Language School or Private Tutor?
Today, foreign languages are no longer just an extra part of children’s schedules. They are an investment in their future! We all know that knowing a foreign language opens doors—both in life and in their professional careers. And let’s admit it: in an era where everything changes quickly, knowledge of foreign languages is a prerequisite for development and success.
Given this, parents’ reasonable concerns are becoming increasingly pronounced. Especially for children aged 5–15, they wonder what is the ideal way for their child to learn a foreign language. They worry about the learning time, the learning system, how many languages their child should master—simultaneously or not—and all of this in combination with schoolwork and extracurricular activities. They consider the financial cost as well as the quality of education, the proper training of teachers, and what their child will ultimately gain overall. They question whether, in the end, they will have genuinely helped their child’s future by investing both time and money.
Greece is among the countries with high language proficiency—Greeks do learn foreign languages. Although our educational system mandates learning a foreign language from primary school, this seems to underperform, being neither effective nor sufficient. There is no way for a student to obtain official foreign language certification through public school. For this reason, many parents turn to private lessons or language schools/centers. But what is ultimately best for the child? Private tutoring or a language school?
Choosing a Private Tutor
Many parents end up choosing private lessons, with a tutor coming to their home. But is this really the ideal way for a child to learn and progress?
Parents find it convenient to have a tutor come to the house because they don’t have to deal with the “back and forth” of going to a language school, nor do they have to supervise their child there. One parent might think, “I already have to keep track of my child’s school lessons; I don’t want to have to oversee English lessons as well…” So they entrust the tutor coming to the house with all this responsibility.
Additionally, today it’s often possible to find a tutor at a relatively low hourly cost. This could be a university student, a recent graduate looking for work, or a teacher who wants to supplement their income, all of whom typically charge lower rates. Private tutoring often functions as “extra pocket money” for someone who knows the language but may not know how to teach it effectively.
But is this really the right solution?
Let’s look at some factors that parents need to evaluate in order to decide when a home tutor is necessary and when attending a school is more appropriate.
Personalized Learning in Lessons
One of the main advantages of private tutoring is considered to be personalized teaching tailored to the child’s needs. However, this can be a double-edged sword. What often happens, especially when the private tutor is inexperienced or not properly trained, is that the child sets their own learning pace based on their diligence. In other words, the child learns as quickly and effectively as they are committed. The tutor is then forced to follow the child’s pace, which is more often slower than faster.
On the other hand, if a parent finds an experienced and specialized teacher, they will certainly face the issue of the high cost that tutors of this level charge to provide the appropriate number of lessons. The total cost increases significantly… and there is a risk that compromises will be made, with parents opting for fewer lessons to reduce expenses, which may result in the child taking much longer to reach the level required to earn a certificate.
In small classes at language schools, the student is compelled to accelerate their pace to keep up with the class, and the teacher ensures there are no gaps in learning, or covers any gaps with some extra study hours. Personalized learning in a school setting is an advantage, and experienced teachers can make it effective, whereas it can become a stumbling block in private tutoring if the teacher cannot properly manage the student.
In earlier years, private tutoring was primarily for students struggling at school. Today, it is more often used by students who are reluctant to study or whose parents cannot provide transport to the school.
Lesson Pace and Lesson Planning
In a language school, the learning pace is set by the teacher. The organization of the curriculum throughout the school year is determined by the school’s system, which has studied what the teaching material for the year should be.
A private tutor, on the other hand, can proceed arbitrarily, without a plan and without a structured learning program for the student. What they usually do is follow the lesson structure of a central textbook they use in the lessons. However, this is not a proper learning plan. You cannot simply follow a book. Language learning involves writing, listening, speaking, composing, and more. In a language school, this is achieved through a combination of learning processes, not merely by following a textbook.
Teacher Training and Experience
How can a private tutor even develop proper learning plans when, in many cases, they are not adequately trained themselves and merely know how to speak the language? Certification that someone knows a language does not automatically make them a teacher or capable of teaching it.
Today, private tutoring often serves as an easy way to earn pocket money or extra income for many who know English or other languages, but have no real teaching experience.
- They do not know how to design a lesson effectively.
- They do not know what learning objectives to set for the school year.
- They do not know how to encourage the child to absorb material quickly and effectively.
- They do not know how to address and work on the child’s learning weaknesses. They may be able to teach irregular verbs by rote, but is that really the goal?
Is it worth relying on a student or an untrained, casual language speaker when the aim is for the child to love the foreign language, to experience it properly, to be able to speak it, and to achieve the appropriate certifications?
The Educational System Followed
Usually, a school follows a well-established system. It has been refined over time, tested with many students, evolved, and continues to evolve every year. The school has systematized its experience with many students over many years and has guided numerous children to obtain foreign language certificates.
In private tutoring, there is no such experience or system. On the contrary, the vast majority of private tutors do not follow any system at all. Of course, there are some outstanding exceptions, but most private tutors neither follow nor implement a teaching system or philosophy.
It is important to remember that a language center relies on its students’ successes to build its reputation and sustain its operations. For this reason, it places great emphasis on a successful teaching system and plan. In contrast, a private tutor often works on the side, as a secondary job, for extra income. Therefore, they may not be very concerned with methodology, do not have an organized system, a structured institution, or supervision to oversee their work and demand results.
It is also important to highlight some additional benefits that children gain from attending a language school.
The Value of the Peer Group
It is very important to give proper significance to the group of classmates with whom the child learns a foreign language.
- Within the classroom, the child will accelerate their efforts, because the class has an overall pace to which they must adapt. They have in front of them the best student, the one who performs slightly better in speaking or writing, which sparks ambition and healthy competition.
- Within the classroom, the child will not get bored, because they are with friends and learn together with their peers.
- Within the classroom, the child is exposed to various learning styles through their classmates. They learn in multiple ways—by listening to their peers, studying together, and completing assignments collaboratively.
- Within the classroom, the child will see successes rewarded and mistakes corrected repeatedly among classmates, making it almost impossible not to learn and progress.
Social Skills
A language school is not just about learning and acquiring knowledge. It is about learning and training for life itself. In the social environment of the language school, the child is exposed to human relationships and all their stages. They learn to participate, stand out, assert themselves, be patient, tolerate, argue and forgive, disagree and reconcile, and integrate into a group. All of these are life skills that are equally—or even more—important than certifications. These are the qualities that will help the child succeed in their future career, in their own family, with colleagues, and with supervisors. The school is the ideal place where the child can learn all these lessons safely, while private tutoring isolates them, “sterilizing” them from all this life learning.
When is Private Tutoring Necessary?
There are certainly cases where private tutoring is necessary. It is invaluable and irreplaceable in situations where a child has significant learning difficulties, such as severe forms of dyslexia or other special challenges. In such cases, however, it is still recommended that parents seek specially trained professionals and teachers to ensure proper education and supervision of their child.
On the other hand, when choosing a language school, it is important to look beyond the classrooms and facilities. We should evaluate the teachers’ experience, training, and passion, as well as the school’s philosophy: whether children are learning only the language or also how to think, collaborate, organize, and express themselves. In other words, we should assess the overall approach, the methods used, and the activities carried out both within and outside the classroom (e.g., events, educational trips, etc.), all those characteristics that demonstrate a genuine commitment to the holistic development of children.
A foreign language is the canvas on which life skills are built. And the right language school is the place where your child will love it, understand it, and make it their own. Today, foreign languages are not just an extra in a child’s schedule—they are an investment in their future!
Learn more about our approach to teaching foreign languages to children! (link to foreign languages for children)
