Chapters
- 01. Make Yourself Known in International Companies
- 02. Offer Classes in Your Direct Environment: Family, Friends, Neighbors
- 03. Let Social Media Know About Your Classes
- 04. Make Use of Your Local Shops to Spread the Word
- 05. Posting Ads for Your Chinese Classes in Schools
- 06. Placing Ads on the Windshields of Cars
- 07. Using Superprof to Find Students
You've learned Chinese, and now Chinese linguistics and the ancestral culture of the country and its people no longer hold any secrets for you...
With 1.3 billion Chinese speaking people, Chinese-Mandarin is the most widely used language around the globe.
As the second world power, the Chinese language will become an indispensable asset in years to come in order to have a successful international career.
For professional, academic, and cultural reasons, more and more American students want to start learning Chinese.
Unfortunately, Mandarin language teaching has not yet hit all schools the way Spanish has for so many decades. Demand far exceeds supply.
So this is a good time to offer your services and help to teach students to write and speak Chinese. They are waiting for you!
The most complicated thing is to find your first students in order to launch your career as a private Chinese language tutor.
There is nothing more simple - just follow our advice to teach Chinese!
And, as this Chinese proverb explains:
"What you learn is a treasure that will follow you all over the world..."
Make Yourself Known in International Companies
Is your specialty business Chinese? Here is a great solution for you to find some students.
Start with big international companies.
As the 2nd world power, economic relations between China and other countries are becoming more important, especially with the United States.
Trade, industry, energy, finance...Many big American companies trade regularly with Chinese companies. This kind of trade will become more and more the norm in the years to come.
If you know how to speak and write in a foreign language, this will be considered a very good thing professionally speaking. Mandarin is no exception to the rule. Learning the language allows you to:
- Write emails in Chinese,
- Translate reports from Chinese into English,
- Communicate with Chinese suppliers,
- Have telephone conversations with Sinophone speakers, etc.
More and more employees learn Chinese in order to boost their professional career.
Here is your opportunity: why not offer these large international companies your services? You could offer professional tutoring in Chinese?
You could offer to teach professional Chinese to colleagues in order to improve their oral and written comprehension of the Chinese language.
Find out what qualifications are needed to teach Chinese...
Offer Classes in Your Direct Environment: Family, Friends, Neighbors
You've just started tutoring Chinese.
Tell your entourage in order to facilitate finding students.
Do not hesitate to share the information with all your friends and family members.
They will certainly speak to their entourage in return.
You can also offer your services to your neighborhood. Of course, if you live in a building in a large American metropolis, you will have more luck finding students.
Two solutions are available to you:
- Go door-to-door for each of your neighbors: a method that can be tedious, but that will create a first contact with (perhaps) your future students.
- Place your ads in mailboxes or on the doorstep of your neighbors: an effective technique that will arrive to them quickly.
It is very important to include all the following information in your ad:
- Private lessons, evening classes, intensive Chinese courses,
- Chinese language lessons for schoolchildren, students, adults,
- Learning tools used to organize a Chinese course,
- Your references: diplomas, linguistic stays in China, positions held, pedagogy, etc.
Making your new activity known to those around you is one of the first steps to finding future students. Word of mouth could easily have you find your first students, kids eager to learn Chinese.
Discover how to set your rates for giving lessons in Chinese.
Let Social Media Know About Your Classes
Do you offer Chinese classes for high school students and university students?
Why not reach out directly to them on the thing that interests them most: social networks!
When we think that in France there are more than 30 million users on Facebook, it would be silly to miss the opportunity that is handed by this free network?
Over the years, you have accumulated hundreds of contacts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Social networks are a real godsend for your first mandarin lessons! On social media, you can use the messaging services as a modern, direct and free communication tool that can be very effective.
For that, do not hesitate to talk about your new activity on your Facebook page.
On Twitter, post regular announcements on your news feed using carefully chosen hashtags to make your message go viral. You will then be able to reach strangers in search of a private Chinese class and even get in touch with them directly.
Don't forget that if you wish to become a foreign language teacher at an elementary, middle or high school, you will be required to complete teacher certification requirements, which typically include completion of an accredited degree program, classroom experience and an examination, depending on the state in which you work.
