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If you're wondering if private TOEFL lessons are really worth the investment, or if you're worried about the cost of paying for them, then I hope this article will address some of your concerns.
I've arranged this article into 4 separate sections to hopefully answer all your questions:
🌟 1. What do private TOEFL lessons cost?
🌟 2. Exams or lessons?
🌟 3. Current salary vs future salary.
🌟 4. Other questions about lessons.
If you have any other questions about TOEFL lessons, then please contact me.
🌟 You can find my rates for all my services by following the links in the menu. 🌟
Lessons with an experienced TOEFL teacher can range from about $50 to $90 for one hour. Some teachers only offer 50 minute lessons so their rates seem cheaper.
Other teachers keep their rates hidden, and only reveal what they are going to charge when you are most of the way through their application process. This is a neat marketing trick, but not very helpful when you want to compare costs.
Other teachers charge upwards of $150 for specialist services such as an individual score review. Again, this is nice marketing but experienced TOEFL teachers will do this as anyway during lesson packages.
Notice that I quoted rates for experienced teachers.
I’m sure you’ve searched and found classes where teachers charge $20 per hour but I can guarantee that these teachers will not have the knowledge and experience to help you achieve your TOEFL scores quickly.
I can also guarantee that teachers whose lesson rates are at the higher end of the scale that I quoted above, will be working for you outside lesson hours as well by checking homework, giving feedback and planning constructive lessons for you.
I've heard of other teachers who rush away at the end of each lesson, who don't give any feedback between lessons, and who rely on practicing the same things over and over again in lessons.
There's an old saying, "You get what you pay for." And in exam preparation, this is certainly true.
In the United States, the TOEFL exam costs $270 plus sales tax (January 2025). Of course, the total cost will include other expenses like gas and parking, as well as your time commitment.
I’ve known students who take the exam every 2 weeks, even if they haven’t made any improvement, just to “try”. That’s $540 every 4 weeks!
Imagine if you invested that $540 in private TOEFL lessons instead.
You could have approximately 8 lessons or nearly 500 minutes of instruction.
You'd get:
🟢 personalized feedback
🟢 targeted homework
🟢 help in correcting your fossilized errors
🟢 skill building exercises to do
🟢 exam strategy advice
🟢 and motivation, encouragement and support whenever you needed it.
That level of intense instruction could make a BIG difference to your score. By pausing the exam-taking cycle, and investing in lessons, you've got more chance of improving and reaching your target scores sooner.
When you're considering whether private TOEFL lessons are worth the investment, you should think about your future salary potential as well.
For example, let’s say that your current salary is $50k but this will rise to $120k when you’ve got your TOEFL scores. That’s a $70k per year difference. That means that your salary deficit per year is $70k ($120k - $50k = $70k).
Here is a chart showing different salary deficits.
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So doesn’t it make sense to spend as little time as possible getting your TOEFL scores, then move ahead and put yourself in a position to earn a higher salary? In this case, money spent on private TOEFL lessons seems likes a very wise investment.
It can be scary when you calculate a lesson package and see that it will cost a few hundred dollars. For this reason, I give all of my students the option to pay for lessons in instalments.
I don’t charge any extra for this and we can work out the instalment timings so they are convenient for you.
There is no reason for me to charge extra as it takes just a couple of minutes to create additional invoices. Some popular language schools charge hundreds of dollars extra (on top of already incredibly expensive instruction) to allow students to pay in instalments. I think that's outrageous!
I recognize that TOEFL lessons are a big investment so, for that reason, I try to give my students as much value for their money as I can.
These are some of the ways I add value onto my lessons:
🟢 I carefully select homework for you. I want you to study as much as you're able. I encourage you to try new and different things, and to share everything with me. That way, I can see how you're progressing and I can tailor your lessons so they exactly meet your needs.
🟢 I give incredibly detailed feedback for all work that you share with me. I don't just make inline corrections for your writing but I fully explain your errors and provide additional resources so you can check any grammar and vocabulary points you're unsure of.
🟢 I listen to every speaking response carefully, sometimes as much as 4 or 5 times to be sure I've understood everything.
🌟 Then I give feedback in each of the 3 main scoring areas.
🌟 I give suggestions about alternative phrasings.
🌟 I write out skills-building exercises to help you improve fluency and remove fossilized errors.
🌟 I share my own speaking recordings for you to do delivery shadowing.
🟢 I make sure you get a full 60 minutes in each lesson and I don't rush away at the end. I plan my schedule carefully so that I can give each student my undivided attention for the time that they're with me.
🟢 I'm available to answer your questions between lessons. I want you to be studying in the best way possible so I encourage you to reach out to me with any concerns that you have.
Group lessons can help students to understand the requirements and learn some strategies for the exam. I think - depending on the teacher - they can also offer a good place to practice and get some feedback. Some students do well with group lessons.
But, I think:
🌟 if you know you're struggling
🌟 if you've been studying for a long time
🌟 if you've had many unsuccessful exam attempts
🌟 if you're trying to work, balance family commitments, and study at the same time
🌟 if you're over-whelmed with all the different advice available
🌟 if you have specific pronunciation problems, struggle with fluency, or have fossilized errors
then PRIVATE LESSONS ARE MORE EFFECTIVE and will allow you to ACHIEVE YOUR TARGET SCORES SOONER.
If you have any questions about anything written here, or you have any questions that I haven't answered, then please contact me.