“Do you realise I’m speaking to you *almost* as fast as I speak to a French person?”

I was a bit stunned by this question: I hadn’t.  For me, I was trying just as hard, and making as many mistakes, as the previous 3 times I’d met with my French tutor.  After he asked me that question, it sunk in: I was making some good progress.

Did I still make lots of grammar mistakes?  Oh yes.  Wrong gender endings, and a bunch of other things that will just take some time to perfect?  You bet.  Still, I was ecstatic to be listening at *almost* a normal rate in French, for a whole hour.  The humungous coffee in front of me also helped.

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I searched for a private tutor because I wasn’t making progress as fast as I wanted.  I’d been to all my classes, been a good teacher’s pet and done my homework, and listen to podcasts quite often, but I wasn’t feeling like I could have a good conversation yet.  I’ve had private tutors in the past (for Spanish and Japanese) and they worked wonders.

Hang on.. aren’t private tutors expensive?

They can be.  Many aren’t.  For $20 an hour, I get to enjoy great coffee with a genuine Frenchman who is about my age, is patient (thankfully) and speaks fluent French (funny about that).  $20 an hour?  At once per week, or even once per fortnight, that’s nothing to pay for the results you’ll get.

Does it really help?

Absolutely.  Rather than focusing on grammar and vocab like one does in classes, you bring any specific questions you have, and spend the rest of the time talking about whatever you want: the weather, your pets, or what you did on the weekend.  That’s the real way to learn a language, and makes you feel like you’re making great progress because you’re having a real conversation.

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How to do it

1. Think about who you know.  Is there anyone who’d be willing to chat with you for an hour for the price of a beer or a coffee?  A lot of people know someone who speaks the language.  If someone asked you to talk to them for one hour in English in exchange for a free drink, would you do it? I would. And I have.  It’s a win-win.
2. If you don’t know anyone, start with websites like www.gumtree.com (AU and UK), www.craigslist.com (US) or www.tutorfinder.com.au (AU).  You’ll find loads of native speakers looking to make a few extra dollars in exchange for speaking with you.  An email or phone call, and you’ll be sitting in a cafe speaking French/Spanish/Chinese/whatever language you want.

What to look for

These are the things I have found to work best with private tutors:

• They’re not jacks-of-all-trades.  I’ve seen people advertising tutoring for beginners’ French, beginners’ Spanish, Chemistry, Science, and on and on.  These are not the kind of people you want to tutor you.  Find someone who specialises in your language.
• They’re not (necessarily) a teacher.  I like native speakers who aren’t teachers, and who have studied a language before.  Why?  I learn enough grammar in class, so I don’t want to focus on it over coffee.  I do, however, want someone who knows what a verb is, and who can explain basic questions I have.  I don’t need a super-qualified teacher who’s going to lay out a specific lesson plan for me, because I get that in my classes anyway.  Super-qualified people also tend to have higher prices.

Good example:  My current French tutor is from Paris, has just moved here with his partner, and charges $20 per hour where we spend the whole time speaking in French.  He’s studied English and speaks very well, so he knows what “past tense” and “conjugation” mean.  He’s not a professional teacher, so he doesn’t nitpick when I make mistakes – but he does point them out so I can learn from them.  He’s also open to teaching me naughty words, which I then use to surprise other French speakers and get myself in trouble with teachers.

Now that I’ve ‘sold’ the concept of private tutoring, will you consider one for your own target language?

I hope you do.  It’s cheap, easy, and fun.  Oh, and you’ll be kicking a** at your language in no time.

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Question: What’s your experience with private tutors and how to get the best out of them?  Would love to hear in the comments.

Photo Credit: Fornal

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If you liked this post, you might like My Book, which is full of lots more techniques to help you conquer your foreign language.  If you’ve read it, I’d be forever grateful if you could take a minute to write an Amazon review.  In any case, thanks for reading!

Photocredit: kevinbongart

“So, how good is your [French/German/whatever foreign language]?”

Anyone who has studied a language has probably been asked this question.  Sometimes it’s difficult to answer – how good is good?  Can you order a latte?  Manage a project?  Strike up a killer conversation about politics?

Especially if you want to get a job using your foreign language, one excellent way to get a real answer on your concrete skills is to get – wait for it – formally tested.

Hang on… did you just say I should do a formal test?  Isn’t that boring?  Why would I?

Volunteer for a test, willingly?  Even pay a bit extra for it?  Yes, that’s what I’m recommending.  It might not be for everyone, but I think it’s excellent to validate your true language abilities at some point during your learning (how this works is explained further down).  Here’s why you might like to consider it:

1. It gives you a real idea of your progress.  You have a measurable, standardised way of talking about your level.
2. It gives prospective employers a concrete idea of your level.  Many companies require applicants to have a certain level of linguistic competence, depending on the role.
3. It forces you to practice everything you’ve learnt up to that point, reinforcing parts of the language you might have forgotten, or which had slipped out of use.  It’s a great refresher.
4. It gives you a great sense of accomplishment: motivation to keep kicking a$$ learning that language.  I’ve never published this until now, but, I failed the Japanese test the first time in 2005.  The pass rate was 65%; I achieved somewhere aruond 58%.  I was very disappointed with myself, and wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to pass if I did it again.  Two years later, I studied my butt off, practiced more than I ever had, and smashed my previous score to a pass rate I was very happy with and the best level of Japanese I’d ever had.  It felt great.

Hmm… I’ll think about it, but how is this done?

Most major languages have an internationally recognised test that’s administered centrally, usually in the country where the language originates, or where it’s most widely spoken.  You can book directly with the testing organisation, or through major language schools who work in conjunction with them.  You prepare as much as you can, turn up on the day for the test (2-7 hours, depending on the language and level), and receive the results a few weeks later.

Here are the two I’ve taken.  Keep in mind that a little Googling will help you find similar tests for most languages.

• The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).  Beginner proficiency = Level 4; Native proficiency = Level 1. (Link to JLPT is here.).
  Level 2 is required by many employers in Japan, as it denotes a high level of fluency in speaking, listening, reading and writing.  I’m currently at Level 2, and hope to attempt Level 1 some day after I have chance to spend more time in Japan.  Having this test on my resume helped me move into a role which allowed me to use Japanese every day.  I was a happy boy.
• Goethe Institut’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – German.  Range of levels from A1 (Start Deutsch) to C2 (Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung).  (Link to more info is here- note: this points to the Australian version, but Goethe has schools worldwide, and they all use the same framework.)   I’m somewhere in the middle, at B1 (Zertifikat Deutsch).  Passing this exam was a great landmark for me as I find German grammar very challenging, and it got me get into gear with all the preparation I’d been meaning to do for a long time.

Wrap up

If you want to get a clear idea of where you’re at with your language, get some proactive motivation to revise all you’ve learnt, or get a job using your newfound tongue, you might like to look into taking a formally recognsied test.  They’re not as painful as they sound, and you’ll feel great afterwards.

Question: Have you taken any formal tests, or do you have a better approach?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

– Side Note:  I’m travelling at the moment, so it might take a while to get to questions or comments, but I promise I will! Thanks for your understanding. –