FK Teacher is the online division of Frances King School of English. Frances King, which is accredited by the British Council and a member of Quality English, IALC and EnglishUK, has been delivering high quality English language tuition since 1973. Our unique system enables independent teachers to offer their expertise to students both locally and internationally.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What's in it for me, as an independent teacher?
- What's in it for FK Teacher?
- Will I be employed by FK Teacher?
- I don't know anything about being self-employed or setting up a company. What should I do?
- Will you give me students?
- I currently work for another company. Can I keep my job?
- How much do I have to pay FK Teacher?
- How much do I have to pay for the training course?
- How long does training take?
- How often do you run training sessions?
- Do I have to do the training course in the UK?
- Is training one-to-one?
- Will I have access to any materials?
- Do I have to use your materials?
- What is a "Tutorial"?
- Does your methodology work?
- Does this work with any level?
- How many students can I teach at the same time?
- How much study time will my students get each week?
- I like to interact with my students. Isn't online teaching a bit remote?
- Will I have contact with other teachers?
- What type of courses do you offer for students?
- How long are the courses FK Teacher offers?
- What if I try it and decide I don't like it?
- How do I sell the courses?
- Do you often get repeat sales?
- Do I have to know a lot about computers?
- What if I have technical problems?
- I don't have broadband. Can I still use this system?
- I have broadband, but most people in my area only have dial-up. Is that a problem?
- Does the platform support other scripts such as Arabic or Chinese?
- What happens when my students want to go on holiday or take time off from their course?
- Do I take local or UK public holidays?
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1. What's in it for me, as an independent teacher?
You can choose your hours, avoid travelling, have a bank of materials to use and a proven methodology to work with. You also get the support of a strong network and a respected brand behind you. You can work more when you have more time and less when you have less time. Finally, you can earn more money using this method, and be genuinely satisfied with the results.
2. What's in it for FK Teacher?
We only make money on the licence fee that you pay us (which you only pay us for courses you sell). Increasing our network of teachers also means increasing our profile, and this will lead to more teachers delivering more courses and paying us more licence fees. It's as simple as that.
3. Will I be employed by FK Teacher?
No, you remain independent, either as self-employed, sole trader or through your own company.
4. I don't know anything about being self-employed or setting up a company. What should I do?
We can advise you on this.
5. Will you give me students?
No, you find and select your own students. You're able to choose what course you want to offer to them and how much you want to charge them. Occasionally we may be able to offer you a student to whom we have already sold a course. In this situation, you receive slightly less money for teaching the course, because someone else will be paid the commission for the sale. You will never be obliged to take a student we offer you; you always have full choice over who you teach.
6. I currently work for another company. Can I keep my job?
Yes, as long as your other company doesn't mind. In fact, most of our teachers start out doing their FK Teacher work part-time until they build up a strong client base.
7. How much do I have to pay FK Teacher?
The only money we take is a licence fee on any course you sell. If you don't sell anything, then you don't pay us anything. Please see our Information Pack for more details.
8. How much do I have to pay for the training course?
Nothing. It's free.
9. How long does training take?
Initial training takes a week, and sessions last approximately 4 hours a day. After initial training you will be closely supported and monitored for the first few weeks. After that you will have all the support you need, and still be monitored, but to a lesser extent.
10. How often do you run training sessions?
This depends on numbers more than fixed dates. In the UK, we're very flexible with regards to training sessions, and will set up a course with as few as two trainees. If you want to train abroad, then we need a minimum of 5 people ready to train at the same time.
11. Do I have to do the training course in the UK?
No, we're happy to travel to you, provided there are enough trainees in your area for that week.
12. Is training one-to-one?
No. We've found that groups are more effective and more efficient, so we always prefer to train between 2 and 7 people at one time. This also provides you with a ready-made community of FK Teachers whom you know and have worked with.
13. Will I have access to any materials?
Yes. You'll have full access to our library of interactive worksheets and vocabulary sets.
14. Do I have to use your materials?
No. Our worksheets and vocab sets are there to help you, but you're free to use your own style of exercises if you prefer. You can also create your own worksheets, but these have to be proof-read and approved by someone at FK Teacher Head Office.
15. What is a "Tutorial"?
This learning system lies at the centre of our methodology. It is an intensive correction programme based on a piece of written and spoken text produced by the student. This is processed using our unique software, and then a set of exercises called "Study Sessions" is returned to the student. The Study Sessions usually provide between 1 ½ and 4 hours' work for a student, depending on how many mistakes they make and how thoroughly they choose to study. They can then return to a Tutorial later and repeat the exercises as many times as they like. Because this method focuses on the language that the student actually produces, the exercises address each student's specific needs. It's an extremely effective teaching tool.
