Operating a Successful Language School

The reality of being a successful language school is due to a number of factors. It helps to be organized that is obvious but there are other factors that I have seen which makes one school operate better over another. Most of the reasons hinges on how to treat teachers. Here are some details and points of advice.

1. Merit the teacher that you are working with. Schools, which hire teachers but rarely have the moment to personally meet with the person, are most likely to breed discontent as far as I am concerned.
2. Schools that allow the teacher to use a variety of methods or give him the freedom to apply his own skills are most likely to succeed in keeping the teacher and furthering the good name of the institution
3. Being sane in your management also helps on running the school. Schools that operate under erratic behaviour akin to a person moving between the highs and lows of her personality is apt to lose the confidence of teachers and they will go elsewhere.
4. An organization, which reinvents itself or at least revamps its operational system to fit the times, is more likely to succeed. The English language can be learnt without translating from the French into English as was done years ago. When translation exercises were eliminated that was the beginning of utilizing texts that incorporated other activities that concentrated on different strengths so that the speaker could eventually be fluent.
5. Allow the teacher to do what he has been hired to do. If there is a lot of bureaucracy albeit it is everywhere the teacher will look for a place which is less demanding. This does not mean the school is unsuccessful in its methodology; it is disrespectful of the teaching staff. Personally I get turned off on reports filled out to evaluate students that never apply themselves to the course or are looking for the easy way out, namely a certificate at the end. It is enough to inform the school that the student was present in body and not in mind.
6. Don’t work out of a big office, find a space that suits your needs and you are able to function in if you want to succeed
7. Mixing different language levels into classes, which has become expedient because of costs, is not as likely to be a positive point for the school. Students will feel short changed and pass poor opinions around and the teacher is likely to get stress himself out of a job. This would increase the staff turnover and make the school lose its credibility, as many clients will equate stability with language learning quality. Language learning quality may relate to keep staff happy.
8. Keep a pleasant working environment by incorporating an activity room for the staff to visit and a reference room may not be a bad idea either
9. Don’t be dishonest when handling the private side of the business. A school owner in Montreal was found to be cheating on the students he helped to relocate to the city by pocketing a lot of money along the way. I wouldn’t get involved in student housing altogether if I were running a school.
10. Reward the staff and teachers with a decent pay increase that should match his experience and not the annual fifty cents or fraction of a dollar you get at some places if you are lucky