Beth in SW WA Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 She provides her own materials that she wrote and assigns 30 min of homework per day. Does this seem a fair fee? I like that she is casual about sick days and vacations (no contract). Our neighbors use her and are achieving great results. She said the way high schools teach Spanish doesn't get the job done. Students might know random vocab words and grammar rules, but can't converse in Spanish. What do you think?? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I need more info to answer your question. Is this a private lesson? Is she coming to your house? What do you mean by "30 minutes of homework per day" - like you are seeing her once a week and supposed to be doing homework 30 minutes every day? What does the homework consist of? What approach is she using in her materials? Is she a native speaker? From what I know right now, it seems high to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 In my area there is a language-music school that charges $35 per HALF-hour of private instruction. That is what is commonly charged here. I paid $35 per HOUR to a tutor for a year for dd and was happy with that. Dd had less than a half an hour of homework per week. I would have liked her to have more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Could you get one other family to split it with you? $9.00 a student ...for an hour sounds great to me! Especially if you can get some good references about her teaching. Anyway, a class of 4 might make it more fun, too. Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 Thanks gang. She is from Bolivia and tutors math and Spanish at our local school district. She would speak to my dd in Spanish in our home for 1 hour/wk. This fee is per student. If my ds would attend class (in our living room :)) then it would be $50/hour. She wrote her own program. She disagrees w/ the way that schools teach Spanish. She said they cover too much and the students have too many gaps. They don't connect the dots -- thus never becoming fluent after 2-4 years of Spanish class. Do you agree? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Oh, ouch! I wouldn't pay that much....I guess I'm cheap. I took spanish in college and then worked at a Spanish speaking grocery store, where everyone's mother tongue...was spanish. I spoke a lot of spanish, and had I stayed there...I would be fluent. I guess I'd think about a volunteer opportunity for them....But, if you have the $$$, sounds like a great experience! I would just think about how long you feel you'd want to pay for it, and how your children will continue to speak it after that point. Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Well, if you can afford it and you think she's worth it, then why not try? I still think it's high, and I'd like to know more specifically what she is doing in one hour a week that is so much better than what schools do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 She disagrees w/ the way that schools teach Spanish. She said they cover too much and the students have too many gaps. They don't connect the dots -- thus never becoming fluent after 2-4 years of Spanish class. Do you agree? Thanks!! I have never met a person who could make you fluent after 2-4 years unless you live with them. She is asking for too much money. Even if she were to teach well, your children would not be fluent unless they had someone to practice with on a regular basis. If she is saying otherwise, run the other way. I live in Mexico, and even my children aren't fluent...and they do summer camp, chess club, movies in Spanish, plus I taught them the basics (ABC's, a little reading, and speaking at home). If you decide to retain her, just be aware of this, otherwise you are setting yourself up for disappointment. I taught my BIL english at the age of 13, but he lived with me and was surrounded by it. I was able to enforce certain rules around the house concerning TV and reading. In truth a tutor will provide basic vocabulary, reading and conversational skills. Which is fine, but for $35 and hour. Also, I would consider the fact that you can't share the cost with other students a red flag. Sorry to be so doom and gloom, but I know a lot of people who were told by tutors that they could make their children fluent. Often the parents have no way of knowing for sure because they do no speak the language, and when my husband or myself spoke to the children it was actually very minimal. Just proceed with caution, and if you do have your heart set on her, get more refs, and maybe a Spanish speaker who could speak to one of her students and give you an idea of how much she has actually learned. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 For whatever it's worth, in my area $40 per hour is the going rate for tutoring. I paid a math tutor $20 per half hour, twice a week, to help us get over a hump. My son's guitar lessons are $30 per half hour. Language instruction is an advanced skill, and it requires the teacher to prepare materials outside of class, therefore it usually costs more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 Thank you both. She will be tutoring both my older kids for 1 hour/week. We'll see how it goes. Yes, she is $35/hour. Ouch. Kids aren't cheap! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I hope it works out to be a great exp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Update: The tutor is awesome! She is a sweet, beautiful Bolivian native who speaks broken English, although the kids understand her completely. She is definitely worth the fee! She is an educator by trade -- and it shows. After 6 months of RS Spanish, they couldn't answer any of her questions -- nor speak anything in Spanish except naming a few colors. I think a tutor is they way-to-go for us. This will be a great fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partyof5 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Beth, Glad to see it went so well and you find her instruction worth the fee. I think the fee is within the normal range for in-home private instruction. Dh charges $40 and up for in-home chemistry and math tutoring. Enjoy the language learning!