Student numbers increasing...

I have been teaching on line for a number of years now and the summer months have always been unpredictable in terms of student numbers.Some students stop because of family commitments while others feel like they just need a bit of a rest ,an easier schedule.Often I have younger students (aged between 12-16) who either stop completely or actually increase their lessons.Or rather ,their parents choose one option or the other.

This year has been even  more unpredictable than usual.As a result of the global economic downturn and the stress on peoples pockets continues to increase ,plus the continued sanctions imposed on countries such as Russia my private student numbers have taken a tumble during the last year.My hours went from a fairly routine nine to five to being all over the place.I realised I had to make some changes in my working life so as not to find myself in a position where I was tied to my desk for twenty hours a day in order to earn what I need to meet the bills.
I made a decision to start a Facebook page devoted to on line teaching of English to non native speakers a while ago and have been trying to keep it going.I promised myself,and have failed so far,to update my blog at least weekly.I also promised myself to develop my own website where students could contact me more easily.This I have also failed in due to both lack of technical knowledge and time.I did join LinkedIn and start to make new connections with people from around the globe .Not just students but also other teachers ,owners of schools and people interested in the profession.
Its now the first week of June ,the sun has finally come out in Yorkshire and I find that demand for lessons appears to have really increased.Its interesting to note that the majority of requests for lessons that I receive now are coming through LinkedIn and most of the students are young professionals already living in an English speaking country.Also of note is the fact that a good proportion of these students are professionally linked to the world of finance.They tell me that despite having an advanced level of English its just not quite good enough to give them that edge in a very competitive job market.Pronunciation is one of the main issues for these students.
I take my hat of to all students of English.Its not easy to learn.It can be very very confusing.I am constantly impressed by the ability of the students I teach.And thankfully the numbers are up....