Talk Your Way To Riches
Published in Business Ideas & Marketing Secrets, Educational Income
Do you speak English? Do you like money? Do you enjoy talking to interesting people? Well, have I got a job for you!
You, as an English-speaker, are in possession of a very valuable commodity. People from other countries are more than willing to hand over big chunks of cash to hear you speak. That is right; you can make money by teaching your own language! Moreover, it is not difficult.
This business is best if you live in a high immigrant area or a university town, but it can work anywhere there are people who don’t speak fluent English. Choose your target audience, Korean, Chinese, Indian, etc. and find someone to help you write a sign in that language. Better yet, in all languages that could be useful in your area.
To eliminate those who want $1 classes, list your price. This will vary depending on where you live. For individual classes, you can charge more, perhaps $25-35. If you feel up to teaching a class, keep it small, max. Five or six people and charge less per person, $5-10 is appropriate.
If you have no interest in grammar and do not care what a gerund is, you can offer conversation classes. These require minimal grammatical explanations; their main purpose is to offer practice and pronunciation. For those grammar lovers among you, offer a full course, with reading, writing, grammar, and conversation.
There are plenty of great English teaching books out there, but my favorite is the Cambridge University’s “English Grammar in Use” which is for intermediate use. You should be able to find this in any decent bookstore, or, if not, order it in. The beginning grammar will be mostly up to you. I haven’t found any books that start from scratch. But it isn’t difficult. You will begin with the most common verbs, such as “to be”, “to have” etc. Work on vocabulary and, even if you speak the student’s language, stick to English, they will learn faster.
Many colleges offer TESL (teaching English as a Second Language) courses, which are helpful, but not necessary. It is up to you to decide if you want to spend the money on becoming a bit more confident.
The best part of this business is that it is an international one. While you will find plenty of work here on native soil, why not travel a bit? Head to Japan, Mexico, or anywhere else that English is not the native language and you will find a multitude of opportunities. Moreover, who doesn’t love to be paid to travel?
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