Mandarin tutors in Taiwan

[rmpalpha]

I've been corresponding with a Mandarin tutor in Taiwan that I may be working with when I go to Taiwan this summer. I've asked her how much she charges per hour/class, and she didn't give me a direct answer (instead saying that we need to discuss what kind of budget I have, etc.). So, I'd like to ask those of you who have used a Mandarin tutor in Taiwan in the past what a typical hourly rate for a language tutor would be. Thanks!

[OneEye]

My wife's friend pays NT$450 per hour, but that sounds a little on the low end to me. NT$1000 would be the upper end (I'd hope the tutor would be pretty well-qualified) unless you're studying privately with one of the teachers at NTU, NTNU, or the like. From what you've said, it sounds like your "discussion" will really be a negotiation of price, so try to start low. She doesn't want to say too high a price that will scare you off, but she doesn't want to say something too low if she could have gotten more out of you.

Have fun when you get here!

[jasoninchina]

@OP "we need to discuss what kind of budget I have" sounds a little fishy. I teach English here in China and I wouldn't have any students if I said that. Her prices should be standardized(to a degree). I pay my tutor 30 RMB (about NT 150). If we're talking about a really great teacher, I would consider a bit more. After moving to China, I've learned to detect certain red flags from people. That sounds like one of them.

@OneEye That's a serious amount of money. If that's how much Chinese teachers cost, how much do English teachers get paid? Do I need to move to Taiwan? I taught for a summer at a school next to Sun Moon Lake and I didn't get paid anything close to that. Beautiful place though.

[OneEye]

Well the cost of living in Taipei is probably a bit higher than in Haikou, so these prices will naturally be a little higher. It's also more higher than in the rest of Taiwan, so it depends on where the OP will be. In Taipei, I have friends that make NT$500 per hour tutoring, and I know of experienced English tutors making NT$1200. At most of the big English schools around here, you start around $600 per teaching hour as a classroom teacher, and you teach around 20-25 hours per week. You can pick up more if you want, and I know people who teach 40 hours per week and make a lot of money (for here).

[rmpalpha]

Thanks, OneEye and jasoninchina, for your replies! Here's the backstory, if it helps.

I corresponded with the people in the ICLP at NTU in Taipei regarding whether the program would be a good fit for me, since I'm deaf and hence am only interested in strengthening my reading and writing skills. The contact person for the ICLP replied in the negative (since there is a great deal of oral interaction in the classes there) but offered to put me in touch with one of the Chinese language teachers in the program for one-on-one lessons. Since then, one teacher has contacted me expressing her interest in having regular lessons with me this summer. Because I need to plan for my trip to Taiwan financially, I need to know how much money to save up so I have enough to live and study in Taiwan for a couple of months.

This is what the teacher said in the most recent email in our correspondence: "而關於學費的話，看你自己的預算再說，請你先按照自己的預算告訴我，我們再決定和商量." Based on my understanding of the sentence, she is willing to negotiate, and it sounds like NT$500 would be a reasonable starting point for negotiations.

[Meng Lelan]

Have you tried Forumosa? It's a Taiwan based forum for expats. Maybe you can find tutoring services there but looks like you've in the negotiating stage anyway.

Envy you for going to Taiwan, I've been wanting to go travel there.

[chaxiu]

400-500NT seems to be the going rate for individual classes (one on one). If your signing up for more then just a few hours a week the rate might decrease slightly.

[OneEye]

Now that I've thought about it some more, I guess NT$1000 would be really high, even if the teacher worked at MTC. You can study two hours per week one-on-one for a full term (3 months) at MTC for 16,800, which works out to $700 per hour. I believe they have monthly rates too. So even at $500 I'd hope the tutor was fairly experienced.

[lintsaihai]

Many MTC teachers take additional work as private tutors, and than even experienced teachers usually don't take more than NT$500 per hour.

[rmpalpha]

Okay, thank you, chaxiu, OneEye, and lintsaihai, for your input. So, should a starting point be something like NT$400 an hour? Since she is an ICLP teacher at NTU, I assume she will probably ask for a relatively high-end hourly rate.

[OneEye]

Who is it? (sending a PM would probably be best) I know a few of them. Any ICLP teacher would likely be good, but I know of one especially (who is also my teacher this term at MTC) who is really great.

[yellowpower]

do any of these private teachers allow a trial lesson of some sort to see if it's the right fit? And how is payment done, on a monthly basis, or after each lesson?