Tuesday, August 28, 2012

How to find private English classes in Madrid

The other week I got an email from a reader asking how I found my private English classes in Madrid (to teach).  I thought I'd share my answer here in case anyone else is wondering the same thing.

How to find private English classes in Madrid

My first year in Madrid I made 65 euros/week teaching private lessons, and this year I made 63 euros/week when I taught all four classes a week.  This extra money really helps out, and if you're working as an auxiliar there is definitely time during the week for evening private lessons.  Below are some different ways to find private English lessons in Madrid.

Tus clases particulares

There is a website you can use (Tus clases particulares), which is how I got three of my four lessons this year. The next couple days after putting up my ad, I kept getting messages from interested people and in the end had to turn down lots of lessons and remove the ad after I had picked the first family. It's nice because you can sift through the messages of interested people and be a bit picky; I decided I only wanted classes within walking distance of my apartment so as not to spend lots of time in transit, and I found them.

Lingo bongo

Another website to occasionally check out is Lingo Bongo.  Along with "private classes," there is also a section of "jobs offered," which includes language academies in the city. If in the spring you're looking for a summer job, this would be one place to look.

Facebook groups

If you are working as an auxiliar de conversación, I would recommend joining the facebook group for Auxiliares in Madrid.  I was in the group for this past year, and people would frequently post private classes that they couldn't take. So that can be another way to get private classes.

Flyers

Another option is putting up flyers. If there's a local library wherever you end up living, I'd for sure put one there. I put up flyers in the fall as well, but ultimately got my students from tusclasesparticulares. With the flyers too, you can keep it in the neighborhood where you want to give classes. If anyone wants a copy of the flyer I used, just send me an email (rebewithaclause [at] gmail [dot] com).

Also, keep your eye out for flyers posted by people looking for an English teacher.  My first year in Madrid I had a friend who found a play-class with two younger children for 25/hr from a flyer!

Coworkers

Finally, if you're an auxiliar, wherever you're working might also be an option to find private lessons. Let the teachers at your school know you teach private lessons, and it's quite possible that a teacher (of any subject) or students at your school want lessons.


Once you have one class, they seem to accumulate from there. One day I was in the elevator of a student's apartment building and the woman with me in the elevator started asking if I taught private English classes, and told me about her daughter who wanted classes. Also, the mother of one student all year kept asking if I had space for another student, because once her friends found out that her son had a native English teacher, they wanted classes too. I had to turn down all of those classes because I didn't have any extra time in the week, but just so you know once you get a good reputation with some students, it's very possible that more classes will come your way via word of mouth.

One last note: If you've never taught English in Europe before, be aware that you'll most likely be teaching British English!

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Wondering how much you should charge? Want some tips to getting paid smoothly and keeping track of multiple students? I tackle those questions, among others, in the Teaching Private English Classes in Spain FAQ post below (click on the image):

FAQ Teaching Private English Classes in Spain

10 comments:

  1. Great post Rebe! Particularly useful : "Tus clases particulares" Thanks from North Spain, Martin.

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    1. Thanks! Glad it was useful, and thanks for letting me know!

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  2. How much did you typically charge for a private lesson?

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    1. My study abroad program helped us find class particulars my first year, and the program advertised us as 15 euros/hr. For the family that lived far away (las Rozas) I got 18/hr.

      My second year I charged 16/hr, but with my teaching experience and degree I probably could have charged up to 20/hr.

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  3. Hi Rebe!
    You just forgot goprofe!! https://goprofe.com/
    Very useful post by the way ;)

    xx
    Gab

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  4. I managed to find some private students via www.weareteacherfinder.com - prices have gone up a bit from what you mentioned though. 25 Euros per hour now.

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  5. Hi Rebe,
    I've just discovered your terrific blog. I have been teaching in Madrid both in company and privately for nearly 7 years and currently teach for about 5 or 6 academies and the rest of my timetable is with private students, this after 25 years in Financial Services in London. So I have financial expertise to bring to the party and this helps me get high-level executives who are pleased to have someone teach them Business English with my knowledge.
    My next step is create my own website, probably through Wordpress. My Spanish girlgriend will do this mainly but I need inspiration to get going. Sadly I don't see many Teacher Websites to gain inspiration from. Am I wrong? Do they exist somewhere? Any suggestions?
    By the way, I charge 25 euros an hour as an autonomo but suggest 1.5 hours is a better class length and I can discount this to 30 euros. This is always accepted!!
    Keep up the good work! Best wishes. Andy

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    1. Hey Andy! Awesome, having a simple website will be a nice place to direct interested students so they can get a clear picture of what you deliver and your teaching philosophy / personality. It'll be a nice professional touch too, especially given the types of students you're looking for.

      It's funny you ask today, because just last week I stopped hosting for my English teacher website (it was English With Rebe) and took it down to launch a new personal website instead (www.rebeccarosethering.com). My old teaching site had the main menu items Home, English Lessons, Editing, Courses, About Rebe, and Blog.

      I'll share a few links below of English teachers with sites, but if you put yourself in the shoes of your ideal student, I think you already know what to include on your site. My advice would be to do your own thing and don't be afraid to infuse your personality into it, rather than doing what everyone else is doing. (ie If you don't want to blog, don't have a blog; if you'd like to include a video greeting, make a video!) As long as the most important information is there, it'll serve your purposes.

      When attacking a project like this, what works best for me is to get out a scrap piece of paper and make a sloppy mind map just to get all of the ideas out there. Later you can organize and figure out which pages to make, etc.

      Finally, here are a few English teachers (with sites) I know from my time working at FluentU:
      - Taos English
      - English Honors
      - Jakob Gibbons
      - Sitzman ABC

      Hope this helps, best of luck to you Andy!

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