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Update: The tutor is awesome! She is a sweet, beautiful Bolivian native who speaks broken English, although the kids understand her completely. She is definitely worth the fee! She is an educator by trade -- and it shows. After 6 months of RS Spanish, they couldn't answer any of her questions -- nor speak anything in Spanish except naming a few colors. I think a tutor is they way-to-go for us. This will be a great fit! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Even without your update about how much you love her, I would still have said that $35/hour is completely reasonable. I just retained a Spanish tutor for my dd. The tutor is a university Spanish teacher who is also certified as a K-8 teacher and has been tutoring Spanish for elementary kids for 10 years. Her fee is $35/hour, but she will meet with dd for 1/2 an hour a week for $15 because she won't have to teach my dd from a curriculum; I will be doing the curriculum teaching, and the tutor will be providing conversation practice and grammar help, when needed. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Even without your update about how much you love her, I would still have said that $35/hour is completely reasonable. I just retained a Spanish tutor for my dd. The tutor is a university Spanish teacher who is also certified as a K-8 teacher and has been tutoring Spanish for elementary kids for 10 years. Her fee is $35/hour, but she will meet with dd for 1/2 an hour a week for $15 because she won't have to teach my dd from a curriculum; I will be doing the curriculum teaching, and the tutor will be providing conversation practice and grammar help, when needed. Tara Thanks, Tara. What curriculum are you using? That is a nice arrangement you have w/ the tutor. I love listening to our tutor. Bolivian Spanish is beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 What curriculum are you using? THAT is the question that has occupied my mind for the month. I was planning to go with Flip-Flop Spanish this summer to start and see where that took us. I was flip-flopping between Flip-Flop and Espanol para los chiquitos. I finally decided I'd give Eplc a try, but then I found out about Elementary Spanish, which is available through Discovery Streaming. I got their 30-day free trial and we watched a few episodes and I am in love with Elementary Spanish, so I am going to save up enough money to either buy the year's worth ($125, including student workbook) or subscribe to Discovery Streaming ($200 a year, and you get all the other Discovery Streaming material, but we have Netflix, which we feel more than meets our needs for educational materials, AND I would prefer to own the program rather than subscribe to it). So, I think we will use Elementary Spanish! :001_smile: Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Tara, I've been following your posts. Yes, it is a big decision -- and an expensive one! I'll look into ES on US. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsquared Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I agree with the way most high schoolers experience language. How many people do you hear say, "I took 2 years of Spanish and don't remember a thing"? Anyway, I agree that the price is high. The language school near me charges $25 an hour. My daughter attends Italian school every Saturday and that is $200 for the entire school year including materials. I recently stumbled across the following website for language tutoring/learning. www.mypersonallanguagetutor.com. You can learn a number of languages for around $20 an hour - or you can even do a group class for the same rate. You are paired with a native speaker who is actually living in a country where the language is spoken and you communicate using Skype. They provide homework, reading, the works. I did a trial last week just to check it out and was thrilled. I spent an intensive hour speaking about politics with a man in Costa Rica. I learned so much about Costa Rica as well! I highly recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Around here the going rate for a private one hour tutoring session is $40, so it sounds reasonable to me. I'm sure it depends on where you live. ETA whoops--I must have come in late, and I answered before I read (I don't usually do that, but sometimes...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneRoomSchoolHouse Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 She disagrees w/ the way that schools teach Spanish. She said they cover too much and the students have too many gaps. They don't connect the dots -- thus never becoming fluent after 2-4 years of Spanish class. Do you agree? I was in private school and took 3 years of high school spanish. I was able to read very well, but carrying a conversation with someone else was very hard when you didn't have anyone to practice with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflower Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 in my area the tutor i looked into to do beginner lesson w/ dd1 wanted 65 an hour.... but i think everything here is out of whack with the rest of the country.... She provides her own materials that she wrote and assigns 30 min of homework per day. Does this seem a fair fee? I like that she is casual about sick days and vacations (no contract). Our neighbors use her and are achieving great results. She said the way high schools teach Spanish doesn't get the job done. Students might know random vocab words and grammar rules, but can't converse in Spanish. What do you think?? