one-to-one lessons - costs

[Scoobyqueen]

I am wondering what the "normal" price per hour for one-to-one lessons is.

[daofeishi]

Are you in China? In that case, 110 yuan seems a bit steep. I didn't pay more than 30 yuan/hr when I had one-on-one lessons with a teacher. It might be because I was in one of the lesser known cities, but 110 yuan still seems a lot. Especially if you compare it to the average Chinese salary.

[mfgillia]

In Taiwan, 350nt per hour will get you a professional teacher at the big universities - Shi Da, NTU etc.. So using today's exchange rates that's about 76 yuan or $10.50 U.S.

[runzhong]

110 yuan is ok for a professional teacher in shanghai

[JenniferW]

My last experience of one-to-one lessons was in 2004, in a town in Gansu province, where I paid 60 RMB an hour to a retired senior teacher from the college where I was working. At the time that was double what many people were paying, but I was the one who got the best lessons - always well planned and prepared, with a very experienced teacher who was flexible, and able to adapt to my strengths and weaknesses appropriately. I ended up feeling it was money well spent.

So, although friends in Beijing tell me 100 RMB an hour is now typical, I think it really all comes down to the quality of the teacher. Cheaper might not get good quality - but more expensive might not either. Trying teachers out for a short spell is worth doing, I think - and for more than just a first lesson. Recommendations don't even always work because your needs are not always the same as other students'.

[rob07]

I paid 168RMB per hour at TLI-CIIC in Shanghai recently for one on one lessons. There's a 10% discount if you buy enough lessons, but I was only in Shanghai for couple of weeks. I went to their offices (there are several branches in the city); I think they will come to your place if you pay a bit more. I remember they had a couple of special options like teaching Shanghai dialect or Peking Opera that they charged 228RMB per hour for.

I was in a similar situation to you, happy to pay a reasonable premium for good teaching but wanted value for it. I was very happy with them. All of the teachers I had were very good and the one I had most of the time was excellent.

Most of the students at TLI-CIIC were language cadets at prestigious Japanese trading companies and financial institutions. I think if you are looking at getting a good premium service in Shanghai or Beijing it is a good idea to go to a school that mainly teaches students like this. I assume that language cadets at Japanese companies get sacked pretty fast if they don't score well enough on the HSK quick enough, and then it is expensive for the company. Similarly, schools and teachers that don't have good pass rates will lose the premium business pretty quickly. On the other hand, the people that can get jobs with the most prestigious Japanese companies are very smart and motivated and work extremely hard, and schools that can attract premium business can attract the best teachers and will get rid of the bad ones in short order. So a school in Shanghai or Beijing that teaches mainly language cadets at prestigious Japanese companies I think will generally have a good culture of achievement and accountability (and will charge a premium of course). On the other hand, a Chinese teacher that spends all day teaching expat spouses/hobbyists/young Western students who don't absolutely need to become fluent to stay employed is at risk of going a bit slack in comparison in my opinion.

[amandagmu]

For an advanced student at reputable one-on-one schools in Beijing the standard is now 100-160RMB per hour -- cheaper when buying more lessons (e.g. over 40-50 hours), more expensive when buying less than 30-40 hours. Small group classes (2-3 classes) are cheaper at 50-70 per person.

These are much, much higher prices than when I was here 5 years ago, but I can honestly say that some (not all) of these schools are offering better quality for the price. I'd rather pay more than waste my time at a school like BLCU, or pay premium for a better program like IUP at Tsinghua ($7500 per semester for mixed small group and one-on-one) but there weren't many options a few years back. Additionally, there are a lot more opportunities to use QQ or Skype (which was still basic in 2005) to practice with Chinese people. Personally, I'm ecstatic that so many more options have opened up!

[Carwyn]

If you want a 'professional' teacher, I'd say from 50-100 kuai an hour is a good price in the current climate, if you can find them. As the language teachers at my university in beijing get paid 30 yuan an hour it's not a bad price. If you're looking for something else, a non-grad student teaching would be around 30-50 yuan an hour (from experience).

Another option is finding a small group of people and doing 3-1 lessons, each student paying 15-25 yuan an hour.

[suzyq]

carwyn,

where so you have those classes? i am going to Beijing in 2 weeks, and i would like to get 2 weeks of classes.

Could you maybe send me a link or so? that would be wonderfull.

Kind regards suzy