How many people are in a class?
Classes normally contain about 6-8 students with a maximum of 10. Sometimes it may be necessary to start the class with only 4 students.

Where are the classes?
Classes usually take place in our meeting room at room 102, level 1, 32 York Street

Is there a minimum age?
You must be over 18 years old to be able to attend our classes.

Do I require a student visa to attend your courses?
All our courses are short so a student visa is not required. A student visa is only needed if the course is 20 hours per week for a minimum of 10 weeks.

What level of English should I have to attend your Courses?
You must have at least intermediate English to be able to attend. These classes are for people who already have a good understanding of English but find they have trouble moving to the next level because they only know text-book English. If this is you then you are perfect for our classes. Please note that the Business English Conversation Course is ideal for people who have recently arrived in the country, have started working or are looking for a job and need to be able to talk with Australians in an office environment. If you've already been in Australia several years, it may not be as helpful for you.

When do I pay for the course?
The full course fee must be paid at least a week before the course begins.

If I missed the first lesson, can I join?
If a course has just started and there is space available, you can still join. Exercises from missed lessons can be given to you. Please contact us to find out more.

Do I need to buy any textbooks?
You need to bring a pen and a notebook but a lot of printed exercises and homework will be provided.

When is the next course?
It depends on the course. The 1 week General English Course usually starts almost every 4 weeks and the 10 lesson Business English Course usually runs 3 times a year. Please visit each course page to find out the latest details. See links above.

If I need to cancel can you refund my money?
Refunds relating to ongoing courses.
Course refunds can only be given if you cancel at least one week before the course begins. This is because the course will only run if we have enough students to cover the cost of the teacher. Once the course starts we cannot give a refund, but we can offer a transfer to another course or give you private lessons in exchange. Due to increasing prices you must use your transfer within two months of cancelling.

Refunds relating to lectures or seminars.
If you attend a seminar and stay to the end, even if you're unhappy with it, you won't get a refund. If you leave within the first hour and return your pages of exercises we can give a partial refund less an administration fee.

Please read our full refund policy

What if the course I paid for is cancelled before it starts?
This is very unlikely but, if we do have to cancel a course, we will give you a full refund or offer you a place in another course.

Can you get me a student visa?
As we only offer short courses we do not organise student visas. A student visa requires a minimum of 10 weeks of a minimum of 20 hours a week to qualify. We don't run these types of courses.

Can you create a course specific for me and my friends?
Yes. Please contact us with your needs and we'll send you a quote.

Do you have any beginner courses?
We recommend private lessons for beginners.

What courses do you have?
General English Conversation Course
Business English Conversation Course

Do you have any other courses?
We create our own courses so, as needs and demands change, courses change. We've had a number of different courses over the years. Australian English Conversation Course, Social English conversation course, English Study Tours course, IELTS preparation course and more. Our main focus is private tutoring but if you have 6 friends who want a specific course, we can do our best to create it!

Can I get a free trial lesson?
If we were running courses that ran for months or years we could do this but as our longest course is only 10 lessons long, it's not possible.

Are you sure you don't have any free lessons?
TEFL International runs a course which teaches people to be ESL teachers. Almost every month TEFL International requires their trainees to have 3 x 1 hour lessons with a student to practice their skills. These are usually on a particular Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 4pm to 5pm once every month. If you would like to be added to the waiting list regarding the next TEFL trainee teacher practice event and attend 3 x 1 hour lessons, email us and we'll contact you when we have the next dates. To participate you MUST commit to all 3 of the 1 hour lessons. The lessons happen at the same time with other teachers and students in the same room. You can register online for the special set lessons here: free English lessons Sydney

I have a wife and 3 kids to feed. I'm a poor student. I don't have any money. I want to negotiate a price with you. Can you give me a discount?
We understand that in some cultures, negotiating a new price for low cost services is a standard part of forming a business relationship. Our services are set at very low non-profit prices already so there is no further discount possible for course prices. Our price takes into account the cost of the teacher, city classroom rent, utilities, advertising, photocopies and printer toner, and other charges. We really can't go any lower!

