Tutoring —also commonly known as academic support— is a resource and tool used in education to help students improve their skills and knowledge of a topic or subject.
Tutors can work both in schools or freelancing (finding students from different high schools or colleges) and they are prepared to teach various school subjects or they have the training and defined expertise in one single subject.
If someone wishes to become a tutor, they must feel passionate about teaching and they need a certain level of education and fulfill certain requirements and certifications to be allowed to work with students.
Tutoring is not the same as teaching and a tutor doesn't have the same responsibilities a teacher has. Teachers usually have a degree in education and they have a career where they've learned how to work with different students and in a classroom. They might have other degrees and specializations but they usually need a degree in education.
On the other hand, private tutors usually have great knowledge of a subject and they have a certification in teaching and tutoring. A tutor usually has a career or many degrees in something other than education, and they take a course or program to fulfill the requirements to become a tutor.
If you wish to become a Spanish tutor in the US, continue reading to learn how it's like to be a language teacher, know what the skills and qualifications of a tutor are, and what are the benefits of becoming a tutor in the United States.
How to become a Spanish tutor?
What qualifications do you need to become a Spanish tutor in the US?
Keep in mind that there is a difference between tutors and teachers.
First, teachers usually need a college or university degree or specialization in education. A teacher will have a career path working for a school (whether they are private or public), college, or university. They're used to working in a classroom and feel passionate about working on a given subject or age group.
On the other hand, tutors tend to have more flexibility with their jobs. They can teach a course online or in-person, they can work with one student or a group of 4 students, and they don't necessarily need a degree in education.
Tutors need a certification from a course (could be online) that proves they have prepared professionally to teach students of a given age.
To become a tutor you need at minimum a high school degree to start teaching kindergarten and middle school grade levels. For higher-level Spanish courses, you may need a degree in a specialist subject depending on the level you plan to teach.
If you have a degree in Spanish as a foreign language you could become a Spanish tutor, especially if you gain experience teaching to students from the same grade level over time.
You can start your journey as a Spanish tutor right here on Superprof, all you have to do is sign up, create a profile, and you're in business! In your profile, you can specify your rate per hour, your level of experience, whether you offer the first lesson for free or not, and much more.
Keep in mind that Spanish classes are not free and you must learn about the average rate of Spanish lessons in the US and know how much to charge per class.
What are the skills you need to become a Spanish tutor in the US?
There is a difference between developing skills and being talented at something. If you have a talent for teaching, it doesn't mean there isn't anything new to learn, and if you don't have a talent, it only means you have a lot of skills to develop and you will have to work harder for it.
However, it all comes down to how passionate you feel about this career path. Are you willing to go to school and get a degree (or multiple degrees) in education? Are you getting any sort of certification or working to fulfill all the requirements needed to become a Spanish tutor?
If your answer is yes, then you are on the right career path and all you have to do is work hard to meet your goals and objectives. As a tutor, you will need to develop basic skills like patience, good communication, resourcefulness, dedication, and so on.
However, as a language tutor, you'll need other important skills like:
- A good memory - having good memory will help you know exactly in what state or level your student is at. You'll be able to memorize and understand easily how many words they've learned, how much they are reading and practicing outside of class, and it will help you figure out how much your student is learning and how well you're teaching.
- Creativity - teachers, and tutors must be creative because they have to come up with clever ways of explaining things in a foreign language.
- Adaptability - as a teacher or tutor you must learn how to adapt to different ways of learning and teaching, settings, environments, and more. Adaptability is a skill that will come in handy throughout your career, during your time as a student and a professional, in every job, and program you pursue.
- Patience - being patient is one of the core values you need to develop if you want to become a Spanish or language tutor or teacher. You'll encounter students at the intermediate level who have a hard time speaking and saying basic words, or you'll find students at the intermediate level who should be in the advanced level because they learn very fast. Whichever scenario you get, you have to be patient and give your best in every lesson.
Benefits of becoming a tutor
By now, you know what you need to become a tutor, but you should also know that this job comes with a set of perks. For instance, being a private tutor means you can make your schedule.
You won't have to adhere to the schedule of an institution like a school or university because you're a freelance worker, which means that you are in charge of your hours.
Another benefit is that you are free to design your teaching program. If you work for a school you must follow the class curriculum, however, if you work for yourself, then you'll have the freedom to design your lessons and classes.
There are, of course, some limitations to this. For example, if you're tutoring a high school student, you must follow whatever they are learning in the classroom. However, you can give them tips, assignments, and exercises that are outside of the box and not part of a school's curriculum.
Tutors must get a sort of certification if they want their work to be considered seriously, however, the requirements for tutors are not as strict as the requirements for teachers. Teachers need degrees and years of preparation, but tutors can gain experience over time and learn from each experience.
How can you find students for Spanish lessons?
Teaching Spanish as a second language
Teaching Spanish (or any language) and becoming a Spanish teacher can be challenging but if it is something you feel passionate about, then it will be a gratifying journey.
Many people believe that Spanish is a simple language to learn because it has some similarities with other Latin languages and it borrows words from French, Italian, Portuguese, and even English.
However, people tend to ignore that Spanish is the world's fourth-most spoken language after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi. There are nearly 500 million native speakers, located mainly in the Americas and Spain and it is the official language of nearly 20 countries.
A language as popular as Spanish tends to be complicated to learn because every country has different dialects, vocabulary, culture, accents, slang, and expressions. Many people believe that if you learn Spanish from an Argentinean teacher you'll get confused and misunderstood while speaking Spanish in Spain or Mexico.
There can be more than 10 variations to words as simple as "popcorn", "straw", or "bag" —depending on the country. This is why teaching and learning can be complicated, aside from the fact that learning a foreign language is always a challenge.
We recommend you don't complicate your lessons and go into the nuances of the language once your student is at an intermediate or advanced level. Remember that to teach someone about these variations you need to be familiar with them too.
During your lessons, we recommend you get started with simple things, like greetings and introductions.
You also have to see what works with each student because something that works with someone will not necessarily work with someone else. This is why you should plan each lesson with intent and take into account the strengths and weaknesses of each of your students.
This is what distinguishes private tutoring from an online course or private schools, is that each lesson can be catered to each student and that student's needs. And as a tutor, it is your job to create a course that meets the requirements of learning a language but that you also adapt each lesson to each student.
How to prepare Spanish courses in the US depending on the education level?
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Hola, quisiera saber si soy graduada de bachiller en computación en Guatemala, puedo optar para recibir un curso para ser tutora del idioma español, gracias.
Hola Estefani! Yes you can become a Spanish tutor. You can sign up to teach on our platform easily by clicking on tutoring jobs and filling out the required information. You can also send an email to hey@superprof.com if you need anymore help.