Can I have a job with you?

Quite simply, no. We don't employ people, so we can't offer you a job. All we do is give you a free platform from which to run your own, independent online teaching business. How you teach and what you teach is entirely up to you. All we do is provide the technical skills needed to create a fully-customisable online presence for our teachers.

We keep things running smoothly in the background. Our systems act like your own personal secretary, keeping track of your lessons, your students, your students lessons and payments, and your monthly payments from your earnings. We also give you an established audience of language learners who may come to you for classes.

Do you take everyone who applies?

No. We actually reject a lot of the applications we receive. Many people apply thinking that teaching a language online is easy and can be done by anyone. We are convinced that only those who have a deep understanding of and interest in a particular language should teach it. Just because someone is a native speaker of a language does not mean that they have any real understanding of it, at least not to the level needed to teach it.

Take English language teaching, for instance. My own experience working in language schools in Spain has shown me that just because someone is a native English speaker and has a degree in some subject or other, often unrelated to the English language, it does not naturally follow that they know anything about the English language. We all breathe, but how many of us are experts in the mechanics of respiration?

We want people who love language. We want people who are passionate about sharing their love of language with their students. We want people who know enough about how their language works to share this knowledge with others. We don't want someone who just fancies the idea of a change of career because it seems easy.

How do you make your money?

A large, complex website like ours costs an enormous amount of time and money to keep running.  We need funds to provide us with server space and the necessary bandwidth to allow us to keep the site up and running without problems 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also need to further develop the bespoke systems and continually improve the site for the benefit of our users. We also need funds to continue to develop our, and our teachers', online presence. We have to pay for the services of legal, accounting and IT professionals on a day to day basis. We provide all this, along with our core services, for our teachers and their students in return for just 10% of each student's payments to teachers. This, we believe, is incredibly good value for money. If you don't agree, go ahead and create your system and compare the costs and time involved.

How do you select your teachers?

The teachers on Linguaspectrum PLUS have to apply and demonstrate that they have as much love for their languages as we have for ours. They also need to demonstrate that they love teaching languages, and that they have a history of teaching languages. If they look like they have the qualities we are looking for, we personally interview them on Skype. If we are happy that they will strive to deliver the same quality of teaching to their students as we do to ours, we invite them to join us and create their profile.

How much does the application cost?

Crazy as it seems, it costs nothing. You can set up your own independent online school and start getting students as soon as you want. You will never have to pay a penny/cent for anything, ever.

Your student payments are paid directly to us and we deduct a small percentage of what your students pay you before we issue your payment at the end of each calendar month. This small percentage of student payments pays for the administration, maintenance, hosting, development and advertising for the site. Just factor the percentage into the price you charge your students.

What if I become a teacher but don't use the site?

Teachers are reviewed every month. Teachers who have not visited the web in a month will be notified by email. Those teachers who do not respond to the notification will be deemed to no longer have a need for the platform. These teacher accounts will be suspended pending appeal.

How do you choose your teachers?

The teachers on Linguaspectrum PLUS have to apply and demonstrate that they have as much love for their languages as we have for ours. They also need to demonstrate that they love teaching languages, and that they have a history of teaching languages. If they look like they have the qualities we are looking for, we personally interview them on Skype. If we are happy that they will strive to deliver the same quality of teaching to their students as we do to ours, we invite them to join us and create their profile.

I thought native speakers were the best teachers.

Just because a person is a native speaker of a particular language, it does not naturally follow that they have a deep understanding and interest in their own language. Many language schools boast that they have only native speakers on their teaching staff, and this perpetuates the myth that natives are the better teachers.

I would argue that for low level learners, a teacher who speaks the student's own language, as well as the language being learned, can help the student make much faster progress than a native speaker who does not speak the student's own language can. The non-native can point out similarities and differences between the two languages. Plus, the non-native has had the experience of learning the language being taught themselves, and therefore knows and understands the challenges that the student faces.

Speaking with a non-native speaker, the student may feel more comfortable and relaxed than speaking with a native speaker. This can help to increase the student's confidence to the point when they begin to feel comfortable speaking to native speakers.

For higher level students, over intermediate level, I would say that an experienced native speaker would be the better choice. Native speakers can use their own language in a natural way and have an understanding of the idioms and of the more abstract uses of the language than a non-native speaker normally has.

What is the point of an Introductory Class?

An Introductory Class allows you to get to know your teacher and their way of teaching. Your teacher also has the chance to get to know you, your study needs and style, and also to assess your level in your chosen study language. The Introductory Class will give you enough time to decide whether or not you feel comfortable with your chosen teacher and help you to decide whether to take classes with them.