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Courses
FAQ
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.
If you have any other questions we're happy
to help. Contact
us today!
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Private
Tutor Lessons FAQ
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
Please click
here to book a private English teacher:

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.
If you have any other questions we're happy
to help. Contact
us today!
Please click
here to book a private English teacher:

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