Teach English Abroad
The Complete Guide
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Maximise Your Teaching Income
Nobody teaches to get rich. However, there are a few things you can do to make sure you earn a decent living and can do the things that are your real goals, like seeing the country and building a busy social life.
Organise Your Timetable Effectively
If you land yourself a 20-hour a week contract, which is pretty standard, you would be forgiven for thinking that you can easily fill up the rest of the day with your own personal activities. There is, however, more to this than first seems. Unless you are based on site in a school, language academy or spend all day at one location, a one-hour class can involve a couple of hours travel. Just a handful of these could easily mean 15 hours of your working week for 5 hours pay. In addition you’ll need to add on preparation time. Few employers will pay for your travel time though the most reasonable ones should compensate you for extremes. Some language academies will recommend to clients that classes are of a standard 2-hour duration. This can be tough with a small group if concentration wanes, particularly at lower levels, but justifies some of the longer travel times.
When you start working for a language academy you are not really in a position to pick and choose classes. Doing so is more than likely to backfire on you. As suggested before, one possible solution is to work for 2 or 3 and have a smaller hourly contract with each. This spreads the risks. You also have the resources and materials of all of them at your disposal as well as meeting more teachers and making more contacts. If one employer turns out to be a rotten egg then all is not lost.
Once you settle in and the employer regards you as an asset you may be able to negotiate or turn down classes that involve lots of travel or kids classes if that is not your scene. With more control you can manage your time better and make the most of your timetable.
For teaching adults the majority of classes take place when the students are not working. This means first thing in the morning, lunchtime and after work. There may be classes between these times but these will be the exception. This means there are 15 “prime time” slots in a 5 day working week. In general you will find that most classes take place twice a week, Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. You may also get one or two that are 3 times weekly, usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Try to fill these “core slots” as effectively as possible by giving longer classes rather than shorter ones. You may find that you can still fit in a one-hour class before or after another one.
Substitute Classes
If you are working for a language academy, from time to time teachers will be unavailable to give their regular classes because of sickness, a need to return home urgently, etc. Make it known that you are looking for more hours and are prepared to substitute for a colleague. Sometimes timetables clash and you won’t be able to. If you do “subs” with minimal notice then you are likely to be relied on frequently. This will also work in your favour in getting more regular hours.
Shop Around for More Work
If you find you are not teaching enough hours then shop around for more work. Language schools often get classes they cannot find an available teacher for. They may not be willing to take on another member of staff on a full contract so will hire someone to teach a small number of hours a month. Ask around and send out some speculative job applications. Make it clear you are already working in the area and are looking for some additional hours. Show you are flexible and are available for interview or meeting anytime.
Private Classes
The obvious way to boost your income is to find private classes. Wait until you know what your timetable is before you go looking for them otherwise you may run into trouble with your employer over availability. See Chapter 6 for full details on getting private classes.
Go It Alone
If you are in a position to give private classes in businesses and organisations then consider going it alone and becoming self-employed. Unlike normal private lessons you will need to pay tax and make social security contributions, but you will be able to charge a fair bit more. Many freelancers make a very good living from this line of work. See Chapter 6 of Teach English Abroad - The Complete Guide for further information.
Organise Your Timetable Effectively
If you land yourself a 20-hour a week contract, which is pretty standard, you would be forgiven for thinking that you can easily fill up the rest of the day with your own personal activities. There is, however, more to this than first seems. Unless you are based on site in a school, language academy or spend all day at one location, a one-hour class can involve a couple of hours travel. Just a handful of these could easily mean 15 hours of your working week for 5 hours pay. In addition you’ll need to add on preparation time. Few employers will pay for your travel time though the most reasonable ones should compensate you for extremes. Some language academies will recommend to clients that classes are of a standard 2-hour duration. This can be tough with a small group if concentration wanes, particularly at lower levels, but justifies some of the longer travel times.
When you start working for a language academy you are not really in a position to pick and choose classes. Doing so is more than likely to backfire on you. As suggested before, one possible solution is to work for 2 or 3 and have a smaller hourly contract with each. This spreads the risks. You also have the resources and materials of all of them at your disposal as well as meeting more teachers and making more contacts. If one employer turns out to be a rotten egg then all is not lost.
Once you settle in and the employer regards you as an asset you may be able to negotiate or turn down classes that involve lots of travel or kids classes if that is not your scene. With more control you can manage your time better and make the most of your timetable.
For teaching adults the majority of classes take place when the students are not working. This means first thing in the morning, lunchtime and after work. There may be classes between these times but these will be the exception. This means there are 15 “prime time” slots in a 5 day working week. In general you will find that most classes take place twice a week, Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday. You may also get one or two that are 3 times weekly, usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Try to fill these “core slots” as effectively as possible by giving longer classes rather than shorter ones. You may find that you can still fit in a one-hour class before or after another one.
Substitute Classes
If you are working for a language academy, from time to time teachers will be unavailable to give their regular classes because of sickness, a need to return home urgently, etc. Make it known that you are looking for more hours and are prepared to substitute for a colleague. Sometimes timetables clash and you won’t be able to. If you do “subs” with minimal notice then you are likely to be relied on frequently. This will also work in your favour in getting more regular hours.
Shop Around for More Work
If you find you are not teaching enough hours then shop around for more work. Language schools often get classes they cannot find an available teacher for. They may not be willing to take on another member of staff on a full contract so will hire someone to teach a small number of hours a month. Ask around and send out some speculative job applications. Make it clear you are already working in the area and are looking for some additional hours. Show you are flexible and are available for interview or meeting anytime.
Private Classes
The obvious way to boost your income is to find private classes. Wait until you know what your timetable is before you go looking for them otherwise you may run into trouble with your employer over availability. See Chapter 6 for full details on getting private classes.
Go It Alone
If you are in a position to give private classes in businesses and organisations then consider going it alone and becoming self-employed. Unlike normal private lessons you will need to pay tax and make social security contributions, but you will be able to charge a fair bit more. Many freelancers make a very good living from this line of work. See Chapter 6 of Teach English Abroad - The Complete Guide for further information.