Chapters
So, you speak Arabic and are a native Egyptian or Moroccan. One possible career path would be (supposedly) easy to follow. Because you speak Egyptian or Moroccan Arabic, otherwise known as Darija, you could share your linguistic knowledge as an Arabic teacher.
You may think that other languages - English, German, Spanish, Italian, and even Portuguese - overshadow Arabic when officials design national educational curriculum. However, Arabic is becoming more and more important.
The Arabic language is spoken internationally by more than 270 million people in 22 countries. Arabic is the eighth most spoken language on the planet.
Today, providing courses in Arabic is quite useful.
As an Arabic teacher, you teach your students to read and write Arabic, to improve their oral expression and comprehension. You promote Arab civilization, language, and culture.
How do you make yourself known? How do you attract students to your courses?
Building a clientele takes time. Let Superprof provide some guidance and help you find work.
Find students through word-of-mouth
When starting out as a personal services provider, you may have to deal with the competition. You must, therefore, know how to distinguish yourself in terms of supply and demand.
Get your friends and family talking about you. Promote your new career as an Arabic teacher offering private lessons. Spread the word. Imagine the classic children's game "telephone".
Begin by announcing to your social network that you are looking for students.
Perhaps they will talk about you. It may seem silly, but this will certainly allow you to get your foot in the door with your first client.
Your social network is a vital part of finding work as an Arabic teacher.
Sociological studies have revealed that when looking for a job, distant contacts often yield better results than closer acquaintances. In 1973, sociologist Mark Granovetter called this the "strength of weak ties".
This means that someone with whom you are only somewhat familiar (a weak tie) is more likely to hire you than someone you know very well (a strong tie).
Perhaps your brother or best friend knows someone who's looking to learn Arabic or Maybe someone can put you in touch with high school students needing private lessons in preparation for their exams.
The word-of-mouth strategy is seen as an informal communication tool that puts you in contact with people you may not know very well.
After a few lessons, your happy private lesson students may promote your linguistic and teaching skills among their personal networks, saying something like,
"You're spending a year in Egypt? I'm taking Arabic lessons, and I've made lots of progress. Call my teacher. He's great!"
Find out what qualifications make a great teacher of Arabic!
Or, "If you're having difficulty getting ready for your Arabic exam, I can give you my private tutor's number. He's a fantastic teacher."
To turn teaching into a full-time job, place ads in all the public spaces in your town.
Find tutoring jobs on Superprof website.
Place free classified ads to find students
To increase your student roster, begin by creating an ad on your computer, one you can post anywhere. Read on to learn how to create a good ad.
Write an attractive ad.
- Create an attractive profile for yourself.
- Provide details about your background (native of an Arabic country, bilingual), education level (certificates, diplomas), experience, and language proficiency.
- Indicate your expertise in Arabic. Do you give lessons in Arabic literature or dialectal Arabic? Do you teach Quranic or modern standard Arabic?
- What is your target client? Do you teach beginners or offer individual lessons for advanced students?
- Describe your approach. Do you follow an official curriculum, focus on learning the Holy Quran, or center your lessons on the alphabet and Arabic letters? Do you teach grammar (personal and possessive pronouns, verbs, conjugation), provide exercises for reading and writing Arabic literature, lead conversations for improving pronunciation and oral expression, etc?
- Provide details about your teaching method.
- Say a few words about your temperament. Are you a good listener, calm, cheerful, demanding? Do you adjust your lessons to the wants and needs of each student?
- Assuming that you're ads have been well placed, such information should interest potential students.
Contact schools
Some high schools offer Arabic courses. Take a look at the schools in your neighborhood.
Ask the administration if you may leave a few of your business cards or flyers, or if you may post your ad on their bulletin boards.
List you ad with various associations in your town. Try sports, music, drama, and language organizations, for example.
What should you charge for your Arabic lessons?
Other places to advertise your services
Place your ad in local businesses, community centers, mosques, etc. You might be surprised to find a good source of clients close to home.
Lastly, be active on the internet. Post your ad on general classified ad platforms (craigslist, kijiji) as well as specialized sites for individual lessons (Superprof, for example).
On Facebook, join tutoring, job search, and individual services groups and talk about what you offer. You could even become the community manager for private Arabic lessons!
You could also create a website with only a passing knowledge of WordPress. Register with Google Address to optimize your site on search engines.
Find clients through language schools
There may be many schools, in your town or on line, that offer courses in Arabic. Such resources are a great way to multiply your options for finding students.
If you live in a large city, there are certainly many language schools that offer Arabic classes. Apply for teaching positions in all that you find.
If the demand is there, you could also become an independent contractor or a salaried employee hired by an agency to teach Arabic to families, children, or adults registered for their courses.
Here is a partial list of language schools where you might inquire about offering Arabic lessons:
- Middlebury Language Schools, Middlebury, VT
- Pacific Arabic Language School, San Francisco, CA
- Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, Monterey, CA
- Center for Arabic Culture, Somerville, MA
- International Language Institute, Washington, DC
- Language Loop, Chicago, IL
- Language Stars, McLean, VA
Unfortunately, they may not have any openings at the moment.
But, take a chance! You never know. Perhaps there will be a vacancy just waiting for you.
Sign up as a private tutor to find more students
We couldn't very well offer guidance about increasing clientele for your Arabic lessons without mentioning Superprof, our website for finding lessons and tutors.
Private lessons are an excellent way to learn a language. Home-based lessons are individualized and learning resources can be adapted to each student.
Superprof boasts hundreds of Arabic teachers.
Some are native speakers of Arabic. Others are literature students. You'll find a variety of profiles among which to distinguish yourself.
If you're looking to teach, this is your chance to provide home-based lessons that help students to
- begin speaking Arabic
- learn the Arabic alphabet
- read and write Arabic fluently
- learn Arabic vocabulary
- practice phonetics
- improve their knowledge of Arabic words and phrases
- increase their level of Arabic grammar
- refine their conversational Arabic
Define your method for teaching Arabic. A good teacher is one who adapts to his or her student's level and knows how to apply appropriate learning resources.
If you are a native of an Arab country, then Arabic is your native language.
You are therefore suited to offer lessons in Arabic literature, introductory Arabic as well as intensive courses for those preparing for exams.
You may also be ready to offer lessons in Islamic education to Muslim students interested in mastering the Tajwid.
Learn more about Arabic teacher jobs...
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