How to Hire a Language Tutor: A Five-Step Guide

What You Should Look For When Appointing a Private Language Tutor?

Nowadays knowing foreign languages is a must in order to be competitive. On the other hand the process of learning them is not as easy as one may say. Despite all numerous self-tutoring books and websites the best and by far easiest method of learning a foreign language is with the help of a tutor. And here comes the tricky part…

Finding the right language tutor in Surrey is not as easy as it seems but it is a vital task, so it should be done with caution. We don’t want you to make a wrong decision so we are here to help! By sharing our five important steps when hiring a language tutor we want to spare your time and efforts that may go into the wrong direction!

Private language tutor

1. Set Up Your Initial Goals

The first thing that you need to do is to set up your own goals. After you are aware of the target you can plan the way to get there! Think about whether you want to improve just a specific aspect of a language or you need to start from zero. That way you will know what kind of tutor you should search for.

2. Experience Matters

Experience matters in every business sector but especially when it comes to teaching. Nobody became a great teacher from the first day in the classroom. When searching for a language tutor in Surrey our advice is to look for experienced teachers that have studied or worked abroad.

If you prefer a native speaker then focus your search criteria on their guidance experience. For example how many students have they taught, at what age? Asking for contacts of previous students is always a good idea!

3. Pre – Communication with Your Tutor

It is crucial to interact with your tutor before you appoint them for a longer period. Discuss their teaching methods and what you are used to and see if you can work together.

The perfect scenario is to receive trial lessons because that way you will see if their teaching style matches your needs. With trial lessons you will have a hint if you can achieve the initial goals.

4. Schedule the Lessons

As we said, learning a foreign language like German, Italian, French and Spanish is not easy and needs both hard work and regularity. Make the schedule as early as you can in order to get used to the routine. A missed lesson is always a bad idea, so avoid missing even one. Improvement needs enough hours of practice and there is no easy way towards advancement.

This is the right moment to ask how you are going to be charged. Most of the tutors in the UK charge on an hourly rate, but you may ask for a discount in terms of block bookings or payment in advance.

5. Agree on an Acclimatization Period

Once you decide on a specific tutor agree on a ‘settling in’ period. Don’t feel obliged to stay with this tutor if it doesn’t feel just right. You are investing a lot of time and money and it’s not worth it to waste any of it.

Any proper language tutor in Surrey will understand this request and will probably agree for this acclimatization period. After all, the whole teaching approach is about a two sided relationship that needs to be healthy.

Once you decide on taking a personal tutor when learning a foreign language the task is far from over. Finding the right teacher might be a difficult task and we must act with caution. In order to spare your time and money we came up with the five most important steps when searching for a language tutor in Surrey. Just follow our steps and the whole process will be successful!

Summary:

Knowing a foreign language is a personal asset that everybody appreciates. Still, learning a foreign language is not an easy task and appointing a private tutor might be the best approach towards fluent speaking. We need to be very careful when choosing a language tutor in Surrey because not every colleague might suit your needs. In order to help you with this difficult assignment we’ve gathered the five most important steps when hiring a language tutor. Follow our advice, be prepared, make your decision carefully and the right teacher will bring you the desired results!