How to Find a Great Language Tutor (So You’ll Reach Fluency Faster)

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It was when I tried learning Chinese (specifically, written and spoken mainland Mandarin) that I realised I needed a teacher. I tried learning myself. Oh, how I tried. I got nowhere. I thought I was maybe getting old (I was 30).

I’ll get back to that story in a moment.

Now, after studying seven languages – with five successes (that I can say I speak) and two works-in-progress that I'll need to re-visit – I’ve come a long way in learning about studying languages. It has also taught me a fair bit about myself.

One of the most important things I learned was the power of a good language teacher, and it's something I wanted to share to help others avoid the same mistakes.

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

Why Get a Language Teacher at All?

• “Learn a language for free online!”
• “Subscribe to our podcast for free daily lessons by native speakers!”
• “Learn on the go with our amazing AI-driven app!”

If you’re learning a language, you’ve probably come across claims like these countless times.

The same basic claims have been in place for decades. When I first started learning, these were in the form of textbook and cassette language courses (yes, cassettes… but don't worry, I later upgraded to CDs!). These days, there are apps and online courses. They're all useful parts of your toolkit. But if you’ve ever had a great tutor, you’ll know how helpful they are to learning a language.

After teaching myself my first two languages (Latin-based ones), I thought I could teach myself anything. Many of us amateur learners might have the same feeling. Think about how many of these sound familiar to you:

• “There are so many free resources out there… let me go through those first.”
• “I’m not sure I’m ready to learn in a purely French environment yet.” (I get it. It's scary.)
• “I’ll just finish Duolingo and see how far that’ll take me.” (Seems so tempting at the outset!)

There’s nothing wrong with any of this, but it’s typical of what people say before they’ve found a great teacher and before they realise how a teacher can multiply the speed at which they learn.

What a Great Language Teacher Can Do

Now, back to my failed attempts to learn Mandarin. No matter what I tried, apps, books, online courses, nothing seemed to work.

So, being in China where things were cheaper, I tried teachers. They were all nice, and I learned something with all of them, but it wasn’t until I met a few teachers at one academy (and one teacher in particular) where my learning started to skyrocket. Every day I felt pressured, yet encouraged. I learned more words and didn’t feel guilty about the ones I hadn’t learned (as long as I tried). My teacher seemed to understand the language, me, and the science of learning in a way no other teacher had before.

Some of the teachers knew English, but they never spoke a word of it to me. (I knew a few hundred words of Chinese – definitely not enough to communicate well.)

What was so good about these teachers? Let me dig a little deeper into what makes an effective language tutor.

Three Language-Tutor Patterns You May Meet

These are three patterns I have noticed among paid tutors, not fixed categories. A good tutor may combine parts of all three.

The Friend

This is someone roughly your age, or younger, who seems a bit hip and fun. They like to teach you slang. They often speak pretty good English and have a decent understanding of false friends, and interesting ways of expressing things in the language you’re learning.

They’ll start lessons with “So, what shall we learn today?” only after a good deal of banter and general conversation. You might have some questions, then they come up with an idea of what to talk about.

They’re cheap. Among the cheapest. They’re nice, and I highly suggest holding on to them as friends via chat. And maybe even of going out with them and their friends, speaking a mix of English and their language or whatever.

Needless to say, a paid teacher-student agreement is a precarious point on which to start a relationship (but who knows, it might work out for you!)

The School Teacher

These are slightly more expensive than The Friend, and will teach you more, but not in a very efficient way.

They’ll usually start their first lesson by getting you to read something out of one of your textbooks or something they’ll bring along. They’ll ask you to buy the textbook. It’s fine, sometimes great.

Every lesson will consist, in large part, of you reading from the text, then doing the exercises with them out loud. You’ll be asked to do more exercises for next time, to pre-read, and to get ready to read that text out loud in class.

You’ll learn things, but at a slow pace. It won’t be that interesting.

The Professional

The kind of tutor I value most acts as a professional coach, and that is the main subject of this post.

More than anything else, this tutor is a coach. They help you set the direction, then use their knowledge to keep each lesson moving towards it.

They can cost more than a casual tutor or classroom teacher, but the useful comparison is value per lesson: preparation, relevant practice and feedback may help you use paid time more effectively.

A professional tutor pays attention to your strengths, weaknesses and goals, then chooses material that makes good use of class time. They should challenge you without using embarrassment as a teaching tool.

I’m thinking specifically of a few teachers I had in the past: Teacher Feng (冯老师) and Teacher Qin（秦老师) in Beijing.

Let’s look at how to find this kind of teacher.

How To Find the Professional Language Teacher

First, how do you know if someone is The Professional?

Here are the characteristics of a professional language teacher:

They Use Your Target Language Strategically

Working mainly in the target language was hard for me at first, but gestures and context kept the lesson moving. I realised how often I needed phrases such as “I’m sorry I was late, the traffic was really bad” only when I had to communicate them.

Importantly, The Professional knows how to speak their language in a way they can help you learn. They’ll speak clearly and articulately, using correct grammar, often simplifying sentences and words (using the equivalent of words of “one syllable”). This means they’re sharp and are able to think in concepts, not words. This isn’t easy to do. Try it yourself. Speak to someone without using any idioms. For example, how would you say “I’m just trying to manage expectations” in one syllable words?

A tutor may use your stronger language when a short explanation saves time or prevents confusion. The useful sign is not a total ban on English, but a lesson that gives you plenty of supported time in the language you are learning.

