Whats the cost for English lessons??

[carraig]

Hi all, this is my first post, but Im a bit ahead of the newby game as I just returned a week ago following an excellent trip to Kherson. Excellent in terms, that I met the lady I had been corresponding with for two months and we got on like a house on fire!
Her English is OK but she is keen to improve it, she has just sent me a sms saying that the English teacher wants $250.00 a month for this!! (I had offered to help her with this!!) But in my mind I thought these lessons would be about US$10.00 an hour!
Has anyone any thoughts on this??

[Jazzyclassy]

Hey that is such a great some of money

pay those money to me and I will teach her over skype ahhahahaha

Now serious!

Do not send her anything even if you met her once, that is not the cost for english language here , much more less than she asks

Plus read attentively 10 command.

If she has an Ok english talk to her on skype  twice a day and  no teacher will be required she will have to pay you instead

Seriously do not rush with sending her money, better switch on your prudent and careful feelings:)

[BC]

I guess a lot depends on how many hours your bucks are buying.  If you can communicate well already might just want to see how things go with your relationship first.  Eventually, if things work out she will learn a lot faster (and cheaper) 'in situ'.

Not trying to dampen your parade, but I would only invest in a committed relationship.  Sounds like you had a great time on your first dates.

[Bruce]

No need to commit dollars at this time point.  Follow Jazzy and BC's advice. 

[Daveman]

But in my mind I thought these lessons would be about US$10.00 an hour!
Has anyone any thoughts on this??

I investigated this a little while I was in Omsk...  one variable is whether or not the instructor is a 'foreign' native English speaker living and teaching in her country.  I looked at both local and foreign instructors, and the quotes I received were $200 per month for a foreign teacher, 5 nightly hour long lessons/classes (mon-friday)at $10.00 each... another one was MWF with the classes a little longer but equaling 5 hours of class time per week also $200 per month.  Also it depends on whether it is a group class or an individual private tutor.

The local Russian (nationality, not language) instructors averaged from 2-5 dollars per hour.

Of course, these quotes were given to me as a foreigner in Russia... prices for locals are always less expensive for everything ..... well, other than clothes or shoes, technology, etc. (which will amaze you at how expensive those items are compared to local wages).

Personally, I am waiting to see consistent initiative and progress on her own.. with her work schedule, she currently takes two private lessons (with one friend from her agency, studying together) each week from a local instructor... if she shows good progress, and our relations continue to grow and flourish, then I'll be happy to pick up the tab for her full time classes but I want to see her "show me something" first.

Dave

[WmGO]

Carraig,

Sorry to burst your bubble, but a girl asking for $250 a month for English lessons is a triple red flag - even under the cover of it being what the teacher quoted. Local girls know better.

Here is the basic cost for southern Ukraine: about $5 (maximum, a good shopper can get it for 3 or 4) per hour
for one hour, possible two hour, sessions either once or twice a week.

Now, you do the math and compare to what you have been quoted remembering my above statement that local girls know what is normal and what is not.

Do I need to qoute the line from Forrest Gump?

[HiTech]

$10 an hour is the going rate I have found, lots of girls share instructors with 1 or 2 others.

[carraig]

Thanks guys for your advice on this.
I have sent Olga (her real name) a message saying that this teacher is too expensive and I am worried that he/she may be trying to scam her!! and that my friends GF also called olga has English lessons in Odessa for $10 for 80 mins!(this is not a lie as I met a guy on the way back from Odessa who told me this!!)

[macman]

Hey Carraig,

Would it not be better to communicate with her a great deal and let this communication be the teacher of you both?  I ask this for two reasons; one, I am curious as to the differences that you will find between Irish and the English being taught. Two, I dated an Estonian woman for 2.5 years w/o English and she picked it up with extended phone calls in about 6 mos.

c ya
mm 

[carraig]

Of course this helps, I phone her every second night (as well as about 5 sms each a day) my Irish accent was hard for her to understand at first, even the interpretor that we used for 1 hour on the first night struggled, I had to say some things with my best American accent for them to understand me
By the day I left, Olga was speaking her limited English in a Belfast accent!

[BC]

Thanks guys for your advice on this.
I have sent Olga (her real name) a message saying that this teacher is too expensive and I am worried that he/she may be trying to scam her!! and that my friends GF also called olga has English lessons in Odessa for $10 for 80 mins!(this is not a lie as I met a guy on the way back from Odessa who told me this!!)

Carraig,

I wouldn't get too awful paranoid.. at least not yet.

http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?pid=2

especially 8 and first sentence of 9.

[Serebro]

It depends on the place(country, city/town) Here in Kazan it's about 200 roubles per one lesson(1 hour)(school teachers)(3 lessons per week)-about 2400 roubles a month.--about $93
If the teacher is a professor at university it will be about twice expensive.
If it is Moscow.. it will be a A LOT!

[Jazzyclassy]

It depends on the place(country, city/town) Here in Kazan it's about 200 roubles per one lesson(1 hour)(school teachers)(3 lessons per week)-about 2400 roubles a month.--about $93
If the teacher is a professor at university it will be about twice expensive.
If it is Moscow.. it will be a A LOT!

