Business by Janice

Up to now we’ve concentrated on face to face language training but have recognised that to keep up with the times it was essential to have an on-line or “blended” product in our portfolio. And of couse the advantage to the client on this product is price.

As we’ve been hearing so many comments about budgets contratints from our existing clients, you would think that the offering of a product which allows language training to continue and at the same time meets new (much lower) expectations on price would be welcomed or at least considered.

I don’t know what other schools’ experience has been so far this year in this area, but we just can’t seem to raise any interest for this type of product.  Every time, the reaction has been that there is nothing like having a real flesh and blood teacher to motivate the student and on line classes are a very poor substitute.

Quite frankly, I totally agree. And so I wonder if I’m  projecting my beliefs on this subject subconsciously onto the client which then accounts for the results I’m getting? At the end of the day we are really only successful in selling what we feel passionately about.

I’d be interested to know if other schools have seen an increase in their on-line products this year and whether they feel this can be attributed to prices sensitivity in this recession.

Times of crisis affect everyone differently but the one thing that impacts on any of us is our level of proactivity.

What prompted me to write this post this week is the varying attitudes I see from teachers as they hunt for classes. There are teachers who take full responsibility for their own future and calmly and persistently seek out the few vacant classes that are around, and there are others that consistently project their neediness on us, demanding that we find them classes.

Getting more classes is what our business  about,  so of course , as business owners, we are going to be as proactive as possible to  achieve that end. In fact,  if we don’t have a minimum number of classes running, we are in danger of falling into a headlong spiral of losses which could ultmately result in the loss of our houses as the majority of the overdrafts from the bank are guaranteed by the business owners’ properties! The old story of entreprenuers taking risks in anticipation of greater rewards, I know. I just like to throw it in from time to time.

My observations this week got me thinking that regardless of whether you are an employee or an employer, you are responsible for your future. We are all our own “personal corporation” and must invest in ourselves and act accordingly. It is indeed our level of proactivity will give us results and shape our lives.

Times of economic recession are times of adjustment, reshuffling and flexibility. The first challenge for many comes from a simple acceptance of a situation. Yes, times are hard, let’s accept that and just get on with it. The next step is to ask ourselves, what needs to be done differently? How can I adjust to this new situation? How can I be flexible to change what I’m doing to fit this new situation? Because that what recession is - a process of change, so it makes sense for us to change as well. If we don’t, we will be in a state of resistance with all the negativity and conflict that that would involve.

I love the spiritual tenet that nothing is good or bad, it just is.  Something is a problem because we decide to name it so, and then surround the situation with negative energy.  If not controlled, that negative energy then takes on a force of its own as more negative thoughts are drawn to it by the Law of Attraction. Before long, we see a physical manifestation of our negative thoughts.

So, where are you? Do you view the crisis as a problem? If you do, what can you do to change your perspective? Because the crisis just is, the problem lies in how you see it.

For the last two years the EFL market in Madrid has been challenging to say the least.

There has been a severe shortage of  teachers which has led to many without qualifications and working papers getting work. Another effect has been  teachers suddenly dropping classes  as they are offered 2€/hour extra in the academy down the road etc.etc.

But then the famous “crisis” came along. I’m not sure what it’s like in the rest of Spain but here in Madrid there has been a total turnaround in demand and supply. All of a sudden teachers are in abundant supply as multinationals cut their training budgets and hence their demand for language classes.

Ok, you’re saying, this is all very obvious and to be expected, but I was inspired to write this post thinking more of  those teachers coming to Madrid to look for work. What are the implications of the current situation for incoming teachers?

Firstly, if you are non EU and don’t have working papers for Spain, you are going to find it very difficult to find classes. I’ve received quite a few emails from American teachers already expressing this. However, a large supply of legal teachers available in Madrid is not the only reason why non legals are feeling the pinch. In general the Spanish authorities are tightening up in lots of areas which is making schools take a long hard look at the way they are doing things.

