
students on average and then undercut them (by a considerable amount if
you’re inexperienced).Never allow a school to give you one-to-one work without establishing a
higher rate of pay than class teaching.While we’re on the subject of money, think about funds you may have to put
aside for taxes, factor in the time it takes to prepare your own accounts and
don’t rely on your one- to-one students always being around. It’s hard to
predict exactly how much money you’ll make from month to month as students
tend to stop and start according to their circumstances and finances.