How Much Will You Pay for a Helpful Language Tutor?

A language tutor can teach you the ins and outs of your target language, and help you achieve your learning goals faster and easier. But how much should you pay for a language tutor? There are different online teaching platforms where you can choose from a wide range of tutors with different backgrounds, levels, and prices. 

For example, on italki*, one of the most popular online language learning platforms, you can find tutors who charge as low as $5 per hour or as high as $50 per hour. You can even find great language exchanges for free!. 

So what’s the difference? Read this article to discover which options will be right for you.

Contents

Do I Need A Language Tutor
Need Support On Your Language Learning Journey?
Language tutor or language exchange?
You do not get top quality at bottom prices
How To Find A Price That Works For You
A Tip for Ethical Teachers
What’s your opinion on language lessons?
Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a language tutor?

Experienced language learners agree on one thing: Learning a language with a tutor is a true game changer.

Need Support On Your Language Learning Journey?

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It’s impossible to progress as much if you don’t start speaking your language at some point. And for an early stage learner, picking a tutor means working with someone who can help you bridge the gaps with ease.

Language tutor or language exchange?

I would recommend all learners to try at least one tutor, and to be clear about what you’d like from your lessons. A great tutor will ask you about your goals and tailor their service to you.

I wouldn’t recommend tackling a language exchange before you have learnt at least the essential structures and phrases of your target language (use this checklist to help you work out what to study).

Starting an exchange too early might leave you feeling frustrated, and there is a risk that you and your partner rely on the stronger language exclusively.

You do not get top quality at bottom prices

For the purpose of this article, I want to assume that you have made up your mind and you are looking for a tutor.

Now here is the part I want to talk to you about. I disagree with many other articles are telling you. Let's talk about price. Most other articles include a sentence that goes a little like this:

"Language lessons online are very cheap, you can get them for just $5 an hour."

US$5 an hour? That’s less than you pay for a drink at Starbucks. Now I know that wages and currencies vary around the world and I’m not stupid, so please don’t come commenting with the “$5 is lots of money in xyz!” argument. Your online teacher's costs are not just measured in time-per-hour. They also have a family to support, an internet connection and webcam to buy, personal development to cover. These are all part of the job, and that’s the case even if they live in the cheapest country in the world.

Self-employed language teachers will price themselves as low as they can because they really love working with you. But when they are taking on 50 students a week because the price per lesson is very low, they become mediocre teachers. If you are able to approach the exchange with a mindset that considers both payment and benefits, you will not be ripped off.

Read on to find out how to find exactly the right partner for your needs and your budget.

How To Find A Price That Works For You

In order to help you select the right language learning partnership, it is helpful to approach sites like italki* with a clear image of what you are truly looking for.

It's a good idea look beyond italki, because many of the greatest and most experienced teachers I know have their own blogs and websites. You can also try other platforms such as LanguaTalk.*

Option Number 1: The Freebie

Look for a language exchange partner and simply swap time helping them practice your native language for time practicing your target language.

Pros:

• You don’t even have to look online because many foreign students or residents in your town might be looking for language exchanges too.
• Sharing the language learning experience is very motivating and you’ll see the partner’s success just as much as yours.

Cons:

• There is a learning curve and this exchange may be frustrating at first. You have to be comfortable setting boundaries and working with rules, otherwise you become someone else’s free teacher.
• Your partner will speak the language but may not be able to explain it
• You give as much as you get, so prepare to work hard

Got a partner whose language you want to learn? Get our tips about learning a language from your partner.

And if you’re the one who wants to help your partner learn your language, here’s what I’ve learnt from having an English speaker partner (spoiler: I didn’t become his tutor!).

Option Number 2: The Super Bargain

Look for lessons under $10/hour and take advantage of the low living costs in other countries. Bear in mind these types of prices are below minimum wage in most countries, and probably this includes yours.

Pros:

• Maybe you will find a great tutor for peanuts

Cons:

• This is a trial and error technique, it often takes longer to find someone you click with, whose expectations match yours, and who is familiar with students from your cultural background
• The cheaper language teachers tend to be those supporting themselves temporarily, so you don’t get ongoing support as most cheap teachers decide to move on to another job within a few months
• This isn’t really a con from my perspective, but hopefully the tutor will soon raise their rates!