To illustrate what I’m talking about, in the last few months we have had the following:

• A visit from the local police to check our “licencia de actividades”
• An inspection from the Ministerio del Trabajo on the correctness of the baja of a teacher
• A visit from the “Departamento de Consumo” of the Town Hall to make sure (and help us get in order-  what a civilised way of doing things!) that we weren’t in breach of the laws governing consumer rights.
• Calls from company clients to ask for the TCS (the document proving that teachers have had a contract) so they could complete the offical paperwork necessary to claim the Government training subsidy.

The point I’m making here is that SPAIN IS TIGHTENING UP. Recruiting non EU teachers without papers is one of the most serious things that an academy can do. Many are no longer prepared to take the risk, and with the market being as it is at the moment, most academies don’t need to.

Another implication of the effects of the crisis is that in general, in order to be more competitive in the labour market, people improve their skills and qualifications. And this, of course, applies to teachers.

The proliferation of short TEFL courses might be ok for getting you a job when there are lots of classes available. But when there aren’t, no reputable school is going to give a weekend TEFL course a second glance. What we want as a minimum is ALWAYS the full 4 week long TEFL (I’m referring to the full time course here). We have always, and will always want this. Teaching is complex and you are simply not prepared for it properly with a mere weekend’s training.

Economic recessions lead to readjustments. Leaving the emotional side apart, of people losing their jobs and houses etc, recessions are necessary, some would say even good, as they cause economies to strengthen and move forward. I have a couple of friends who are economists and when I ask them about the “crisis”, it always strikes me how calm and fatalistic they are.

So where may we see readjustments in our market?

If the current situation stops non EU teachers comng to Spain, it means they won’t suffer not finding work once they’re here and it prevents schools from being tempted to hire them and running the risk of being prosecuted.

If the current situation encourages new teachers to get a better TEFL qualification, it means we will be sending better  teachers to clients and the quality of the sector in general will improve.

This is what we are crying out for in Madrid - BETTER QUALITY LANGUAGE TRAINING.

And finally, looking at this whole issue from the business side of the school, what implications do we have there?  That’s easy. If there is less demand for classes, those schools who are not offering a good service need to get their finger out and start offering one, otherwise they will go out of business.

What are we talking about again?  - BETTER QUALITY LANGUAGE TRAINING.

… a very pertinent question, and if we get down to the nitty gritty we could ask, would I employ a teacher who didn’t have TEFL? (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)

When I interview I’m looking for a teacher who satisfies certain basic criteria:

• they are aware of the importance of setting learning objectives
• they confidently tell me what they think about when planning a class
• they have a reasonable handle on grammar, at least knowing the difference between certain tenses
• they talk about error correction techniques and how they recycle previously taught language
• they take needs analysis for granted
• they are aware of what type of activities motivate different student groups

I’m also looking for people who have excellent communication skills and an assertive personality.

Could a teacher satisfy the listed criteria without having done a TEFL course? It’s quite possible.

However, unless the teacher has an exceptional CV with many years teaching and other professional experience, and their covering letter has really caught my eye, it would be difficult to move to the stage of being invited to interview with our school. Like any skills based qualification, TEFL acts as a sceening device and does indicate to us that the teacher at least knows the basic teaching techniques.

I remember when I first started teaching I did some private classes before doing my CELTA. The before and after was amazing and quite frankly I felt gulity that I had actually charged people for my classes pre CELTA, I knew NOTHING! That’s another reason why I’m sceptical about all the week end and on line courses that have suddenly appeared on the market. How much can you really learn in a week end? And it can’t possibly compare to a full 4 week course. In my interviews I always ask the teacher for their opinon of the course and nine times out of ten I get a strong reaction saying that they found the course extremely challenging.

There’s also the personal development angle. If you’re serious about doing something, shouldn’t you try to do it to the best of your ability?  So if you want to teach and be taken seriously you need to do a TEFL course. Some people may say that the cost is prohibitive, but as mentioned above, there’s a TEFL course to fit every pocket and SOMETHING is better than nothing. At least it demonstrates some commitment.

