After talking about it for years, I've finally made the move to Madrid. I've decided that I want to specialize in teaching english to young children as I'm coming from the right background to do this, but I don't want to teach through an academy. Is it worth having flyers made up and posting them in a few of the better private schools? Does anyone know if they will let you do this here? I know in the international school in Holland they have a board for this. I have a rough draft already and my friend is translating it for me. Should I post them in Spanish, or would it come across better in English? If it's worth doing, can someone recommend a printer that offers reasonable rates for this? I want it to look professional, rather than just a zeroxed black and white copy. I also need to have business cards printed as well. I'd thought about doing that in the states, but decided with everything I had to deal with moving here it was better to wait. Any advice? Cheers, Bonnie aka The Nanny
Posts: 435 | Location: Italy | Registered: 25 November 2003
hey Bonnie, not sure where all of the teachers are
come on gang, i know you are out there.
ok, imo...
quote:
Should I post them in Spanish, or would it come across better in English?
i think it would come accross beter in english since that is the lang. you are offering to teach.
i have not been in the teaching game for a while but i recall an old thread started by Chica where members got into a pretty detailed discussion about whether or not it was effective marketing to do the flyer thang.
i did a quick search on "flyers" and found it HERE.
First of all you should set your self a budget with how much you want to invest in publicity, and how much time you have to get things ready.
If you have money to spare, then go to a printer, I can recommend you one which I think works fairly well and cheaper than the last two we were working with. But I don't know what's their MOQ, of if they design flyers. I think you have to give them the artwork and all they do is the printing.
On the other hand, if your experienced with a computer and have some free time, you could make your own ads and flyers, they don't have to look sloppy at all, and if you purchase special paper, you'll have a nice some nice business cards and flyers, probably at half the cost.
At least to start off with of course, if you see that you're going to need more than 500 flyers or more, go for the printer.
You seem to have very clear what you want to do, so therefore, go directly to the schools and ask the director of the school if they have a bulletin board where you can leave your ad, although keep in mind that those same teachers usually give after school classes to make some extra cash, so the competition is tough.
If you want information on bilingual schools you might want to check the American embassy website in Madrid, they have a special section on this with the addresses and telephone numbers of quite a number of schools. Also check the yellow pages or any local guides you might find.
Don't center yourself just on private bilingual schools, those are the ones that are most covered, the semi-private and the public schools also have English classes, and usually their teaching level is much lower (just an opinion), which is why many kids need extra help after school with their english.
When writing your ad, remember that not all parents understand or know english, so you might write a very nice ad in english but you won't get your message across because they don't understand it. It's not like in Holland, where english is almost a second language.
Sorry for talking so much, but I hope you got something useful out of all this.
Posts: 66 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 23 July 2002
hey bonnie! are you here now???? will you come to the mm on thursday?
listen...teaching english to kids is a great biz. why? very few want to do it plus very few are actually qualified to do it.
i get calls all the time...in fact i got a call for a seven year old today. send me your number and i'll send you the contact.
your flyers should definately be in Spanish becasue the parents often speak less english than the kids.
my best advice is for you to tack on the sole soothers and start slamming pavement. get a list of colegios from the internet (public and private) and go to those neighborhoods. try posting your flyers near the schools.
especially focus on your swank barrios...salamanca, chamberi, cuzco, etc...and if you can get out to the burbs...la moraleja is dreamy.
summer is a great time because the kids get out of school and the parents usually think this is the perfect time for them to learn english.
if you get some kids in swank areas, the fees could be sweet. i had a couple of darlings last year near cuzco for 30 an hour. lower economic zones, means less money. but you could try and charge..say 7 per kid and take on 4 at a time.
your big, big, big advantage...is that you really work with kids and know kids, and love kids....so many teachers just do it for the cash...make sure you emphasize your background with kids.
good luck candy
Posts: 1001 | Location: MADRID! | Registered: 09 November 2002
Thanks guys, this has all been very helpful, now I just have to get off my rear and get moving.
Candy, I might be able to pop in for a drink on thursday, but I´ve already got plans that night to meet up with some chums from my TEFL program. It´s comforting to me that they are still here and making a go of it after having gone through the program together.
Besos a todos, Bonnie
Posts: 435 | Location: Italy | Registered: 25 November 2003
Roland and I teach kids too. Many of the supermarkets here have bulletin boards on which you can post your information. You may not be able to use your own fliers. But I used the form they had in Champion, without much hope, and got a couple of great classes from it, right near home. Roland and I also have a great contact for children's classes. She pays 15/hour so it won't be as good as private classes, but she's good and reliable. If you're intersted Call Fatima at 917512067. Tell her Juliette or Roland sent you.
You should get people contacting you after a while.
I found that if you keep interviewing with agencies / schools that they will start contacting you for hours before you can get through your entire list.
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Posts: 881 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 08 November 2002
Hi, "nany" you post is abit over a year old, if your still around how's about an update on how it worked out. Were you able to make a living, get enought students.