Finally, The Professional might introduce other people into your lesson so you can listen in on conversations, knowing it’s beneficial to hear the language as it’s naturally spoken. I personally love this and felt like I was getting extra value from a real conversation with another person.

They ask you what you want to learn, what your interests and goals are, but don’t let you get away with anything…

When I started learning Chinese, I emphasised that I just wanted to learn to speak in professional business situations. Thus, I didn’t want to focus so much on writing. My tutors tailored my lessons to that, and we did a lot of reading and speaking practise.

I appreciated, however, that they didn’t let me get away with not learning how to read and write. They explained to me that it’d be fine for the very basic level, but for any person wanting to progress to intermediate would have to learn to read and write. I’d just have to climb that mountain. It wasn’t until I was doing it that I realised how important it was, that it helped me retain words and learn them contextually so I could speak better.

A good teacher will also find materials that support your interests. Want to learn comedy? You’ll study video clips of great comedians. Want to sing karaoke? You can study song lyrics. Want to study business? They’ll find articles on modern business ideas, tailored to your level.

They’ll adapt to how you learn, understanding what you learn quickly and what you struggle with. Like a good coach, they’ll encourage you to overcome obstacles you have, whether it’s in pronunciation, grammar or retaining vocabulary.

The Professional will even go so far as to modify an article or de-emphasise words they think you don’t have to learn at this point. They’ll add context that you’d never have been able to add yourself.

They Optimise Your Time in Class and Outside It

A professional tutor decides which work benefits from live interaction and which can happen between lessons. Reading, drills and homework review can all be useful when they serve your goal rather than fill time.

A strong tutor may set pre-reading, writing or review between lessons, then use class time for the feedback and speaking practice you cannot do as easily alone.

After an hour of class with a professional teacher, you’ll feel EXHAUSTED from the exertion, like you’ve just run a marathon.

They understand the science of teaching and learning

A great teacher knows how the brain learns.

A few nuggets I learned about learning from great teachers:

• You will not retain every new word after one lesson. A good tutor expects review and adjusts the workload without making you feel guilty.
• You learn through associations, such as context, mnemonics, jokes and patterns. For example, I’ll never forget the word for “squid” because of the phrase “it’s because he’s a squid” – the words “because” (由于) and “squid” (鱿鱼) are homonyms. I learned that one from a teacher.
• You need to sleep to learn. A great teacher will be concerned if you’re exhausted and will dial down the amount of homework so it’s manageable. (This was revolutionary for me – no more guilt!)

Formal training in teaching can be useful evidence, but qualifications alone do not prove that a tutor will suit your goals. Ask how they plan lessons, give feedback and adapt when something is not working.

They have a love for their language and culture and are sensitive to yours

Finally, great teachers truly love their own language. They’ll show this by talking about authors, poets, comedians and know a vast repertoire of sayings and idioms. They have an enthusiasm that’s infectious – they can’t wait to share it all with you.

This infectious enthusiasm means they're more likely to be prepared, have resources at hand and will always guide you in your learning, knowing what you're likely to be interested in in the future. This is important because it means you'll be engaged for longer, never getting to a point where you're bored. As hyper-polyglot Alex Rawlings said in this interview of the best teachers: “The most inspirational ones just focused on giving you the confidence to speak.”

Where Do You Find “The Professional”?

I have found three practical places to look for this kind of tutor.

1. Private Language Academies

One benefit of private academies is the great bonds you form with a small group of dedicated students.

Yes, you can go to an expensive language academy and learn from the best. These academies will be small, private institutions, where classes are given 1:1 or at most 1:2 (with someone at your level, but not at the junior levels). They’ll have fairly strict rules like a minimum amount of time you have to commit every week, a language while at the school, and a homework commitment.

For many people, these are the easiest places to start. They offer a good learning environment, a chance to choose from a few great teachers, the opportunity to mingle with other serious learners (some of my best friends I made in the foreigner community) and structure. They’re also pretty easy to find – just ask around, or look on forums.

The main downside of private language academies is that they’re expensive, even in foreign currency terms. This is reflected in their clientele, which I've found to be either US-based university students using part of their large student loan, professionals whose company is paying for a language-learning programme, or professionals who are advanced in their workforce and taking time off to invest in themselves.

Note that these private academies are NOT universities or large schools, which are far cheaper and place you with a dozen or more other learners in a class.

2. Ex-Language Academy Tutors

In local classifieds (quite often on local expat websites) you can find tutors advertising that they were trained at a well-known language academy but now are private tutors. This can mean better rates, as well as greater flexibility, such as them being able to come to your home or office.

I personally prefer these, but they’re quite hard to find. Word of mouth is a good source too. Start by asking the local expat community.

3. Preply

Disclosure: Fi3M may earn a commission if you book through our Preply link, at no extra cost to you.

I’ve had great success with Preply (our review is here) in learning languages on the side, and plan to continue to use it for future languages (on deck are Arabic, Swahili and Bahasa Indonesian).

When you start with Preply (online 1:1 tutoring), you can screen in two steps. Firstly, as Fluent in 3 Months founder Benny suggests, mention in your profile and in your first message (either when booking, or when sending them a message) what you're looking for. Specifically, mention the critical four things:

• Your level (e.g. that you're a beginner)
• That you want all instruction to be in the target language
• That you want to focus on spoken practise during the lesson
• The subject area(s) you're most interested in

That’s It!

Use these patterns as interview questions rather than a rigid scorecard. The right tutor should understand your goal, make good use of lesson time and help you notice progress without promising a fixed route to fluency.