Why are EFL classes so cheap?
Not something I’d ever thought about, so instead of giving my usual instant opinions I am going to yet again break copyright law to quote the fabulous Melanie Butler, editor of EL Gazette, at length:
“David Graddol argues that the cost of learning English has been falling consistently for at least a decade and, in real terms, it has never been cheaper to sign up for an EFL course. On the face of it, this doesn’t make sense. The demand for English has never been higher, the supply of native-speaker graduates is not infinite and, on the whole, the population of the world is richer.
What’s going on? The answer may lie in a theory… by economist George Akerlof… the Market for Lemons”
which basically seems to be a market where there is a huge range of levels of quality, but consumers don’t understand the difference and so buy the cheapest that matches their own ideas, be it “The smaller the class the better” or “Native speakers make the best teachers, whether or not they are qualified”. Most suprisingly of all, schemes like Accreditation UK might be making the price situation worse:
“As a consumer, if you come across a school in London which costs 33 pounds a week for 15 hours of English and one that costs 200 pounds, which would you choose? After all, they are both accredited. They both employ qualified native speakers and they both have small(ish) classes. As a consumer, you do not know that the cheaper school pays its teachers 200 pounds below the poverty rate in London in return for teaching 30 hours a week. As to the accreditation scheme, it never gets involved in teachers’ terms and conditions, even when they have a direct effect of quality. How effective is that?”
March 24th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
This came up on the “Business by Janice” blog as well…
http://www.windsor-idiomas.com/business-by-janice/?p=60
seems that the writer of that blog went to one of the free daily newspapers with the bombshell revelation that *gasp* some teachers out there in the in-company job market might not be exactly what you’d call…um, qualified?
for you spanish speakers and/or readers, here’s the link the article in question, whose main point of interest is the response it generated from the legions of frustrated english students, whose comments range from the eye-opening to the downright hilarious:
http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/454809/0/clases/ingles/empresas/
March 25th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Only one comment so far on a topic like this? Where is everyone hiding.
The lemon theory seems plausible to me…if the case is examined from our viewpoint here in Spain…Location might factor into the equation. Meaning, can I get to where I want to go while my child is ‘learning’ English?
I’m thinking of starting up an accreditation system, anyone care to join? Real cheap!
March 27th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Interesting that low pay and poor quality teaching is blamed on the individual. It seems that global warming, world poverty, even the economic crisis, is blamed on the individual, you and me. If only we took the time to properly research our product. Of course this is complete balderdash. The reason that TEFL is cheap is because teachers’ wages have hardly risen in real terms for twenty years.
The reason being that depite the over-inflated demand in English through the futures market (let’s face it, the vast majoriy of people learning English never get a financial return on their investment) the supply of teachers has been “infinite”. The expansion of higher education and lack of “graduate employment opportunities has assured a good flow of teaching fodder. And in the absence of your graduate, most acadmies wil accept anyone with a TEFl certificate (numeracy and literacy being desirable but not essential). Indeed, the argument for non-native teachers (like non-graduate teachrs both extremely valid pedagoically and ethically) is convenient in keeping the industry turning over its enormous profits.
No, the solution to low quality and low pay lies in self-organisation. Trade uionism not “profesionalism” (this has just made a few academics rich whilst standards and pay have dropped). The problem is systemic and the solution is collective. Students and Teachers should unite against a corrupt industry.
March 27th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Re Nicky’s link to the article in the Spanish newspaper, I notice that, according to the readers’ poll, some 44% of respondents stated that they don’t receive English classes at work, but would like to.
In short, there’s a lot of “unmet need” for English out there – or, in other words, a business opportunity. If a few decent teachers could be supplied/found, it could translate into a profitable adventure for somebody.
Anybody fancy joining me in Spain? Sandy’s School of English … sounds GOOD!!
March 28th, 2009 at 2:15 am
Brightredted wrote:
“Interesting that low pay and poor quality teaching is blamed on the individual… The reason that TEFL is cheap is because teachers’ wages have hardly risen in real terms for twenty years.”
