subject: Differences Between English Tutors [print this page] People for every corner of the globe are trying to improve their English. English has become the international business language. A simple search on the internet, shows that their are many choices when looking for an English teacher. The first choice you will need to make is to decide to use a native English speaking tutor or not. Many people automatically assume they should use a teacher that was born in an English speaking country. Sometimes, this would be a correct assumption, other times it would not. I hope this will help you make the determination of which type of English tutor would be right for you.Countries where you might find an acceptable English teacher, might be places where English is not the first language. The most common example would be the Philippines. English is not spoken regularly on a daily basis, even though it is taught in the Philippines educational system. Knowing that, many good English teachers can be found in the Philippines. The greatest advantage of using a Filipino tutor is the cost. Of course, Filipinos work for a much lower salary than most other teachers around the world. The economy in the Philippines is not very developed and the cost of living is not as high as in countries when native English tutors are found - like Great Britain, Australia, and the USA. These are the places many English tutors are from.) If you search hard, you will be able to find a good tutor in the Philippines. Just as everything in life, some you find will be good, some will be average, and some will not be very good at all. Beginners and intermediate students, the majority of those learning English, would benefit most by using a Filipino tutor.There are also many good English teachers that come from English speaking countries. If course, not all of these teachers are good either. As I talked about, in the example before this, some are not so good, some are average, and some are good. Of course, these tutors are generally more expensive. The first reason is that they simply could not teach for a Filipino wage. If they worked for a typical Filipino wage, they would not be able financially survive in their country. Also, this type of tutor normally will have a better handle on the English language due to the fact that ever since birth, they have heard it being spoken and have learned to speak it. Many things in the English language are subtle, and are really only understood well if a person was born in an English speaking country. Their pronunciation should also be good, but not always. Remember, there are many people born in the USA who do not speak good English because of the lack of a good education or proper correction in their English by their parents. If you are an advanced English learner, a mentor from an English speaking country would probably be a good choice.I hope this helped you realize the difference between the two types of teachers so you can make an informed decision when you try to find one.