Here in Madrid as I’ve mentioned in another post, the demand for English is HUGE, which means that there is work for every type of teacher, TEFL or no TEFL. And I think that is a big shame as it’s lowering standards and consequently damaging the reputation of our industry.

So please, if you are thinking of going into teaching, take yourself and our sector seriously and get TEFLed.

I was out with a group friends the other night and we got to talking about people’s experience of English classes. One of the girls who has worked many years as a management consultant commented that her major complaint of many of the classes she’s received is that there is no obvious method. By method she meant a disciplined structure to every class that would take her securely to the end result she was looking for.

There are of course some schools who have their own method such as Vaughn Systems and Berlitz but the majority of schools leave the details of how the class is going to be imparted up to the individual teacher. The majority of these teachers have been trained in teaching techniques, handling classroom dynamics, planning a class etc via their TEFL course but when they get into class they decide exactly how they are going to teach to achieve the results required. Now that is a BIG responsibility.

And the course books the teachers are issued with have so much material that the teacher is often overwhelmed, either trying to fit it all in in class and not covering anything properly, or throwing in the towel and going in with photocopies from internet.

Now there are some excellent teachers out there, but there are many that, even armed with TEFL, seem to need a good dose of discipline to give structured classes. Can we depend on our teachers to give disciplined classes, to stick to their class plans and so lead the student forward to achieve their objectives? And if we can’t depend on our teachers to do this, how much extra training and feedback do we need to do to ensure it does happen, and does this fit into our cost/revenue structure?

Throughly TEFL trained teachers can add a diversity and richness to classes via the use of imaginative activities not found in those that use a specific methodology. And these teachers can adapt their approach to the different learning styles and interests of the students, to get right into the individual’s motivation for learning. But how many teachers do this as effectively as we would wish? The more freedom we give to the teacher, the more risk we take that the class is not as effective as we would want.

So, which is the best way? A strict methodology to ensure specific results or a more open approach to try and satisfy the different learning styles and interests of the student?

Whether you are a teacher, student or language school director I’d be very interested to hear which approach you favour and why.

On occasions in the past I’ve had “autonomo” teachers scoff at what we pay, saying that they “don’t get out of bed” for less than 30€/hour etc. This doesn’t happen very often however, as most autonomos understand that a school has its overheads to cover and that we provide an administration service to the client which they, operating via a school are relieved of.

I’ve never worked as an autonomo teacher myself so can’t really speak about how difficult it is to find and maintain classes. However, it seems quite logical that a good autonomo can charge a higher rate to the client than a school can. Why is this so?

As a school we provide a service, that service is to provide classes to a standard that allows the students to progress in the target language. To provide the service effectively we need systems in administration, communication and coordination and we need a teaching methodology. And finally, the most crucial part - we need teachers who know how to teach.

Now, however rigorous your recruitment process is - the teacher has TEFL, has experience, has good social skills, you’ve checked references etc, at the end of the day, that teacher is a human being and as such, is different to all the other teachers. No two teachers given the same class plan will teach in the same way. The quality of the classes imparted by different teachers will inevitably vary.

So the client is paying the same price for different quality classes. It therefore stands to reason that they are going to pay a rate in line with what they think the AVERAGE quality class provided by the school is worth.

With an autonomo teacher, the client is assured of the SAME quality, and such a teacher who consistently delivers top rate classes can charge a top rate for their class. Here there is hardly any variation in quality, so the client is prepared to pay more per hour than it would to a school.

Perhaps this is a simplified vision, but I know it happens and it makes alot of sense to me. In fact one of our own teachers has told me that he has been approached by one of his students (a client of ours) and offered more per hour than what they are paying us.

So now when an autonomo tells me they can earn 40€ an hour independently I say I understand perfectIy, congratulate them on obviously doing such a great job and tell them to “go for it”.

I’m sure you autonomo teachers out there will have something to say about this point of view, do you agree? Let me know. And what are the advantages and disadvantages of being autonono? This would be very useful for those teachers currently working with a contract and who are thinking of going freelance.