My personal verdict on this option? It’s better than nothing, but the worst of both worlds.

Option Number 3: The Professional

Hire an experienced language tutor for a minimum of $20/hour. Look for someone who is showing their expertise and commitment by having their own website, blogging about their work and knowledge and giving you a clear idea of what lessons will be like.

I’m biased, and here are my Pros:

• You’ll get a free consultation from most experienced language teachers and they will clearly tell you which goals you are working towards, and keep you committed
• The lessons tend to be tailored, long-term and built for you
• You’re doing a great thing because this is the way to support an experienced professional
• Professional teachers strive towards working full-time for you, so they can offer a flexible schedule and will fit the lesson times around you

For more details on how you can find that tutor that's worth your time, here is a list of questions you should ask them.

Cons? Well, we'd all love to get more free things in life.

A Tip for Ethical Teachers

For language teachers who are reading this article and excited about stepping up their business, here’s some important advice:

1. Be serious and trustworthy: I would not charge a student until I know for sure that I connect with them. I don't take on each one, only students that understand my style. I don't want people to spend money on me unless I feel like I really understand what they need.
2. Commit to your business: If you don’t want to be seen as some kind of fly-by-night operation, you have to show your worth to your potential student. Be worth their investment, be around and be reliable. You can’t do this without a brand and website, but it’s not as difficult as you may think.

For more information, have a look at the “Teach Languages” section here on Fluent, and in particular you should investigate the Live Lessons Course. This step-by-step course is written for language teachers who are excited to start standing out as one of the best out there.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Sessions With My Tutor Should I Have per Month?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The more sessions you have with your tutor, the more you can benefit from your tutor’s expertise and feedback.

Deciding on the number of tutoring sessions will depend on your personal situation and preferences. Here are some questions to help with your decision:

• What is your language learning goal?

• How many hours do you dedicate to learning your target language? 

• How frequently do you have difficulties and need your language tutor's help?

For more detailed questions. Check my blog post 9 questions to ask your language tutor. And if you want deeper guidance to help you answer the questions above and find the right language strategy for yourself, I recommend checking out the Language Habit System or talking to a language learning coach.

Should I Hire A Native Speaker As My Language Tutor?

You don't actually need a native speaker to practice with. This is so important to understand. You just need someone who's good enough or a little better than you. Sometimes it even helps not to have the native speaker, because a non-native speaker has learnt your target language too and can explain grammar and other problems more easily.

You can check my blog post where I dive into why having a native speaker as your tutor might not be necessary.

Are Tutor Lessons A Good Way To Learn A Language?

Yes, they should be part of your system along with helpful resources and input, self-motivation is important so you don't become too reliant on one thing, learn how to build your routine here.

Language Practice: Why You Don't Need A Native Speaker

The native speaker is often considered an absolute holy grail of language learning: They naturally know how language is used, they speak it perfectly and of course you will be immersed in your target language if you speak to one. But today, I'm writing to make you re-think your dependence!

Have you ever found one of the following problems when practicing with a native speaker:

• It's difficult to understand regional accents
• You ask them a question, and they respond with "it just is like this"
• They always want to practice your language with you
• You run out of topics after a few hours of discussing family, hobbies and weather

What if you have NO native speaker to talk to? Does that mean you will stop learning a language?

Why You Do Not Need A Native Speaker For Practice

In this blog, I'm not advocating that you avoid native level input and natural sources of your target language. They are what makes it come alive! By all means, make full use of Italki, social media and your own network to find a good language buddy, but please note the following:

You don't actually need a native speaker to practice with. This is so important to understand. You just need someone who's good enough or a little better than you. Sometimes it even helps not to have the native speaker, because a non-native speaker has learnt your target language too and can explain grammar and other problems more easily. Natives often don't even know which bits are hard for non-native speakers.

Why Practicing Online Isn't For Everyone

In addition to this point, some people just don't connect so well with the Skype or phone communication method. As an online language tutor, I work on Skype all the time, and it's a different to meeting in person - some of my students love it, some find it odd at the start. For some, I can just tell that it's not the right medium. So if you're In fact, the teenager who will practice his school French with you might actually be a better option than the French native speaker that you meet online.

Moral of the story: Make your own rules for what works for you.