Can you organise a student card for me?
Student cards can only be organised through large institutions like Government public schools and universities running long term courses. We're a small, friendly group of teachers running a flexible private English centre in Sydney city. Far too small to organise student cards! Try Sydney Uni Access Card

I want to ask you some more questions. When can I visit your office?
It's best to ask any questions online as that would give us time to research the answers and get back to you. If the answers are not on any part of this website, please email us and we'll contact you.

When is the best time to call you?
It's best to ask any questions via email to give us time to research the answer for you. If the answers are not on any part of this website, please email us and, if the question is easy, one of our administation staff will contact you quickly. It's best to contact us by email as we might need to send you prices, lists of information and schedules as well as research your answers - difficult to do while on the phone.

I hate using email. I just want to speak to a real person directly. Can I talk to a tutor?
All our teachers are paid by the hour so are actually only in the office when they're teaching somebody and can't be disturbed. If you're not using email you'll struggle to do our lessons anyway as we may need to email you homework and we only contact people to arrange lessons by email.

How do I pay for the course?
Credit Card
You can register online and pay via PayPal. Each course page has its own registration page and further information. You don't have to have a PayPal account to pay online, the system gives you the option to use a normal credit card interface.

Bank Transfer
After registering online you'll be sent an email with details of payment options. If you would prefer to pay by bank transfer these details can be sent to you.

Cash/Eftpos
After registering online you can organise with us a time for you to come to our office for a couple of minutes to pay by eftpos or cash. If you are planning to visit the office, please call or email first to make an appointment.

How much does it cost?
Lessons start from $120 for 2 hours. Please visit the English teachers page to find out more. All general English and IELTS tutors are contractors so only teach in two hour timeslots.

I don't want 2 hours. I only want a 1 hour lesson. How much does an hour lesson cost?
John is available for 1 hour lessons. The cost of a Business English lesson with John is $100 for 1 hour or $180 for 2 hours. Find out more at:
Business English Teacher

I'm a student. How do I pay?
You can pay cash directly to your tutor at the end of each lesson. We also have eftpos facilities at room 102, level 1, 32 York Street - available weekdays. 

I run a business and want to send you one of my staff members for several lessons. How do I pay?
You can pay by credit card or bank deposit before the lesson starts. We can call you for your credit card detals. If you would prefer to be invoiced and you expect payment to take awhile due to your cheque runs or accounting system, please note we require the invoice to be fully paid in advance. There is an additional 10% charge for invoicing for prepayments.

Do you have an age restriction? I notice you use the word Adult in your business name.
You must be over 18 to attend our classes and have private lessons with our teachers. Teaching English to adults is completely different to teaching English to children. All our lessons have been written for people over the age of 18 and include such subjects as clubs and pubs, politics, love, relationships, war, renting, mortgages and finance and other subjects relevant to adults. Having said that, we do now have a service for children. You can read all about it here: Z Gen English School

What if I need to cancel a lesson?
We understand that various problems regarding family, work and health can cause you to cancel a lesson. It's okay to cancel or reschedule if you give us a few days notice. However, please note that, for whatever reason, if you cancel within 24 hours of the lesson you will need to pay the full price. Teachers who take bookings to teach you in the evening or on the weekends, and especially those who decide to teach on public holidays, change their plans and give up their time to see you, so please consider them when cancelling and give plenty of notice if you wish to avoid the cancellation fee. This is not the same as cancelling a hairdresser's appointment or doctor's appointment as the teacher only comes in to the office to teach you! All our private teachers work on a casual basis. Vivien, for example, travels in from Cronulla to teach. Imagine if you'd travelled for 2 hours to meet someone and they'd cancelled when you got there. How would you feel? So, please consider our teachers. If you're unsure whether you want a lesson or not, please don't book one until you're sure! If you've had to cancel a lesson at the last minute and can't move the lesson to later in the same day or the next day, you can pay your cancellation fee online here.

Do you have any other times available?
Contact us with the time and day you would like and we'll see if we can find a teacher available at that time.

Can you teach me at my home?
Sorry, due to increasing attacks on tutors in recent years, lessons only take place in the security of our school in the city, or a cafe near our school if you wish. We don't do home visits. 

