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

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СКАЧАТЬ a big-picture vision of your ESL tutorial business, you need to flesh out the information on your programs and services by adding details about tutoring methods and materials, as well as service options and accessibility. The information should be written in a way that is easy for new staff and prospective students to understand.

      There are two main types of tutoring: content-based tutoring and student-led tutoring. In content-based tutoring, the tutor collects and organizes information and learning materials and delivers these to the student. During a session, the student receives instruction and, when applicable, is given homework assignments related to the lesson. The tutor may even provide the student with the material that will be covered in the next lesson, giving the learner time to prepare for the lesson ahead of time.

      In student-led tutoring the student is responsible for the content and direction of the lesson. During each session, the student raises questions (e.g., how to understand and use a tough grammar point, or how to politely bring up a problem with a homestay host) or topics for discussion (e.g., a recent news item or a confusing cultural difference that is causing him or her concern). The student may ask the tutor to help him or her read and understand a newspaper article, correct a collection of sentences using new vocabulary words, or simply assist with a homework assignment.

      Because content-based tutoring requires extra time and work in terms of preparing and organizing materials, you may want to charge more for programs that use this method. That said, while student-led tutoring is less demanding in terms of preparation, some instructors find it more difficult precisely because they cannot prepare for what they may be asked or are expected to know.

      Both content-based and student-led tutoring methods can be used for almost any type of program, with any level, type, or age of student. You may want to offer your students both options. Or, you could insist on using content-based instruction for certain types of programs, the most obvious being grammar or TOEFL lessons, and use student-led tutoring for lighter, less rule-oriented types of programs.

      When deciding on your tutoring methods and materials, you will need to consider your target market’s needs, desires, and expectations, while keeping in mind the nature of your facilities. If you are setting up a formal location, you will have more options, since some tutors could be available onsite while others are working at students’ homes.

      Program options for immigrant youth

      If your primary market is immigrant youth needing help with schoolwork, your programs might simply be assistance with homework assignments (student-led) and extra lessons in a student’s area of weakness (content-based). The program could be called Homework Help, and services could include transportation to and/or from the tutoring facility. You could also offer a home-tutoring option for parents who prefer to have their children close by.

      If your facility is large enough, you may want to give students the choice of working one-on-one with a tutor or, for a lower rate, being part of a small group. In such a setup, language-related books and other useful learning materials (e.g., maps, globes, picture dictionaries, computers that are connected to the Internet) could be made available to tutors and students.

      Catering to the school-age market means your tutors would work in the before-school and after-school periods, in the evenings, and on weekends. During seasonal breaks such as summer and winter holidays, your services could be available during the day. You could even develop special vacation programs, which would compete with other educational and adventure-related “camps” that children attend when they are not in school.

      Program options for young international students

      If your primary market is young international students who are enrolled in elementary or secondary school for a year or more, you could specialize in homework help. Often students have trouble keeping up with their classmates in subjects that involve a great deal of reading and writing. You could help them improve their writing by editing their school work and discussing the changes you made.

      An effective way to do this is to have them send you their written work via email. You can then use the triple-copy method of editing. First, you turn the submission into a Word document (if it is not already a Word document). Then, after copying and pasting the submission directly below the original, you use the ‘track changes’ option in Word to highlight your edits. Lastly, you copy and paste the edited version below the original and then remove the highlights, leaving a clean copy of the revised version. The triple-copy method of editing allows you to show the student what kind of changes were necessary to perfect the essay. It also gives the student a benchmark for future essays. That is, the student can aim to have fewer edits on future submissions.

      Another method of tutoring young students is to offer lessons that enhance their overseas school experiences. One way to do this is to create a project-based program for each student, based on their individual interests. For example, if a student is particularly interested in Harry Potter books or movies, you could work together on writing a fantasy story. You could devote one lesson to talking about characters and mapping out a storyboard that highlights the main actions of each chapter. Subsequent lessons could be devoted to writing out one chapter at a time until the story is complete. With a lower-level student, you may have to be more hands-on with regard to both story development and the writing itself. By contrast, when working with a higher-functioning student, your role may be more about editing chapters that the student writes for homework.

      Below is a list of some of the other reading and writing projects I have worked on with young international students enrolled in the public school system:

      • A five-part detective story about a missing kitten

      • A board game based on questions about famous people and places

      • A mini-magazine that featured articles about winter activities, recipes, a winter word search, and a Christmas crossword puzzle

      • A radio play about forest animals who save a river from factory pollution

      • A comic book featuring a teenaged girl who saves her school from bullies

      One of the best things about using a project-based program is that the students always have something palpable to show for their hard work. They can even bring the finished products back to their home countries to show their parents, teachers, and friends.

      Program options for adult international students

      If your primary market is adult international students, you might offer a range of content-based and student-led academic and social programs. Students with specific academic goals in mind could opt for a tutor who specializes in a popular academic area (e.g., Academic Preparation, TOEFL, Essay Writing), while students interested in business could choose a TOEIC or Business English tutor. For those needing help with everyday English communication, there could be tutors in everyday conversation, idioms and slang, or even a combination of the above.

      There are numerous books and resources available to tutors working with academic students. For test-based programs such as the TOEFL, tutors may simply follow a tried-and-true textbook that includes practice tests and audio CDs. Or they may use textbooks and learning materials that have grammar and vocabulary-building exercises, taped news segments for listening practice, or other helpful materials that will prepare students for the reading comprehension section of the TOEFL.

      For students interested only in improving their conversation skills, you could offer both one-on-one and small-group conversation tutorials.

      Another way to tutor adult international СКАЧАТЬ