ELT salaries in Korea in 1990: 1.9 million won w/ 800 won to the dollar
Today: 1.9 million won w/ 1300 won to the dollar (but you might get an extra 300,000 won per month if you have an MA or a PhD!) Anyone out there happen to know the current cost of living increase from 1990 ?
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“The expansion of higher education and lack of “graduate employment opportunities has assured a good flow of teaching fodder. And in the absence of your graduate, most academies will accept anyone…”
Well, not only academies. Yesterday the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education , which is a branch of the Korean government, announced 255 ELT job openings in 2, 210 public schools throughout Korea . The requirement for the job? “BA in any field”
———————————————————————————————-
“No, the solution to low quality and low pay lies in self-organization.”
This practice is outlawed in Korea.
March 28th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Excellent post Teflista- a healthy corrective to Brightredted’s claim that “real wages” have hardly risen”. Surely Brightredted must have meant wages have hardly risen but real wages have most certainly fallen. This is the reason for cheaper TEFL classes in real terms. What other reason could there be?
Like Teflista, though, I think brightredted is right on the increasing flow of TEFL labour and “his” contribution on language as a futures market is quite fascintaing.
Moreover, interesting to hear that trade unionism “is outlawed” in Korea. I thought it had been legalised in 1999 but in 2008 there were fresh attacks on trade union activists. (Something you don’t see in the Guardian generally never mid TEFL Guardian).
Join us at The Marxist TEFL Group http://marxistelf.wordpress.com/
to share your informatio/analysis
March 28th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Hourly rate in UK in 1989: £5/hour max. Hourly rate 2009 £18/hour minimum in a respectable school, up to £35/hour for privately negotiated work.
Everybody please repeat after me: TEFL is (1) an acceptably well-paid (2) stress-free and (3) interesting part-time job.
If these three things don’t apply to you, why continue to do it?
March 29th, 2009 at 7:16 am
Thanks, Pete, for pointing out some of the positive aspects.
Based on our discussion, perhaps we should reframe the question: Why are TEFL courses so cheap in some places? In my opinion, part of this has to do with the local ‘attitudes and beliefs’ about what a teacher actually is. Is an English teacher A) a person with specialized knowledge and skills or B) anyone with a BA in any field who can speak English and who has a cute picture on their CV ? Unfortunately, when you’ve got entire ministries of education saying that it’s ‘B’, then it’s not surprising to find wages that have been undermined.
March 29th, 2009 at 7:39 am
I had a conversation with a student related to that the other day, along the lines of
“I think you should talk more in class. I am paying a lot of money to come here and study with a native speaker teacher”
“No you’re not. You are paying a lot of money because you are studying with an expert in language teaching”
I managed to resist saying part two of that sentence, which is:
“If studying with a native speaker is the only thing that is important, there are much cheaper schools that do that too just down the road.”
March 30th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Pete- I am pleased you appreciate the intrinsic values of TEFL teaching but this is no excuse for financial naivety or fudging important questions within the industry.
Firstly, you must appreciate that even if your values (1989 hourly pay good school 5 Pounds and 2009 hourly pay good school 18 pounds) were correct the difference diminishes quickly with compound inflation. For example I have calculated that 7pounds in 1989 (a far more realistic figure) would be worth 11 pounds in 2000 (and this reflects my starting point in TEFL). As an experienced diploma teacher four years ago in London I earned 15 pounds an hour. With inflation I would expect it to be around 16/17 pounds an hour now. The point being that pay has kept up fallen just below, kept just ahead (choose what you want) the government’s own inflation figures in the UK.
Now this might sound good for some but inflation effects different wage earners diffferently. For example if I can pay my accomodation costs and transport and have plenty left over, then substantially more afordable designer clothes, foreign holidays, flat screen TVs and dishwashers will compensate for increases in accomodation, food and transport.
However if I earn 25,000 -27,000 gross each year (say 1,00-1,200 take home each month) and I have to pay 750 pounds each month for a bedsit in east london and 40 pounds plus to get to work each week (in 1989 less than 300 and 18 pounds respectively) I do not get the benefit of areas of consumption where the prices have gone down rather than increased.