Do you offer any discounts for buying lots of private lessons?
Yes we do but there are some conditions. You can buy 10 lessons and get 10% off. So, for example, if you pay in advance for 10 lessons by cash or eftpos at $120 per 2 hour lesson ($1200) it will only cost you $1080. The conditions are:
1. You must set the exact times and dates you plan to have the lessons in advance. It would be just like paying for a course. Courses have set times and dates so your 10 lessons would be at the same time on the same day of the week that you choose. Once paid for it is unchangeable. 
2. If you can't make one of the set times and dates, you lose it. There are no make-up or replacement lessons. Just like paying for a course at college. If you miss a day, the course doesn't give you a make-up day. Same with this system.
3. This discount is only possible if you pay for all 10 lessons in advance.
You'll probably find that, especially in July when students get sick, it would be cheaper and easier to just pay the fee at the end of each lesson. That way you can reschedule with ease.
NB: The rules are different if you plan to have all your lessons within a 2 week period. Enquire for more information.
NB2: This applies to people paying by card or eftpos before lessons commence. Businesses requiring an invoice that are likely to take weeks to pay, must pay an additional 10% invoicing charge when they pay their invoice in advance.

If I pay in advance, do you have a refund policy?
If you pay for 10 lessons in advance but for some reason or other can't use those 10 lessons, if you speak with us within a week of your most recent lesson to advise us that you want a refund, we can refund the unused portion of your lessons. So if you've had 6 lessons but can't have the last 4 lessons we would be happy to refund these to you. There is a 10% administration charge and the discount given for paying in advance will be reversed and the lessons already had will be recalculated to the full price. Please note that you can only request a refund within the same financial quarter due to GST payments. If you do not request a refund for unused lesson payments before the end of the financial quarter that you paid for your lessons there is no refund. Refund request deadlines are 28th June, 28th September, 28th December and 28th March. Please also note that lessons paid for but not used within 90 days will expire and will not be refunded. If you have extenuating circumstances that may mean we can extend the time for having your lessons, please discuss this with the Principal. Other information regarding our refund policy 

Can I get a trial lesson?
You are not committed to a series of lessons in any way. If you plan to have just one lesson that's fine. One 2 hour lesson is $120. We don't give free lessons with our registered tutors. We do have people who are training to be teachers available to give you a free lesson. Find out more at free English lessons Sydney

Can I come and talk to you about my English problems and find out what I need so that I can decide what to do next?
Part of your first English lesson is a consultation with your teacher. Some companies charge a special consultation fee of at least $200. We don't charge extra for consultation, we just include it in the first lesson.

I want to ask you some more questions. When can I visit your office?
It's best to ask any questions online as it would give us time to research the answers for you. If the answers are not on any part of this website, please email us and we'll contact you.

When is the best time to call you?
It's best to ask any questions via email as we're usually teaching so can't interrupt the class to take a phone call. If the answers are not on any part of this website, please email us and, if the question is easy, one of our administation staff will contact you quickly. It's best to contact us by email as we might need to send you prices, lists of information and schedules as well as research your answers - difficult to do while on the phone.

I hate using email. I just want to speak to a real person directly. Can I talk to a tutor?
All our teachers are paid by the hour so are actually only in the office when they're teaching somebody and can't be disturbed. It's important that you can use email as we may need to send you additional homework. Without email you won't be able to have lessons with us.

I want to come to your office and negotiate a special price.
Sorry, the prices are already low. We run as a non-profit company and even the Principal volunteers a lot of his time. We're not overcharging so there's no room to negotiate. If you're an agent wanting to send us a 1000 students, please email us with details.

Are you sure you don't have any free lessons?
TEFL International runs a course which teaches people to be ESL teachers. Almost every month TEFL International requires their trainees to have 3 x 1 hour lessons with a student to practice their skills. These are usually on a particular Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 4pm to 5pm once every month. If you would like to be added to the waiting list regarding the next TEFL trainee teacher practice event and attend 3 x 1 hour lessons, email us and we'll contact you when we have the next dates. To participate you MUST commit to all 3 of the 1 hour lessons. The lessons happen at the same time with other teachers and students in the same room. You can register online for the special set lessons here: free English lessons Sydney

I'd prefer to do a course that teaches me the basics of spoken English. What have you got?
We recommend our General English Conversation Course. It usually runs every month. Check the link for the next start date.