Teaching English As A Private TEFL Tutor

In TEFL, it’s possible to teach English as a private tutor both face-to-face and online. 

If you’re working abroad teaching English as a foreign language, you’ll probably find you’ve got time on your hands. You can make use of this time by teaching English as a TEFL private tutor.

You’ll not only earn more money by private tutoring, but you’ll also get to know more local people, which could help you with your own language learning and assimilation into the culture.

Alternatively, if you’re teaching online, finding private English students is a way to up your income without having to pay commission to any platform.

Read more: Online Teaching Platforms You Need To Know

Let’s take a look at how you can become a private TEFL tutor.

Do I need a TEFL certificate to be a private tutor?

While not legally required to work for yourself, a TEFL certificate is highly recommended. Holding a 120-hour TEFL certification gives you immediate credibility, justifies higher hourly rates, and provides you with the essential lesson-planning skills needed to retain private clients. Without it, you will struggle to compete with certified tutors.

Read more: How To Get TEFL Certified: Everything You Need To Know

How to become a private TEFL tutor: Check your contract first

Before you take on new students and begin teaching as a TEFL private tutor, check your work contract with your school. Some schools don’t want their teachers to work privately, and they will make this a clause in your contract. Other schools might be fine with you moonlighting as a private TEFL tutor but will restrict you from tutoring students from the school. 

Editor’s note: This is regardless of whether you are teaching in a bricks-and-mortar school or for an online company.

Always check the fine print in your contract to make sure teaching English as a private tutor is a feasible option for you and if there are any legal restrictions.

How to find private TEFL students: How do private English tutors get clients?

Private English tutors get clients through a mix of marketplace profiles, social media, and word-of-mouth.  For online teachers, start on platforms like Preply or Italki to build experience.

If you have a staffroom, start by telling the teachers you already work with that you want to teach English as a TEFL private tutor. Colleagues may know local community members who are looking for English lessons. They can then recommend your services to them.

Advertise as a TEFL private tutor. Visit your local college, library or university. Make up a flyer and post it on the information board. Don’t waste an opportunity to tell people either. If you use a local shop, for instance, tell the owner you teach English, and maybe they will let you put up a notice in the shop window.

Don’t forget about the power of social media! You can use local online groups to advertise your services or even create your own website. Many people search for tutors online, either using community Facebook groups, or browsing the web. Make sure that you always include information on:

• How to contact you
• The services you offer
• Your qualifications and experience

Read more: How To Market Yourself As An Online Teacher

You could also run a promotion that offers free taster session for new students. When you have returning students, offer them a free lesson or a class discount if they recommend their family or friends. You’ll usually find that once one student starts coming to you, others will follow as your reputation grows.

Online vs in-person tutoring

One of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is whether you’ll be offering in-person or online lessons. 

In-person tutoring works well if you’re settled in one location and want to build a client base within the community. But you would need to find suitable meeting places, commute, and carry your teaching materials around with you. This can be particularly taxing if you have multiple sessions back-to-back.

Online sessions are more convenient and allow you to connect with students from around the world, not just those in your area. You also save on travel time and the additional expenses that come with teaching in-person, but online tutoring does have its own issues. You need a stable internet connection and a reliable set-up. You will also need a quiet space to work from, as too many interruptions or noise would distract your students. 

What is the difference between teaching for an online TEFL company and online private tutoring?

The main difference is freedom versus convenience. Teaching for a TEFL company provides a steady stream of students and pre-made lesson plans, but offers low pay (usually $10–$20/hr) and strict schedules. 

Private tutoring requires you to find your own students and plan lessons, but allows you to set your own rates, choose your hours, and keep 100% of your profits.

Read more: Private ESL Lessons:How To Build Up English Teaching Resources

Setting your rates: What should a beginner private English tutor charge per hour?

Beginner private English tutors should charge between $15 and $25 per hour. This rate allows you to attract your first few clients while building confidence. As you gain experience, collect positive testimonials, or specialise in a niche (like corporate coaching) – this can help you quickly scale your rates to $35–$50+ per hour.

Remember, you’ll be responsible for setting your own rates as a private TEFL tutor. This can be a difficult number to come up with. 

If your fees are too low, potential clients may question the quality of your teaching, but if they’re too high, you could end up out-pricing most of your target market. 

The best way to determine how much you should charge is to look up other TEFL tutors in the area or online space. This will give you a realistic sense of what the market is willing to pay. If you notice that you have more teaching experience or qualifications than the average tutor, don’t be afraid to reflect that in your rates!

Another factor to consider is the type of classes you’ll be offering. Conversation classes tend to be on the cheaper end of the scale, while Business English and IELTS preparation classes tend to be more expensive. 

Getting paid

Students will be paying you directly for your services, not through a school or another company. This means that you would need to find a safe and convenient way to collect payments from your clients. 

Digital payment methods tend to be the safest way to go. PayPal is widely recognised and easy to set up, so it makes it a natural starting point for many entrepreneurs. But it does require users to pay per transaction. If you are dealing with international students, you might also have to deal with currency conversion fees. PayPal isn’t the only option available and there are many alternatives just like it. You would need to research the options available and see which would work best for your region and needs.  

Can you make a living as a private English tutor?

Yes, you can make a full-time living as a private English tutor. Successful independent TEFL tutors earn between $2,500 and $5,000+ per month. Achieving this requires choosing a high-paying niche (such as Business English or IELTS prep), marketing yourself effectively online, and transitioning from 1-on-1 classes to higher-leverage group lessons.

Going full-time as a private tutor

Being a private TEFL tutor doesn’t have to be a part-time job. If you get enough return students, you could decide to tutor full-time. This will mean you have more flexibility in your working day and you can choose the type of English and students you prefer to teach. For example, you might prefer teaching business English to adults or general English to Young Learners. When you work for a school, you very seldom have the opportunity to choose the students you want to work with or get to specialise in the area you enjoy. 

Build a long-term strategy for a long-term career

If you decide to become a full-time private TEFL tutor, come up with a business plan. This would help you work out what your goal is and how you plan to get there. 

For example, it could involve setting a target number of students or a financial goal that you’d need to earn each month. From there, you would need to devise an action plan. This will break your goal into smaller steps and map out what you can do to accomplish it. 

Having a clear plan keeps you focused and eliminates some of the uncertainty you may experience. 

A business plan doesn’t need to be complicated. It should just cover your financial goal, a target student profile, your main marketing channels, and a short task list of the steps you’ll take in the next few weeks. 

Remember that your business plan can change if your circumstances or goals no longer align with it. Each quarter, you should review your business plan as this gives you enough time to see whether what you’re doing is effective. Changing your goals too regularly won’t give you a fair chance to achieve them, and swapping tactics too soon won’t prove whether they’re working. 

Final thoughts

A final word of advice: Start small and have patience.

Like any business, getting started is slow. But it’s a worthwhile venture if you’re looking to make extra money and gain more experience. With time and some marketing, you’ll soon be filling your books with private students. 

So, whether you want to be a full-time or a half-time private tutor, the most important thing to do now is to take the first step. 

Author Bio

Written by

Claire Herbert

Edited by Kirsten Colquhoun

Claire Herbert is a TEFL-certified writer and course content developer for The TEFL Academy. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Languages (Spanish and English) from the University of Pretoria. Although her early experiences involved tutoring English literature at the university and hosting conversational English classes, Claire has now switched to developing courses and educational content to help train new TEFL teachers around the world. Read Claire Herbert's story →