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in OK Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 We pay $20/hour for my oldest two and $10/hour for my preschooler and me for classes in my home. So, $30 week for all four of us. She comes out 3 times during the week for advanced, preschool and adult classes. Class size is 3-5 people and we are all friends. She is from Spain and is a degreed language instructor in Spanish, Italian, and English as a second language. ETA, this includes all materials (books and cds), materials needed for crafts, and sometimes food from different Spanish speaking cultures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 We pay $20/hour for my oldest two and $10/hour for my preschooler and me for classes in my home. So, $30 week for all four of us. She comes out 3 times during the week for advanced, preschool and adult classes. Class size is 3-5 people and we are all friends. She is from Spain and is a degreed language instructor in Spanish, Italian, and English as a second language. ETA, this includes all materials (books and cds), materials needed for crafts, and sometimes food from different Spanish speaking cultures. But note the difference in class size--the tutor is still making more than that per hour. I think this is a great thing to do, btw, if you can get a tutor do do more than one dc because it's less per dc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Wow. I teach spanish out of my house and charge only $10.00 and hour. What's wrong with me!!?? hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) I'm glad to here that it is working out well! If she is as good as you say, I think that $35/hour is fine. I've noticed that many people are willing to pay high prices for music lessons, karate (group), etc., yet they balk at paying the same amounts or less (especially when taking into account the number of students) for academic tutors. 14 years ago I was getting $25/hour to tutor math in the metro-Atlanta area (I'm also a certified teacher). I had all the students I could handle because my rates were cheap compared to others. eta: I probably wouldn't be able to get as much in this area as in Atlanta, but if I didn't have health problems now, I would still pursue it. Edited July 14, 2009 by JudyJudyJudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (I can't address the price question; no experience there.) I would expect her to substantiate her claims about the schools, with specific details. I studied Spanish in the publics from 7th-12th, and was bilingual upon high school graduation. Often I was dreaming in Spanish, rather than in English. (Nobody else in my family spoke Spanish.) Have you compared her self-designed curriculum against other available curricula ? Thanks gang. She is from Bolivia and tutors math and Spanish at our local school district. She would speak to my dd in Spanish in our home for 1 hour/wk. This fee is per student. If my ds would attend class (in our living room :)) then it would be $50/hour. She wrote her own program. She disagrees w/ the way that schools teach Spanish. She said they cover too much and the students have too many gaps. They don't connect the dots -- thus never becoming fluent after 2-4 years of Spanish class. Do you agree? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyJ Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 2006-2008 I was teaching for the homebound program in our public school system, i.e. one on one tutoring, and received $40/hour, before taxes. We pay our piano teacher $20/half hour, and organ teacher $25/half hour, so I think your Spanish tutor, if she's good, is right on target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Becoming fluent in 2-4 years?! No way, unless you live in the country where it's spoken and handle most of your business directly in the language. But then again, the definition of fluency varies too. I would never call my daughters fluent in Hebrew, yet I've heard them described that way more than once. Sure, they can watch TV and get most of it, read news and get most of it, converse about everyday topics with ease and about harder, more "academic" topics if helped, be in Israel and conduct most of their communication with other people in Hebrew (buying and ordering stuff, casual chats, etc), and they even know most of the Israeli teen slang, listen to Israeli music basically every day and have good accents. I don't call that fluent. Till they're casually reading Israeli literature without noticing it's in Hebrew and till they can do academic-level writing about Philosophy and Physics in Hebrew, using all the proper terminology, they're not fluent in my eyes. They're fluent in English and Italian, with a "reasonable command" of Hebrew. Many people call them trilingual, I call them bilingual and I think they have a long way to go till fluency in Hebrew. Pay attention to those "fluent in X months" stuff. Nobody can make you fluent with an hour a week in a few years, you need to live in the language to become fluent in it. Regarding the price, I think it's reasonable. I sometimes tutored Italian, ranging from $60 to $80 an hour, in my house (however, I tutored exclusively people with a decent background in the language, who wanted speaking practice on non-everyday topics or needed help with a specific kind of terminology, i.e. I didn't teach basic grammar for that money but advanced stuff, and it was always a few lessons only, not that I was continuously teaching somebody Italian, but rather helping with specific advanced stuff), and even I considered that a little bit expensive - but since I didn't need to do it for a living, and since I had a kind of monopoly (no other good Italian teachers able to handle those stuff, and not much Italians here...), I used the situation to suit me. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I wonder if the price of tutors varies a lot by locale. Where we live, I know parents of elementary students who are tutored in basic math and writing and pay $60 per hour. That seems to be the going rate even for higher level subjects. I've heard that in Bucks County, PA it's much more than that. I don't think we'll be using tutors. Instead, I think I should become one.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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