Whether you spent years studying this Romance language or have been speaking French since birth, your desire to share your knowledge and love of the Langue de Molière is commendable. Your timing couldn't be better! More and more, the leadership in English-speaking nations is realising how far we lag behind countries where learning a second language is compulsory.
Not too long ago, the Australian government determined that 10 languages will shape the future. French is second only to Mandarin in terms of importance. Why French? Economists, business leaders and the science community have concluded that this language will come to dominate their field over the next 30 years. Thus, the Australian Department of Education is pursuing initiatives to bring more language instruction to Australian students.
You are uniquely positioned to help. If you have your Diplôme D'Études de Langue Française and Diplôme Approfondi certificates, otherwise known as the DELF-DALF, you're qualified to lead French instruction in any school. There may be logistical challenges that delay your debut as a French teacher, such as not enough classroom space or not enough pupils signing up for French classes. Or you might simply prefer to teach as an independent tutor. This guide shows you how to get started.
The Advantages of Becoming a French Tutor
One of the major advantages of tutoring French learners is the freedom to arrange your schedule. You might not be an early riser. You might not enjoy commuting during rush hour or committing most of your waking hours to being indoors. You might not like groups of pupils rotating in and out of your classroom. And you likely won't appreciate not having the time to cater to each pupil's learning needs.
As an independent tutor, you control all of these aspects of teaching French. You may have lessons at your learners' homes or at yours, at the library or in the park, if the weather is nice. You're not held to an institutional schedule; you get to make your own hours. As you'll mostly teach one-on-one, you'll have all the room you need to focus on each pupil. Best of all, you won't feel frustrated over inattention or halfhearted efforts because your learners chose to learn French. And chose you to guide their studies.
Deepening your understanding of French is arguably the greatest benefit of tutoring French learners. As you explain the grammar and explore the vocabulary, you'll see this language through your pupils' eyes. They will ask you why this tongue has so many irregular verbs; how will you answer them? When they wonder why some adjectives come before the noun and some after, what will you tell them?
How to Price Your French Lessons
Figuring out what to charge for each French class you teach can be difficult, especially in today's economy. You have to earn enough to live on and pay taxes, as well as cover your business expenses. Those include everything from your wardrobe to the worksheets you print out. Setting your prices too high will net you few clients. Set them too low and you'll be scrambling to pay your bills.
The best way to price your lessons is by the type of lessons you give. Let's say you present your Business French learning program to interested corporations. You might set a per-learner rate or charge a monthly fee for two classes per week comparable to other language programs in your area. Conversely, if a secondary school student approaching exams contacts you for a few preparatory sessions, you could offer them a bundle deal: pay for 9 lessons and get the 10th one free.
Price your services competitively: that's the rule of thumb. If other French tutors in your area have roughly the same credentials and experience teaching as you do, list your fees within their range. If you have a selling point that makes you stand out; a quality that clients would happily pay extra for, you can charge a bit more for your lessons. If you're limited to teaching, say, only Conversational French or your age restricts you to teaching only primary school pupils, take those factors into consideration when calculating your rates.
A final thought on setting your fee schedule: transportation. Going to clients' homes will get expensive after a while, no matter whether you drive or take public transportation. Unless you plan for students to come to yours, you'll need to factor commuting costs into your per-lesson price. Or you could simply list transportation as a surcharge, giving clients the option of paying you extra for the convenience of lessons at home. These are just some points you need to consider as you set your rates for French lessons
How to Find Students for French Lessons
Now that you've figured out how much to charge for your French lessons and calculated how many sessions you have to lead to make a living, you have to find French learners to teach. Independent tutors have many options when it comes to building their clientele. You can design flyers to hand out and/or post on bulletin boards around town. You can post listings online, at Gumtree or your local online marketplace. Advertising on social media isn't a bad idea, either.
You might find students through a tutoring centre. For instance, if you're in New South Wales, Erudite Tutoring Centres invite independent tutors to become subcontractors. They will keep a portion of your earnings for connecting you with clients seeking French lessons. Signing up with a tutoring centre is a good move if you're just starting your tutoring career because they can help you establish yourself in the community.
Posting a profile on a tutoring website is, by far, the most effective way to connect with students. The Superprof tutoring website gives each tutor the space they need to list their French language credentials and teaching experience. On your profile page, you can share details about your passion for the French language and culture, and how you weave cultural elements into your lessons. You can explain your pedagogy and reveal why your teaching style is the best for language learning.
Your Superprof profile page allows you to list whether you're happy to meet students online for lessons or that you only deliver French instruction in person. Or both. You can announce that you'll provide homework help to small groups of students as well as one-to-one exam prep sessions. You may specify your ideal learner age group and any specialised language skills you might have. If you know all of the French terms associated with Information Technology, Medicine or Business, you can make note of it on your Superprof profile page.
How to Organise Your First French Class
Unlike a teacher whose school will provide their curriculum and teaching materials, you have to put everything together yourself. You won't have to design lesson plans because, as a private tutor, each of your students will have different needs and goals. But you still have to have the basics: books and worksheets, visual aids and some audio files for listening drills. Consider building a carry kit that includes all of these materials along with pens, pencils and highlighters.
Organising your French lessons depends on the type of lesson you deliver. A Conversational French learning session will feature speaking and listening but not reading or writing. A secondary school exam prep session will feature all four of those basic language skills. And a twice-weekly homework help engagement calls for you to drill on vocabulary and grammar, with a heavy emphasis on reading and writing.
To organise your French lessons optimally, start with the engage-study-activate framework, or ESA. Engaging your students means preparing them for the lesson with small talk; maybe a song or a short dialogue in French. Next, you'll conduct a short review of the French your pupil knows. That helps you find a starting place to build on their skills. And then, you introduce new material, finishing the session by using what's just been learnt. Wrap things up with a cheerful 'Au revoir!' and record your lesson notes in that student's file.
Typically, private tutors dedicate one hour to each student or group. Those 60 minutes may break into:
- 10 minutes for 'engage' - warmup
- 20 minutes for 'study' - introduce new material
- 25 minutes for 'activate' - work with the new material
- 5 minutes for wrapping up and assigning homework
Naturally, none of this is set in stone. Some learners would progress better if you shortened and doubled the study/activate periods. This technique is called 'bounce' ESA because you bounce between learning and using new information. The bounce ESA would be suitable for younger learners and Conversational French pupils. More advanced students would likely prefer longer 'activate' segments to maximise their time working their language skills.
You should organise your French lessons so that your learners have the most time to use the new information. This lets you correct mistakes early so they don't become ingrained. Keep in mind that activating learning can be anything from role-play exercises to completing worksheets.
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