In short, wages (buying power) have definately fallen in real terms!!
How else can you explain Graddol’s assertion that the costs of courses have gone down. The costs of clothes and flatscreen TVs have gone down because Chineses wages are lower (fact!!) I would have been more impressed had you argued that the value of the pound has made British courses cheaper for foreign students but you didn’t. Probably becuase you know in your heart of hearts that TEFL wages are low otherwise you would not promote my occupation as “as an interesting part-time job”.
Indeed private jobs are a “good-earner” but so is signing on the dole and working illegally. Is this what you recommend fo thousands upon thousands of us who love this job but find it difficult to make ends meet- work illegally?
March 30th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Dear Elf,
Being self-employed is not illegal. It’s what keeps the whole of the UK going these days. The fact is that UK TEFL rates have increased 4fold in 20 years. Prices quite obviously have not – not even house prices. It’s not your employer’s fault if you want to buy things you can’t afford.
And if you’re earning £27k a year, why are you only taking home £1k a month? You need to get an accountant! And for God’s sake get out of that bedsit, you’re just living up to a TEFL stereotype.
TEFL in the UK can never be a main income job or a ‘career.’ We’re lying to ourselves if we pretend it can be. It can only ever be a pleasant and fairly lucrative part time job. People thinking of TEFL need to understand this, and approach this interesting and worthwhile job in the right spirit, not in a combative and resentful frame of mind.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Pete (et. al),
I would dispute the assertion that EFL paid five quid an hour in 1989 – much more, I would say. My first venture into teaching EFL in the UK was on a summer schol in 1990, where we were paid just over 200 quid a week, if I recall correctly, for teaching 27 hours a week.
And one year later I was getting paid in cash at probably one of London’s least prestigious schools (in Clapham, actually), where the ‘black-market’ rate was seven quid an hour. Proper schools must have been paying much more.
Actually, comparing TEFL 20 years ago with TEFL today is a false analogy, I feel. Compare TEFL today with, say, nursung today, and then make the comparison with 20 years back. I reckon you’ll see that rates for nursing are now much better, in comparison with EFL, than they were in 1989.
March 30th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Very good Pete- delighted to see you are paying all your taxes and national insurance contributions whenever you delve into your lucrative privates (sounds quite obscene, doesn’t it?). you must have a very thorough acountant.
As for you keeping the UK afloat, I fear it is the mass of already debt driven workers who are underwriting billions of debt incurred by bankers (privatise the profits socialise the debt) who are performing this task rather than individual Del Boys who dabble down Pekham Market and do a bit of TEFL from time to time.
Thanks for your concern as to my housing situaton but you should have noted my comments of “”four years ago, I expect it will have increased…..” My interest in explaining London was to show you are quite mistaken in your assertion that wages are great, even in London. Indeed, I still await your explanation of Graddol’s point “the cost of classes have fallen in real terms over the past twenty years”. Ask yor accountant, he or she could probably explain it for you.
Finally, I agree that we should not be too embittered. TEFL allows me to live by the sea and enjoy a beautiful climate. I agree with the Marxist playwright Edward Bond, however, when he says, “only an imbecile smiles all the time” and low pay, low quality classes are some of those things that make me angry. It’s good to be angry or upset sometimes Pete, it’s what seperates us from being an imbecile.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
[...] and Low Pay Jump to Comments There is an interesting article and discussion on Alex Case’s TEFL tastic which I urge readers to particpate in. The article taken from the EL Gaztte discusses the reasons [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 11:10 am
It would be possible for teachers who wanted to disrupt the market and work freelance for better money to do it.
The level of anger and disappontment that is clearly evident is not matched by the level of action.
The technology to help already exists and who has the closest contact with the students?
It’s tough to risk losing your job, but if that job makes you so feel so unappreciated and ripped off, isn’t it worth taking the risk if what is possible, but not guaranteed, could be much much better?
May 24th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Seems to me that the discussion here (as interesting as it is (and no, that’s not sarcasm)), has gotten somewhat derailed from the main post.