16. Does your methodology work?
Yes! It really does. Because it's one-to-one and focuses on the student's actual language, this method really does work! We have many testimonials and case studies that show this.
17. Does this work with any level?
We currently use this system monolingually with elementary students and above. If you're bilingual, then you can customise a course to do with beginner students. We would be happy to advise you on how to do this.
18. How many students can I teach at the same time?
You will usually need to dedicate approximately 1 ½ hours per week to each of your students, depending on what course you sell them and how much work they do. This means that if you choose to work 15 hours a week, you'll be able to run 10 courses or so.
19. How much study time will my students get each week?
This is variable, depending on how much effort the student puts in. It is in fact limitless, as students have access to self-study areas as well as the work you give them. We recommend that students study a minimum of 1 ½ - 2 hours per week on a standard course, but many will do more.
20. I like to interact with my students. Isn't online teaching a bit remote?
Our courses are one-to-one, so you do really get to know your students. Teachers are often surprised at how much they enjoy this style of working. Don't forget that you can also incorporate phone calls or video calls or even face-to-face sessions if you wish.
21. Will I have contact with other teachers?
Yes, you'll get to know all the teachers who work full time at the head office in London through emails and our support system. We also encourage you to get to know the other teachers around the world. There is a central "Staffroom" on the website where you can post questions, give advice or just have a chat. And you'll be welcome at our Christmas party here in London!
22. What type of courses do you offer for students?
We have several templates for course formats, which incorporate Tutorials, worksheets, one-to-one work on the Tutor Page and live telephone calls. You're welcome to use these formats or to customise your courses. You may want to increase the number of Tutorials or phone calls; you may want to offer face-to-face options. It's completely up to you. We're happy to advise you, but ultimately it's your course to deliver to your student.
23. How long are the courses FK Teacher offers?
This is completely flexible and customisable. We know from experience that courses are most effective if they're a minimum of four weeks long, so we ask you use that as a starting point.
24. What if I try it and decide I don't like it?
Then you've lost nothing. However, we're looking for people who are interested in e-learning and committed to teaching. We would be disappointed if you completed the training process and decided it wasn't for you.
25. How do I sell the courses?
We're not asking you to use pushy sales techniques, or to contact people that aren't interested in online tuition. There are lots of people already studying English who would like to find a more flexible solution. We can give you useful tips on how to find students of your own, and we can also advise you on how to approach companies if you want to sell corporate courses.
26. Do you often get repeat sales?
Yes. Many of our students sign up for another course straight after finishing one. Some others sign up again after a short break. We've found that students who enjoy the benefit of access to the website after their course ends will often return to book another course.
27. Do I have to know a lot about computers?
Not really. You need to have basic computer literacy, such as how to use email, word processing, filing etc. We'll show you how to edit soundfiles, use html tags and use our software. You should be fairly confident that this is stuff you'll be able to learn. You don't need to be a computer geek, but you shouldn't be a technophobe.
28. What if I have technical problems?
We have a very good technical support team in place who can help you with most things remotely. Some things, such as a total hard drive failure or an Internet blackout are things that you would need to fix at your end.
29. I don't have broadband. Can I still use this system?
We recommend that you have ADSL or a cable broadband connection. If you have ISDN, this would be OK too. However, standard dial-up is too slow. In an emergency, an accelerated or boosted dial-up will suffice, but you should not use it on a regular basis.
30. I have broadband, but most people in my area only have dial-up. Is that a problem?
Yes. Your students will also need to be on ADSL or a fast line. We've tried delivering courses to students on dial-up, and it doesn't usually work very well.
31. Does the platform support other scripts such as Arabic or Chinese?
Yes.
32. What happens when my students want to go on holiday or take time off from their course?
It's possible to put a student's course on hold. This can be done by you or the student themselves through the website. When setting up a course format, we schedule the number of holiday weeks a student can take. For technical problems or exceptional circumstances, we also have a facility to "freeze" a student's course, without it affecting the number of holiday weeks they have.
33. Do I take local or UK public holidays?
We would advise you to take your local public holidays. However, the UK headquarters and support centre close on UK public holidays.
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"Teaching online gives me the time to react properly to what my students have said, and to plan their learning programme more effectively. Being able to use voice makes a huge difference in terms of explaining a language point to a student, but also allows me and the student to get to know each other.
I can tell immediately what stage of a course my student is at using the course management system. It makes it easy to manage larger numbers of students and keeps me on track."
Steve Harris (Teacher)
10 years' teaching experience
UK, Russia & Poland
More Testimonials
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