Was talking to a friend that did his TEFL and he said he's one of the last ones left, most couldn't make it (school only paid 10 euros an hour, not enough to live on) he has enough savings that he's not really working.
formerly timhortonsman
Posts: 383 | Location: Tres Cantos | Registered: 29 June 2006
i believe that Bonnie (AKA "Nanny") indeed did find success as she is (i think) back in madrid now.
i know she went to france this summer for a bit as she got a gig there to cover the teaching downtime in spain during the summer.
not sure if she is too busy to pop in here as sept. usually sees most teachers ironing out their schedules and such.
quote:
Was talking to a friend that did his TEFL and he said he's one of the last ones left, most couldn't make it (school only paid 10 euros an hour, not enough to live on) he has enough savings that he's not really working.
yes, that can happen. the major problem i see is that there are still too many teachers accepting (willing to work for) that pittance so as long as there are, the schools will keep offering crap wages.
that combined with a lot of running around (not to mention unpaid travel time) is what scares the majority of the teachers off to greener esl pastures (such as asia).
The flyers were a huge pain in the ass actually as I posted them all over and only ended up getting one regular class from them (and that was only 1 hour a week). I had much better luck with loquo.com than anything else. Also word of mouth is starting to pay off as I've picked up two classes from one regular class. I've had a lot of luck as the children have been showing obvious improvement and all it takes is for that one parent to brag to another at the playground and your set. If you are lucky you will eventually get about ten hours a week working with children privately as everyone wants you during the same times, from 5:30- 8 p.m. It's very difficult to make enough to live on only working with children. I eventually had to take adult classes as well to suppliment my income. I only have two childrens classes that are more than an hour at a time which means if you teach one class from 5:30-6:30, you then have to race to your next class for a 7-8 class. This can be stressful, not to mention tricky for two reasons. One most families I've talked to want their children to have the first slot as they feel that a 7-8 class is too late, I only found one where they didn't mind. Two they really don't want to have class any earlier than 5:30 as their children are in school till 4:30- 5ish, though if pushed they will agree to 5 or 5:15. I ended up having to pass on one of my favorite classes this year to a friend because the race from Atocha to Nuevos Ministerios in 40 minutes was too much for me.
Ok, possibly more personal info than you wanted. If you want to work with children, ignore everything you've heard about the Spanish ones. They are not anymore spoiled or ill mannered than children I've encountered in the U.S. or the Netherlands and are just as sweet. Each situation is unique and you will have less problems with behaviour if you keep your classes small and keep the games coming. Also make sure the children are about at the same level. You've got many headaches in store for you if they aren't. Parents have no idea what level their children are and will often try to save money by combining classes with friends. However one family may have only exposed their child to a minimum of English while the other has been working for years on building their vocabulary. I prefer to work with the younger ones as there is less grammer involved and the levels aren't as important (if they're mixed) as they are learning through play. I've found teaching children to be more expensive than with adults as you have to have good resources. I've brought over a lot of childrens books from the U.S. and I'm constantly scouring J&J's childrens shelves for books that I can use. When possible with the slighly older ones I like using workbooks as I can always expand on the lessons, but if I don't want to, I don't have to prepare as much as it's already done for me.
Remember that you have to live with the schedule you create for yourself. If it's too stressful you will start to resent having to go to the class. Luckily I never resented the students, but there was one location I hated traveling to.
You will have to make hard choices where you'll be offered more hours with one student, but that will mean you end up either moving another one or losing them. Only you can decide if it's worth it, unfortunatly no one else will make the decision for you.
Also, bribary works well, but this will cost you. Stickers, chuchis, and football cards are all effective motivators for getting children to perform. And especially DON'T SPEAK SPANISH with them, or even let them hear you speaking it. An adult will understand that you are doing it to help them comprehend, but a child will stop trying once you've made the switch as they know you'll understand them in Spanish. This can be tricky as many of the parents you'll encounter will only speak a minimum of English. Take the parents into another room if you need to speak to them in Spanish, and you might end up getting another class out of the parent.
Good luck and have fun! Bonnie
Posts: 435 | Location: Italy | Registered: 25 November 2003
Quick note: With my private childrens classes, I've never accepted less than 20€ an hour. Believe me, parents will pay it. You'll will have some who continue to look, but you'll be able to pick up enough students without having to lower your rates.
I've recently ammended this. If I have to travel outside of the center, or anywhere else I consider to be a hassle I charge 30€ with a minimum of two hours, as well if they ask for weekend classes.
If you don't place a value on your time, no one else will. I didn't do this in the beginning because I needed the work, but I now earn enough to live on, so anything else is a bonus.
*I would personally avoid childrens classes through an academy. The parents pay a lot of money to the academy, but the teachers earn on average about 15€ an hour. And if that situation doesn´t work out you could run into problems with getting more work from your academy.
Cheers, Bonnie
Posts: 435 | Location: Italy | Registered: 25 November 2003
Oh, and teaching assignment in France was da'Bomb! Block hours with one family, lived with them. Four classes, two at an hour and a half each, the others one hour classes. House overlooked the Atlantic, five minutes walk to the beach, access to the pool and gardens, meals prepared by a cook, a bedroom filled with antiques and my own huge private marble bathroom. No jacuzzi though, pity!
I acquired this teaching position through a nanny agency in England. Further proof that you should be prepared to look in unconventional places for teaching work.
Posts: 435 | Location: Italy | Registered: 25 November 2003
Hey Nanny-- We have a huge library of children's English language books (mostly classics) if you ever want to come by and borrow some.
--Megan
P.S. I'm surprised that parents don't try to get you to pick the kids up at 4:30, take them home, and give the lesson right after school. Picking of the kids is hard for a lot of parents who work in the afternoon and they might be willing to pay a premium for this...
P.P.S. Did you ever follow through with the cookie dough idea? I think that I've subconsciously been waiting to hear back about that one...
Posts: 1070 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 10 December 2002
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