For me, the most interesting part of Alex’s post was this:
>>
>> “Market for Lemons” which basically seems to be
>> a market where there is a huge range of levels of
>> quality, but consumers don’t understand the difference
>> and so buy the cheapest that matches their own ideas
>>
I think this is a STELLAR description of the problem!
Students have NO IDEA what good language teaching involves (unless, of course, they’re competent language practitioners themselves).
But they certainly have lots of preconceived — and often ill-conceived — notions of what it is.
Personality will, sadly, get you a long way in this game. If they like you, they’ll think you’re a good teacher.
Ocassionally, they’ll like you as a person, but dislike you as a teacher because you don’t do the things that they (as folks who know zip about what constitutes good language instruction) reckon you should or shouldn’t be doing.
Now, before you think I’m all jaded and angry about this and hate students and so on (LOL!), I have to say that the overwhelming majority of my students over the years have, I think, liked me both as a person and as a teacher. And I do like EFL Teaching.
But I also have to be honest and admit that a lot of students said they liked my classes (note: not necessarily my teaching) because they liked ME mostly.
And I’ve also had plenty of students like the one Alex mentioned who have liked me personally, but felt that they “weren’t getting enough grammar” or whatever.
And the “opposite” (of sorts) is also true. Take this one, for example: I recently had a trainee who took an instant dislike to me for whatever reason. I think it was because I’d taken over the course midway through and she’d really, really, really liked the previous trainer.
As it happened, she had an end-of-course tutorial that first week I was on the course (penultimate week of her course). The feedback about me wasn’t glowing so I asked her if she might elaborate on the problem and why she was dissatisfied. This was her answer:
“I think you need to demonstrate more. So when you go through the points on the board, you need to make the steps clearer and show each step.”
Fair enough comment on the face of it except that every single thing I’d gone through in the few days I’d been on that course to date, I’d demo-ed, then they’d done peer-teaching built around some activity I’d devised, and then I’d elicited the steps and procedures and any pitfalls or roadblocks they’d encountered (and discussed why, tips, etc.). Then they swapped groups and re-did the task.
I’m not sure if I could have done it more explicitly than that… Oh! Hang on… maybe if I’d stood and LECTURED them about how to do it point by point! Of course! That would have made it so much clearer.
Now, I found this irritating (as you can no doubt tell), but it’s obviously not the only time I’ve encountered such idiocy; I’ve taught a lot of students.
As I’m sure all readers of this blog have. You must have similar experiences of your own. Whole books full, like me.
The point I’m trying to make is that students don’t know what’s good and what’s not. “Market for Lemons”.
Here’s another:
I have a friend who’s writing her PhD about various aspects of the “teaching experience” for novice teachers in China. And she has this anecdote (from an interview, actually) as part of her thesis, where this teacher had to cover a class at short notice.
So he went in, got them to count from 1 to 10 and when they got to 10 they had to make an animal noise. Loved it, apparently!
I like EFL, but I dislike that it’s a price-war style market. Nothing wrong with competition, but the model was established long ago as one based on PRICE. But… a “Market for Lemons”.
What this means is that the ignorant punters are driving wages for the vast majority of schools.
Yes, there are schools who pay their staff top dollar and market themselves in such a way as to differentiate themselves from the fray, placing themselves ABOVE it, from where they can watch the scrums for crumbs and command premium fees.
That’s the same in any market, essentially.
But some markets, such as EFL, are much more price-conscious markets. Which is a shame when the people with the money in their hands don’t really know, on the whole, which criteria are good indicators of quality.
This is starting to become a bit convoluted and I could rave on about this for some time, but I’ll stop.
I’m sure you’ll pick up some interesting points to run with.
Leslie
June 14th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
If ever an industry in the UK needed unionising, it’s TEFL – as touched on above. I’m a newcomer to these TEFL-related blogs. Has there been a blog/website-based effort to get the unionisation ball rolling? If not, then it would probably take a few years to actually have any impact, but we’ve got to start somewhere. What proportion of UK-based EFL tachers have union representation now? I’d guess virtually none.
February 25th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Replace Lemon with Vanilla.