In addition to the regular teaching certificate, some states also require an examination in your language. The National Teachers Examination with a foreign language education component is given in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In other states, a different exam is given, so check your requirements at your state Department of Education before you proceed.
As an ultra-connected and modern Chinese tutor, you will attract many future students who want to learn the Chinese language!
Check out available online tutoring jobs UK.
Make Use of Your Local Shops to Spread the Word
Here is another technique: post ads in your neighborhood shops.
This may seem a little outdated for some, especially when we have just spoken about social networks, but it is an old technique that can still bear fruit!
One of the first criteria for choosing a private tutor is his or her location.
Parents and students may find it easier if you are an in-home tutor who lives close to their home.
This is when posting in shops can be beneficial. It might require a little more effort than a simple post on your social network but it does pay off!
If you followed our first tips, you have already written your ad and distributed it throughout your neighborhood.
You could use the same information of course:
- Course type,
- Used tools,
- Privileged public,
- References,
- Chinese lesson rates.
Do not forget your contact details: last name, first name, phone number, e-mail.
The majority of merchants will accept your ad. Some even have a table where everyone can view their message.
In addition to local shops you can also go to supermarkets, which are often more crowded. They are full of future students!
This method is very important if you want to find your future students - do not forget about all the details just mentioned.
Posting Ads for Your Chinese Classes in Schools
How about heading to middle schools, high schools, and universities??
It is surely in schools that you will find the majority of your students.
As only a handful of establishments (mainly in the NYC region) offer Chinese classes in the United States, many students turn to private tutoring in order to learn the Chinese language.
Before submitting your ad to secondary schools, first ask the office whether that will be okay.
In university campuses, they have a board for ads and tips.
To differentiate yourself from Spanish, math, or English class announcements, you need to prepare a beautiful ad to grab people's attention.
- Progress in Chinese vocabulary,
- Learn the pinyin system,
- Introduction to Chinese writing (tones, Chinese characters, calligraphy) for beginners,
- Understand Chinese culture (painting, literature, gastronomy, history, traditions),
- Preparing for a trip to China.
Get out of the way by hooking up your readers and getting them interested!
Why not go directly to the Confucius Institutes?
These institutes established by the People's Republic of China in many cities around the world, including the U.S., aim to promote Mandarin and Chinese culture.
These schools deliver a language diploma - the HSK - that can justify your level of Chinese language proficiency.
You will find students who want to improve their level in vocabulary, grammar, phonetics, or writing to pass this exam.
Follow this guide to becoming a Chinese teacher...
Placing Ads on the Windshields of Cars
To increase your chances of finding students for your Chinese lessons, here is another technique: place ads onto the windshields of cars.
You have already asked the neighbors and shopkeepers in your neighborhood and schools so why not go that extra step?
For this technique, we advise you to put flyers on the windshields instead of printed ads.
Flyers are better to catch the eye of the passers-by and the owners of vehicles, but they are also more weather resistant if the cars are outside.
Remember - the most complicated aspect of tutoring is finding your first students, so don't bypass any solution!
Using Superprof to Find Students
Superprof is the ultimate solution if you would like to transmit your Chinese language knowledge.
Superprof is the first web platform connecting students and private tutors.
With the rise of social networks, using the Internet has become unavoidable today. This is a very modern solution that will allow you to gain a lot of attention and find your first students.
Don't forget that being a tutor involves a range of course books and materials, plus a variety of audio-visual aids, to encourage students to communicate with each other using the structures and vocabulary they've learnt and to improve the four basic language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. A strong emphasis is placed on dialogue and role-playing, but more formal exercises language games and literature are also used.
Tutors can register on our platform free of charge and more and more users are using it to contact private tutors in various fields:
- Higher Education Students: Help your students to learn Chinese grammar rules.
- Bilingual Chinese graduate professor: find students who want to revise Chinese linguistics to succeed with the HSK.
- Native Chinese tutor: Many students may need you to improve oral comprehension and Mandarin pronunciation.
In 10 minutes you will have a profile. All you need to do is inform your students of your location, the rate of your courses, and your references. It won't take long for you to find just the students you need!
Now learn how to plan your Mandarin lessons...
The platform that connects tutors and students
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