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爬中文山

A blog by suMMit in General

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Saving money on classes

suMMit

Entry posted by suMMit in teachers

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I decided to make a change regarding teachers. After having studied for quite a while with teachers in the 18-22usd an hour range I decided to experiment with finding a cheaper main teacher. Six weeks ago I found a teacher charging 10usd/hr to go through the Hsk 4 book with. She has a nice standard accent(哈尔滨）and is engaging. I also found 2 teachers that charge 5usd/hr. to do discussion/speaking only exercises with topics I provide them.

 

The last "pricey" teacher I had was more skilled and experienced, but probably only 20 percent "better". Now I can have 4 lessons a week for less than I was paying for 2 lessons. In the end I think the loss in quality, is outweighed by more time spent listening and speaking.

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Now I can have 4 lessons a week for less than I was paying for 2 lessons. In the end I think the loss in quality, is outweighed by more time spent listening and speaking.

 

Agree with your strategy. I have usually followed that same course of action. The "Quantity" of teaching/practice time counts for a lot, at least to my way of thinking.  And "Quality" tends to often be elusive. 

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889

A great teacher is almost impossible to find, but if you do pay the extra.

 

For run-of-the-mill OK but not extraordinary teachers the extra's usually not worth it.

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matteo
On 2/13/2022 at 3:25 PM, zhouhaochen said:

Did you try online group classes? That way you would get a great teacher at a lower cost as it's shared.

 

I tried online group classes and they are very much a mixed bag. Some teachers are good, some not. Just like anywhere else.

What's certain is that you have a fraction of the listening/speaking time compared to a 1 on 1 lesson.

 

I think the approach of trying to spend less and putting in heaps of conversation time is a good idea and very effective for an intermediate speaker.

 

 

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zhouhaochen
On 2/13/2022 at 9:58 PM, matteo said:

What's certain is that you have a fraction of the listening/speaking time compared to a 1 on 1 lesson.

Note: I work for LTL Flexi Classes.

 

I dont have that experience. I am currently studying Vietnamese in small group classes (usually its 2 students, sometimes I am alone, but I dont like that so much) on Flexi Classes myself and I find I learn as much or more in the group class. I actually on purpose only book classes with another student, because I enjoy them more. Probably because I dont mind a short break sometimes and also it is nice to see that other people also struggle with those tones - and encouraging each other helps.

I fully agree on talking a lot is important, but its not simply the effectiveness of a class is measured by numbers of minutes you speak.

If I wanted to just speak as much I would simply go and find a Vietnamese person and speak at them for an hour. Thats not a bad approach either, but during a class with a good teacher one should get more out of it than just that.

 

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