Start & Run an ESL Teaching Business. T. Nicole Pankratz - Bodner

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СКАЧАТЬ and practicing teaching, the better equipped the teacher. Of course, whether this is true is debatable and is not at issue here. (Indeed, on more than one occasion I have witnessed irreparable damage done in schools by teachers with amazing credentials and decades of experience.) What is important is that if you start an ESL-teacher-training business, your students could have difficulty getting their credential recognized if your program does not meet the current, and ever-changing, industry standards.

      In some cases, credential recognition is not an issue. For example, you can offer teacher-training programs to international students planning to teach English when they return to their home country. Or your program could be designed for North Americans hoping to make some money while traveling in other countries.

      ESL Services

      When it comes to extra ESL services, there is a wide range of options to choose from. The trick is to find out what services are missing in your own business and in your area. A more complex approach is to create a need in your clientele.

      Since international students live overseas for a significant period of time, you may want to start by thinking about what they need, use, and do in their daily lives. For example, since many students relocate more than once during their overseas stay, you may want to offer relocation services, including transportation and muscle to help move belongings and/or furniture. Indeed, even a transportation service has the potential for success in areas where students have limited options.

      Or, knowing that students often feel homesick and disoriented, you may want to provide special counseling or mentoring services. On a related note, you could make students feel more at home by opening a lunchtime catering service featuring food from their home countries. Since so many students travel during their overseas study period, you could form partnerships with hotel or bed-and-breakfast owners in neighboring cities and offer “travel and learn” programs.

      Corporations also make use of ESL services. You could build and sell ESL-based customer-service programs to companies that hire non-native English speakers. Many large hotels and restaurant chains rely on foreign-born staff who might benefit from classes in listening, reading, writing, and of course speaking and pronunciation. Offering to help a company help its employees improve customer service might win over the management.

      Homestay

      While homestay services may already be part of the overall plan for your school or tutorial service, you may want to consider expanding the business and offering your accommodation services to other institutions.

      Some cities have homestay businesses that cater to a variety of colleges and universities. The institution hires the homestay organization to take care of everything from homestay assessment, to student placement, to airport pickup, to management of funds.

      The homestay organization makes money from student fees, such as the registration fee, the pickup fee, the change of homestay fee, and a percentage of students’ monthly fees. For example, a student might pay $700 per month in homestay fees. The homestay organization might keep $50, passing the remaining $650 on to the homestay family.

      The homestay business is not for everyone. People with strong organizational skills, well-developed interpersonal skills, and patience are best suited for the job, as the work is people-centered and often involves coping with individuals’ feelings and emotions.

      Which ESL Option is Right for You?

      The ESL industry is a new sector in the economy, and there is a great deal of room for growth, development, and change. With the right people, the right plan, and the right attitude (i.e., the “student as customer” philosophy), the opportunities are limitless.

      Before continuing on in this book, spend a few moments considering your background and work style. This will help you figure out which business option is best for you — an ESL tutorial service or an ESL school.

      Regardless of the results, you should read through all the chapters in this book before making a final decision.

      Good luck!

      Part 2

      Starting and Running an ESL Tutorial Service

      3

      Understanding Your Role in the ESL-Tutoring Market

      Hiring a tutor is a way for new immigrants and international students in public and private school systems to get ahead. With its personalized lessons and one-on-one attention, tutoring works for people from all walks of life, from the newly landed young person struggling to keep up with his or her middle-school classmates to the adult student needing a crash course in TOEFL in order to enter a North American post-secondary institution. Immigrant parents of young children hire language tutors and homework helpers, as do international graduate students and businesspeople with money available for language lessons or assistance with the writing or editing of documents and essays.

      In Asia and many other parts of the world, hiring a tutor for help in English (and math and science) is common practice. When students come to North America to study English at a private ESL school or college, some hire conversation tutors to enhance their classroom performance. Students who have only a limited amount of time overseas might need one-on-one expert help in specific areas such as business English, TOEFL, or TOEIC. Some students even choose to attend classes part time, devoting the remainder of their time to private lessons and self-study.

      Affluent parents of university-bound immigrant youth often send their children to after-school institutions that offer personalized academic help. Some seek out tutorial services that have tutors who conduct lessons in students’ homes.

      A recent trend in the industry is to provide ESL services to international students with special needs, such as physical impairments or even social and emotional issues that make participation in a typical ESL classroom difficult or overwhelming.

      Exploring Your Market

      In order to determine what kind of tutorial service you are going to operate, you need to explore your market options. First, find out what kind of ESL students live and study in your area. Are they international students preparing for university or college in North America? Are they visitors looking for a few months of overseas fun and conversation with native English speakers? Are they new immigrants who have children struggling in the English-based school system?

      You also need to find out how many students in your area come from countries that understand and value personalized language instruction. How many students hired tutors in their home country? More important, how many would be willing to pay for such services overseas?

      Another consideration is the expectations of the students. What kind of tutorial arrangement are the students accustomed to? Do they prefer a formal arrangement that is signed and sealed in contract form or an informal agreement, with flexibility in terms of times, location, and even payment schedule? What kind of tutorial facility are they expecting — an official tutorial-business site? A public place, such as a library or a café? The tutor’s home? The student’s home?

      Understanding students’ СКАЧАТЬ