Today I had my first class with my tutor (whom I shall call Madam Instructor) for Mandarin class. I was pretty happy with how the session went and pleasantly surprised that I retained more comprehension than I thought I would.
Madam Instructor gave me a text that focuses on professional Mandarin – after we finish this text, she said, I should be able to read newspapers, business articles, and op-eds without any trouble. I am eagerly awaiting that day! Must use that for motivation as I begin the painful process of memorizing characters…
A few readers were surprised at the expense ($67 per hour – ouch. It hurt a little to write that). I chose private tutoring to get the best results within a short period of time. Even though private tutoring is expensive, I think the one-on-one attention and individualized curriculum are worth it.
MoneyMateKate commented in my previous post,
Here in NYC, state certified teachers make on average $50-60/hr for private tutoring. If your tutor isn’t a fully trained language teacher (as a former EFL teacher, I promise you, the methodology is different) and simply an expert because it’s her native tongue, you are paying about 3x what she’s worth. I’ve used both kinds of private tutors, and the difference is enormous.
I definitely agree that Madam Instructor is much more expensive than many other tutors. On Craigslist, I can find Mandarin tutors for as low as $15 / hour, and many more at $35-$50 per hour. I can, of course, also enroll in group classes at a much lower rate. But I went with Madam Instructor because of her experience teaching professional Mandarin (and because she was the most responsive to my inquiry). At the end of the day, I know her fee is high. But I don’t know if it’s too high. I hope not.
If I had unlimited funds, I would take private lessons in Spanish and Argentine tango. Hmm… maybe I can spend a few months in Buenos Aires, where I can learn Spanish during the day and dance tango at night! Mandarin was a more easily justified expenses because 1. It’s a professionally useful language, and 2. I already have a background in the language, so with some effort and time I can make a lot of progress.
Have you taken private lessons? Do you make a distinction between professionally-useful skills such as languages or golf versus purely recreational hobbies such as sculpture, dance, skiing, etc.?
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I haven’t had private lessons since high school, in a former life I was a classical musician. I can’t remember the price now, I think it was $50 an hour. This was 20 years ago! I think with a language teacher your comfort is just as important, if you like her and feel comfortable learning from her then great. I didn’t know tutors could be had so cheaply, but I imagine there are many mandarin teachers here in LA. Lots of luck with your studies. I have set a goal of becoming fluent in French before retirement, we want to float around France for a few years and I have to know the language or I’ll be miserable.
@Miss M
I didn’t know you were a classical musician! That is very cool – what instrument did you play?
I haven’t taken private lessons, but I’ve given them. The LSAT prep company I taught for billed my time to clients at $100/hour. Even at that price, I had more tutoring work than I wanted.
@Paragon2Pieces
I looked up GMAT private tutoring rates on a lark, and … it’s over $200 an hour! Needless to say I quickly scratched that idea.
I used to take private music lessons in high school but gave them up in college because of my schedule. At that stage I really needed someone to guide me through a repertoire and who had the background to pick pieces that were appropriate for my voice, rather than picking things because I liked them but that might not suit my range. Also, the teacher could accompany, which is key for voice.
I also recently took Spanish classes in Central America. (Thanks to the blog commentators who helped me rationalize that one!) I had a small amount of time between jobs and was able to travel for an immersion experience but don’t have a strong background in the language so it’s not like I could very well hop on a plane and just converse with a series of bartenders to bring up my fluency. I never studied Spanish, so I don’t know the grammar, and there are no native speakers in my family, so not casually familiar with it. Paying for a well-structured class in a country where I would be forced to use what I learned out of class was the best value for the amount of time I had and it was also a total blast.
Those are the only lessons I can remember paying for. But generally, I’d much rather spend on fun education (whether languages or salsa–just paying forward that rationalization!) than on stuff. I’m a nerd like that.
I haven’t taken private language lessons, but I have taken private piano and horseback riding lessons. The first one was paid for by my parents (from the age of 9-17) and then I quit because I realized I didn’t have a passion for it. The second one my parents also paid for until I was 18 and from then on out all my horsey expenses were on me.
I don’t make the distinction. I figure everything is useful, especially when you love it and it’s a passion! What may not be professionally-useful now, may be in the future. You never know!
It’s funny that you listed skiing as a not-professionally-useful experience. In my field, there’s a very important conference held near a ski resort every year, and a lot of key networking gets done on the slopes. If you can keep up with the bigwigs, it’s definitely beneficial. So I’m trying to improve to benefit my career (and it’s really fun).
@Molly
I’m glad skiing is fun and improves your network at the same time.
I don’t think skiing is not useful – I just think of it as more recreational than something like, say, golf. But how boring would life be if we just did things that are professionally useful.
How exciting that you are learning Madarin! I HAD to pass algebra to complete my degree, no questions. I paid in total about $1000 for my tutor. But I passed. I work with numbers, but NOTHING like Algebra!!
I’ve never had one on one tutoring for anything, but I would definitely distinguish between hobbies and work-related stuff. If I was learning a language to further my career, I don’t think $67 is too much to pay! As long as her teaching and your learning styles mesh well. It must be hard to pick a teacher; it’s such a subjective thing.