What To Do About It

My advice would be to try a tutor, and that's just because:

1. They work hard to make sure you understand, by reducing their own dialects and breaking sentences down to where you need them
2. They will stick with you when you run out of the first 3 conversation topics with a language partner and research topics you need to talk about
3. They won't expect you to spend any time teaching them your own language

Personally I learnt English before the internet was everywhere and still got from "pretty good" to "pretty fluent", through being taught by German natives and spending a lot of spare time listening to Pulp all the time and talking to myself. But I cannot imagine having done it without teachers. When your target language is German,

I think it's even more important that you find native speakers who understand your needs. German is that much easier to learn when you can make sense of the rules - and our spoken language is different from the grammar books. Trust yourself most of all, but if you have no native speaker around you please remember: It's not going to stop you.

How To Bring In Native-Like Practice

Of course, working without a native person to learn a language does not mean it would be wise to cut out all native-language content. When learning a language, it's important to know how it's spoken and to get a sense of the place where it's spoken.

You want to hear the sounds, the idioms, you want to know that there is a point to what you're doing here. In all learning, it's boring when it's just theory.

To get native-level practice into your studies before you go hunting for speakers all over town, try bringing in audio resources or even TV. It's easy to watch television in other languages or use cool software like Yabla.

And if you have regular access to native speakers, don't avoid them. Go out of your way to say even small things like good morning, and ask them "How do I say this in your language?" You'll soon find that every one of them is a small ambassador for their own language, just like you are for your own. And what's better than sharing?

How Soon Do You Work With Native Speakers?

Has it ever held you back that you can't find the native speaker? Or has shyness stopped you from talking to natives?

Leave your comment below to tell me more!

9 Questions To Discuss With Your Language Tutor

Today's post is inspired by a recent episode of David Mansaray's "Language Is Culture" podcast. In Episode 12 of Language is Culture, we hear from computational linguist Judith Meyer - she's German, she loves languages and you can totally hear it in her voice!

Working with a language tutor is something I can recommend for any language learners, especially introverts, because you'll just get more out of the intense environment and focused attention.

Even if you have never worked 1-to-1 before, you can easily to use it as a booster, for example before an exam or as a quick refresher after a quiet spell.

But it's important to get the chemistry and expectations right from the start, so take account of the following key points.

First Conversation with Your Language Tutor

If you are looking for a tutor that works specifically on your goals, then it's much more important to have a clear conversation at the start. The experienced tutors will know what

Some questions I like asking my new students are:

• Do you want to work with a specific resource only, and do you want me to buy it too?
• Are you aiming for a specific skill like reading literature, applying for jobs or doing small talk?
• Are you working towards an exam or moving date?
• Is your goal about a feeling (confidence, comfort, encouragement?) or about hard data (vocab, grammar?)?

And here is what you should ask them:

• How long and how frequent are your lessons, and what is the pricing structure?
• Have you worked with my type of situation before?
• What kind of lesson structure would you suggest for my situation?
• What's your approach - strict or relaxed, friendly or formal?

You should know what kind of answer you want to hear, so make sure you have made some notes before the first conversation.

My Perspective

My own style, for example, is very friendly and I like to build up a supportive relationship with my students. If you were looking for a sober teacher, my lessons might not meet your expectations!

How To Use a Language Tutor

Judith's interview is focused on how learners get the most out of working with a language tutor. Here is her theory:

Any 1 to 1 language lesson should be led by either the tutor or the student, so an inexperienced learner should look for an experienced tutor and vice versa.

I thought about this point for a bit, and I do agree. The dynamic between me and my students can be very different depending on how experienced they are at language learning. When a student knows very definitely what they want out of the lessons, I often find that they're less keen to react to my input - it's not a lazier lesson for me, as I then take a role of watching out for errors, prompting the conversation and supporting through extra challenges. With a student who is new to language learning, I am more likely to direct the lesson in many ways and set the topics myself.

A good tutor is sensitive to what the student expects, and able to make adjustments to the teaching style that meet those expectations.

My Perspective

My favourite people are new to tutoring and often they're studying their first foreign language. In those cases, my students are often happy to experiment. They just love a challenge, so we can enjoy the variety that I bring to our lessons and just focus on having fun along with the more complicated parts. As someone with a love of coaching, I like providing those extra services of improving learning methods, finding new exercises and encouraging them along the way.

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