Homestay tutor (German)

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Sunnyday21
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Homestay tutor (German)

Postby Sunnyday21 » Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:35 pm

I am a German teacher at a German high school and as my retirement gets closer I am trying to figure out how I could continue to do what I love: teaching German. Now I had the idea to become a homestay tutor offering accomodation (double room in my house with garden view and private bathroom), homecooked meals as well as casual conversation and individual German lessons according to the needs of my guests. Would you consider a homestay like this? And if yes how much would you be willing to pay?
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Cavesa
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Re: Homestay tutor (German)

Postby Cavesa » Tue Sep 28, 2021 2:59 am

The only way I would consider this: You'd have to be on a trustworthy website with good references. While this sounds great for German learning in theory, there are simply many problems and risks. Personal security above all. I can't imagine a woman accepting this, unless there really are some guarantees (most host families are known by a language school or agency or something). Secondarily, I am not sure homecooked meals are that attractive, most people don't expect a tutor to automatically be a good cook, no offense meant.

The third point would be the language teaching quality. Assuming I'd consider this, I would expect a solid plan, adapted to my expectations and goals, your plan sounds almost as if language learning was secondary. A fourth thing that makes me really hesitate: I am right now teaching someone intensively. It can become a hell, spending so much time together with one person and in the learning context. Not sure the idea of spening 24/7 with one teacher will be that popular, it might even lead to some unpleasant experiences (for you and the students).

If all these issues were taken care of, I guess I'd consider paying 1,5-2x more than the language schools near you demand. Some people will argue, and rightly, that individual tutoring is worth much more than a class. But then you'd have to rely on finding enough very rich learners. Perhaps that would be a good strategy, perhaps not.
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Sonjaconjota
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Re: Homestay tutor (German)

Postby Sonjaconjota » Tue Sep 28, 2021 8:26 am

I have seen this kind of offer for other languages before and found it really interesting.
Here's an example:
https://www.notintheguidebooks.com/france/nice/french-language-immersion-nice/
I have never tried anything like it because what I've seen so far has been incredibly expensive.
When it comes to the aspect of safety: Well, it is true that offering a service like this through a professional website would really help.
Maybe there's something like an AirBnB for language tutors?
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Cavesa
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Re: Homestay tutor (German)

Postby Cavesa » Tue Sep 28, 2021 12:16 pm

I have seen it offered too, but only on trustworthy websites. I wouldn't go for anything It was one of the few options for Swedish learners, and it was really expensive. Another similar thing I've seen was a luxury program for Spanish learners in Barcelona. So, it is nothing new, and it probably does have some target public with enough money and a desire of one on one approach.

But such a public will be even more demanding about stuff like "homecooked meals". And it is obvious they'll also want a better plan than casual conversations and some lessons (people more after a nice casual experience may not be willing to pay so much).

Honestly, I think partnership with a platform already offering something like this would be a good idea not only to guarantee safety of the students, but also for marketing, for presentation of the program, and so on. And now that I'm thinking of it, you might like the protection as a teacher and host too.
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luke
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Re: Homestay tutor (German)

Postby luke » Tue Sep 28, 2021 4:19 pm

Sunnyday21 wrote:Would you consider a homestay like this?

A lot depends on what you're looking for, your location, what you want to do as far as "hosting".

2 different situations from my perspective - there are others, but these are quite distinct when thinking about pricing:

a) Young unmarried couple want to visit your part of the world and hang out for a week or two and "learn German".
b) Single person in Germany to live or study for the long term. They may be studying German, or just studying, or just want to feel what it's like to live where you do for an extended period of time. They may stay with you for months or a few years if everything is pleasant on both sides.

Then there's you. Do you like meeting a lot of people (extroverted), or are you a home body that prefers one or two more substantial relationships?

People have brought up the importance of your clients vetting you. On the other side, there's you vetting your potential clients. Is that something you'd enjoy, worry about, or just trust people?

But the direct answer to your question, if you live in a pleasant, safe area, want to defray some of your living expenses, would enjoy some low-key helping someone with their German and acclimating to where ever you are, and wanted to take on someone for months or more, (so the vetting on both sides is once and done, rather than something you have to revisit constantly, then a 10% premium over whatever would be normal for such accommodations would be attractive.

I wouldn't be looking for "a lot" of teaching, but conversation and feedback. Perhaps some help with "you need to know how to X" and this is how you do that (get a haircut the way you want, or whatever).

Also would be helpful if we had another common language besides German to "negotiate meaning" in. E.G., you can speak some English or whatever.
Last edited by luke on Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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german2k01
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Re: Homestay tutor (German)

Postby german2k01 » Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:13 pm

You can become a tutor on iTalki and earn money this way. Time will be flexible for you. No extra effort is needed for cooking meals. My experience with German landlords has been negative as an international student. They usually take advantage of foreign students not knowing about the local laws and not knowing the German language so they are at their mercy. Money is king in Germany. In a country like Germany where a doctor (who is known for saving humanity) tries to cheat you off and threaten you then offers like the above should be treated with caution. Unless you have been there for years and have known German to a higher level.
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Sunnyday21
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Re: Homestay tutor (German)

Postby Sunnyday21 » Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:42 pm

@all. Thank you for your feed back. I am female and the safety question is actually something that I had on my list as a con.
You are right, I probably have a more casual approach to this. I did something similar myself long ago right before an oral English exam. It was a one-week stay with a similar setting and I really enjoyed my stay with a retired English couple. There were no formal lessons but a lot of casual conversation and the relaxed atmosphere actually had a huge positive effect on my oral skills. I think that my language skills improved because of this informal approach. They corrected my mistakes but in such a nice and casual way that it didn't disturb the on going conversation. This experience was so positive and that is probably the reason why I am considering to offer such a setting. With regard to expenses: It wasn't that expensive. More like an Airbnb plus a reasonable price per cooked meal (decent but nothing spectacular) and a small extra amount for the language experience. The meals were optional by the way.
That being said a partnership with a platform already offering something like this is a good idea but not if they are as expensive as you mentioned. Somebody suggested an AirBnB for language tutors. If you happen to know a website like this please let me know!
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