She is not in Moscow , she is in  Xerson, that is the way much more cheaper than she claims , and even in Moscow right now there are so many opportunities to learn english for not that much of money, plus the demand for learning english is fading away cos right now in almost every school they learn it and almost every 1 person knows english on this or that level , so these teachers of english language have such a great competition , vice versa they will be making their prices much more cheaper for people to come and study  in their place. At least I see the situation like this at the moment, I do not know how it will be in the future

[Lily]

Thanks guys for your advice on this.
I have sent Olga (her real name) a message saying that this teacher is too expensive and I am worried that he/she may be trying to scam her!! and that my friends GF also called olga has English lessons in Odessa for $10 for 80 mins!(this is not a lie as I met a guy on the way back from Odessa who told me this!!)

What was the girl's reaction on this?

[Rvrwind]

The cost will also depend on wether it is a Russian English Teacher or Native English speaking Teacher. I know I get twice what a Russian English teacher gets. That is due to the fact that no matter how good a Russian English teacher is, they will never be as good as a native Speaker of English.
As also has been said it depends on location. In Kheson I would expect $100.00 per month to be average. That would give her 2 - 90 minute lessons per week. In Moscow it is quite higher, I was getting $40.00 for a 90 minute lesson. In Tver I can command easily 300-350 roubles per hour but I prefer to teach 90 minutes & ask 500 roubles for a 90 minute lesson.
I teach only pre-intermediate to advanced & do not teach children, only adults.
Since the slowdown period is upon us my hours have depletd considerably in Moscow & have made travelling there to teach unprofitable. I have therefore decided to set up some tutoring here in Tver, unless I should come across something else that may prove to be of interest to me.
So any of you who have ladies in Tver that are considering English lessons, please feel free to PM me. Blatant advertising I know, LOL, but gots to make a livin'.  Warning, I teach Canadian Cowboy English!

[carraig]

What was the girl's reaction on this?

Lily, she agreed it was high but said it was a 1-1 lady teacher and included a taxi to and from her apartment as she lives away from a bus route! I think she sensed my wariness because this morning she sent me a message to say her work colleague knew another teacher who wasnt so expensive!
Ive just ordered a speak russian disc from e-bay for £2.40! I  dont know wether to offer her this comparison or not!

[BC]

carraig,

Just a couple questions..

On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate her current English skills?

When do you plan your next trip?

[ScottinCrimea]

This may be tough to explain, but I'll try.  It's not uncommon and not really considered dishonest for a RW to inflate the price of a legitimate expense in order to maximize the opportunity.  For example if taxi fare home is $5 she might say it costs $10, then go down the street, catch a bus for $1 and stop on the way and use the other $9 to buy some food for her family.  I have found they will even do this with each other.  It's tough for most RW to ask for money, so if they do, they want to maximize the result to some extent without appearing like they are trying to take you.  You can respond in one of two ways.  You can give her what she asks, knowing that she has needs that she is too proud to ask money for and this is one way of providing this, or you can tell her you checked into it and found what you think is a better deal and send her that amount.  Heck, even AW play this game with their husbands to snag a little extra spending cash.  I wouldn't necessarily see it as a red flag, just a bit of a heads up to see if it goes beyond a "reasonable" level.

[carraig]

carraig,

Just a couple questions..

On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate her current English skills?

When do you plan your next trip?

BC, I would rate her English about 4 out of 10 during phone conversations and probably 6 in direct conversation, by the end of my last trip we were communicating fairly well together, we only needed an interpreter for the first hour of our initial meeting, even Mila, the AFA interpreter in Kherson agreed she wasnt needed any longer and left us to it! My next trip is actually going to be to Prague,(My suggestion) she already has a passport from visiting her best friend who lives in Cyprus, so she only has to get a visa for CZ republic. I will pay for her tickets of course (cancels out my own flight price from Prague to Odessa if I was to visit her & I miss the camel ride to Kherson!) and of course the hotel and other expenses. (I also intend to send her $100 to help with the taxi from Kherson to Odessa) Can I also point out that she never actually asked me for money, just stated the price quoted for the lessons! (I concede that this may have been a subtle hint of course)

[WmGO]

Carraig,

this is just my opinion, but I think you are going about this whole
thing incorrectly. You are setting yourself up for being used.

First, I think it is a mistake to even begin to discuss sending money to an FSUW  for *anything* just because you met them *one*
time.

Second, I think it is a mistake to fly an FSUW to Prague (or Paris or Rome or anwhere) for the second meeting - or the 3rd, 4th or 5th. That is one of the things that Western men have done to pollute the whole WM - FSUW culture. It creates and/ or feeds scammers or at a minimum creates false expectations on the part of FSUW. It sets up a false standard for measuring WM-FSUW relations.

You need to be spending a few weeks with the lady in her home town getting to know her better and her family and friends as far as a second meeting is concerned.  And ditto the third.

Another thing, and your posts are not clear on this, but for purposes of what I am going to opine here I am assuming that it was your girlfriend who first brought up the subject of English lessons and the costs thereof: if she brought it up first it is a bad sign. One cardinal rule of this whole "thing" is that no sincere self respecting FSUW would ever ask for money - or drop subtle hints for money (whether for email costs or English lessons or anything).

One last thing, I disagree with Scot's characterization of how  FSUW behave in regards to money as being normal. Yes, the scenario/conduct  he describes  may be common in their culture, but any way you cut the mustard, it is *dishonest*.  Unfortunately, in FSU culture dishonesty is common, arguably the cultural norm, not the exception.  In the case of your girlfriend, she was not honest with you in regards to the cost of English lessons, in general, and with respect to the taxi issue (frankly, the taxi part is a load of malarkey).

Remember, even if you ever reach the point that you are engaged to an FSUW, the truly honest, sincere and self respecting FSUW will never ask for money, not drop hints for money, and will probably get mad if you try to give them money.

FWIW

[Jack]

Hello carraig,

I have a pretty good understanding as to what English lessons cost through out a great portion of Ukraine and Russia.
The price will vary from city to city, or region by region.

If your talking the city of Kherson here is an average based on four different teachers there and based on three ladies currently taking English lessons.

Let's talk one month's expense. The lessons will be either twice a week for three hour lessons or three times a week for two hour lessons. The price you would pay in Kherson for this would vary from $110 to $130 a month. Some teachers will charge a little more, some less.

Now let's back up here just a second. If you have never met this woman in person, then it's simple (my opinion only) I would pay 0.  Only after meeting this woman in person would I then consider paying for her English lessons. If you have never met this person, it's simple, your not paying anything, nadda, zippo. 

But you have met this woman, right?  So now that you have met her then this does present things in a different light. Now that you have met this woman, you feel their are some potential strong feelings, then it is natural to want to be able to communicate with this lady directly and more efficiently. If you have these feelings proceed. But YOU find the English teacher, not her. You do a little homework, get some references, you determine the top two teachers you prefer then you can decide or you can have your lady choose between one of the two. Do NOT let your lady tell you who her teacher is going to be. To often this has turned out to be one of her girlfriends and instead of taking lessons, they are out doing things together at a time they should be taking lessons. I do not want any lady who I am paying for her to have English lessons to be getting those from her girlfriend.


Now a third thought. If your scale of 1 through 10 is anywhere like mine and she can speak a 6 on a scale of 10, heck, that's pretty good. A lady who can speak on a scale of 6 then I'm going to see a few more times, I am able to communicate with her pretty good and have my little pocket dictionary for those things that we can't quite seem to understand.  A  6 on a scale to 10 is not so bad at all.  I would recommend spending more time with her.  If she has a great natural interest in you she is also going to be trying to improve her English on her own. If she is a 6 she already has a pretty good basic understanding and it will be not so difficult for her to improve on her own.  Just her talking in English to her other friends who speak English will help her and she will do this on her own to try to improve her English.  But to pay $250 a month, forget it, has a smell I don't like.

[WmGO]

.... If she has a great natural interest in you she is also going to be trying to improve her English on her own. If she is a 6 she already has a pretty good basic understanding and it will be not so difficult for her to improve on her own....

Yep.

[ScottinCrimea]

One last thing, I disagree with Scot's characterization of how  FSUW behave in regards to money as being normal. Yes, the scenario/conduct  he describes  may be common in their culture, but any way you cut the mustard, it is *dishonest*.  Unfortunately, in FSU culture dishonesty is common, arguably the cultural norm, not the exception.  In the case of your girlfriend, she was not honest with you in regards to the cost of English lessons, in general, and with respect to the taxi issue (frankly, the taxi part is a load of malarkey).

Two comments. WmGO:  First, I see you again trying to force Western styles of thinking and definitions of morality on Russian ways of thinking and behaving.  Second, my comments are based on my own personal experiences (which I think far exceed yours) as well as my observations and those of the people that I live among.

I knew it was going to be tough to explain it in a manner that the Western mind could understand, and apparently with you I failed.

[WmGO]

Scot,

No attempt to "force" anything. Your use of the term is illogical.  And no, your point which I just disagree with was NOT lost on me. I simple disagree. You see, matters of honesty and dishonesty *are* universal. The practices you mentioned are simply dishonest even though yes quite common in FSU. I have dozens of long time FSU friends who would agree with me on this.  And as I said before, just b/c you live there does not mean that all of your opinions are valid and everyone else's opinions are invalid. That is an immature and illogical method of argumentation - and misapplied as I certainly know enough about Russia and Ukraine and have been there enough to have a detailed knowledge and understanding of the history, culture and mentality of it's people. And remember, this forum is just a free and open exchange of *opinions* , nothing more and nothing less so no need to take things personal - or to try to make them personal.......

[William3rd]

Jack- you are right on target on the issue of English lessons. 'Nuff said.