Learning a new language is complicated enough on its own before you factor in a pandemic- especially for your kids. Virtual learning has become the new norm for many, and though it has its downsides, can be just as enriching as in-person instruction. The hardest part of online learning may just be finding the best services and a quality Spanish tutor that fits.
To hire an online Spanish tutor for your kids, check out platforms like Wyzant or Verbling. These sites facilitate your search, allowing you to filter subjects, prices, location, and availability. Once you find a tutor you like, you can message them with questions, or book a tutoring lesson.
There are so many different services available to help find you the right tutor. All platforms are not alike. Some websites offer tutors on a variety of subjects, while others are designed especially for Spanish language tutoring. It is up to you to decide what service will work best for you.
How to Hire Online Spanish Tutor for Kids & Best Services
Thankfully, modern online learning is no new feat. Demand has skyrocketed over the past year, further driving up the availability of resources for online learners. All this to say that the process of finding the right services for your kids should be fairly straightforward, as there are so many convenient options just a click of a button away.
With so many online tutoring services available it may seem overwhelming to find the most suited for you. Luckily, we have done the legwork to find the best services for Spanish tutoring available on the internet today. To take the headache out of the process, consider these aspects to first pick the right platform to use:
- Subjects: Some websites, like Wyzant, offer a wide range of subject matter to learners, while others are specifically geared towards language or Spanish. Generally, larger platforms with a variety of subjects will have a greater number of tutors available, while Spanish language services will be more tailored to your needs.
- Learning needs: If your child has specific learning needs, it is important to consider the right platform. Websites like Dinolingo are made specifically for kids, meaning that lessons may be better versed in adjusting to the different demands and challenges that come with teaching kids.
- Platform Safety: Learning online comes with its risks. Luckily, many educational platforms thoroughly vet their tutors. Some even require background checks on all their educators. Make sure to check the safety measures on the site you pick to reassure that your child will have a safe and enriching experience.
- Curriculum: Working with a new teacher means creating an appropriate curriculum for your child. Some platforms offer cookie-cutter programs, while others work with you to build a tailored curriculum. It’s important to consider your child’s level and goals when picking a service to ensure their needs are best met.
Once you have considered these factors and chosen a website that you like, it’s now time to pick your child’s tutor. Picking the right tutor is crucial to the success of your child in learning and enjoying their language journey. Follow these simple steps to pick the right tutor and start your child on the path to Spanish speaking success:
- Step 1: Choose the subject matter that you are looking for. If the website is made for Spanish learning, then this step is already done for you.
- Step 2: Next, you will have to filter through a large bank of available tutors. Make sure to adjust the price point to match what you are looking for. On many platforms you will also be able to specify your child’s availability, and where the tutor is from. Once you have filtered your requirements, you can begin reading about potential tutors.
- Step 3: Websites will normally provide a bio on each of their educators, allowing you to verify their experience, expertise, and teaching style. Make sure to keep an eye out for someone with experience teaching kids if you are not already on a kid-friendly platform.
- Step 4: Once you have sifted through your options and found one that suits you best, reach out to them! Ask questions to get to know your tutor and their methods. If you like what you see, go ahead and book a tutoring session. Tutoring websites make the process simple, so you can book a time and pay right on the platform itself.
Once you have found a tutor you can further discuss plans for your Spanish lessons. It’s best to have a clear goal to make creating a lesson plan more straightforward for your tutor. Make sure to consider how often you would like them to meet with your kids and the length of each lesson. You can always adjust your needs as time goes on, just talk it over with your tutor.
How much do Spanish Tutors Charge?
Spanish tutors charge a wide range of prices, depending on experience, ratings, and how tailored you want your program to be. Some tutors charge as low as 5 dollars an hour! Prices can climb upwards of 80 dollars for the most experienced educators, who create individualized programs.
On average, a quality tutor with a strong educational background and extensive experience will charge anywhere between 30 and 50 dollars an hour. Many tutors often offer your first lesson free of charge as a trial run, allowing you to better decide if they are the right fit for you.
If you have a strict budget, no worries. Websites allow you to filter through tutors at your specific price point, meaning you will be able to find the perfect tutor while not breaking your budget. Payments are easy on most platforms, too. You will enter your information on a secure page and then process your payments with the simple click of a button.
Best Services for Hiring a Spanish Tutor
Now that you know what to look for in a tutoring service, and how to pick your tutor, it’s time to focus on the specifics of each tutoring service platform. Don’t worry- we have already combed through the internet to find the best tutoring services available. All that’s left for you is to pick the best one for you and your family.
Wyzant
Wyzant is a tutoring service that offers over 65,000 tutors to choose from! They offer a variety of subjects, including Spanish. There are no hidden fees or contracts with this service, and you can search for and message with tutors for free before paying a cent. All you’ll have to do is enter Spanish as your subject, and scroll through the hundreds of tutors available to you.
Wyzant makes it easy to compare prices and reviews so you can make the most informed decision possible. On average, students pay between $35-60 per hour, but there are tutors available for all price points. Tutors set their prices for lessons depending on their experience and demand, and you only pay once you have completed your lesson.
The best part about Wyzant is that they use their own educational platform built right into your browser. The platform provides audio, video, and a virtual whiteboard to mimic a real classroom experience. They are so confident about their services that they offer a ‘Good Fit Guarantee’. If you aren’t satisfied with your experience, your first hour is free.
Verbling
Verbling is an online tutoring service tailored specifically to foreign language learners. Once you pick Spanish, you can scroll through a variety of native-speaking tutors who each provide an introduction video and CV. Seeing your potential tutor’s face breaks the barrier of the virtual world, providing a much more sensory and engaging approach to your search.
Each tutor also provides their full monthly schedule with all of their available times, allowing you to find the best program for your child’s tutoring lessons. Verbling adds an extra function so you can pick where your tutor is from, meaning you can better choose which dialect of Spanish you want to focus on.
The service uses its own teaching software and platform that you can access on your laptop or cellphone. However, you aren’t able to save chats or whiteboards from your lessons, so that is something to consider.
On average, the price per hour for a tutor is 17 dollars, though the prices vary depending on what you are looking for. Try out a free trial before committing to paying for any lessons so you’re sure you like the tutor that you found. When you decide to commit to a teacher you like, payment for classes is made simple as you pay directly on the website.
Verbling is an all-around great choice. The intuitive platform organization and tailoring towards language learners make it an easy pick.
Dinolingo
Another great pick is a tutoring service called Dinolingo. This service is especially interesting for many reasons, including:
- Kid-friendly: It is a tutoring service made especially for kids learning Spanish! No need to worry about if methods will be effective and tailored to your child’s needs. The entire platform is geared towards young ages.
- Methods: Dinolingo takes a different, task-based approach to learning. Kids are not simply fed information but are exposed to it in an immersive and interactive way. Each new video lesson is filled with animated cartoons that repeat target information to learners. At the end of the lesson, retention is tested through games.
- Immersion: The service focuses on immersive learning, meaning your child will be exposed to as much Spanish as possible. Immersion is proven to be the most effective method in learning a language, pushing your child towards fluency and encouraging them to speak and use their Spanish naturally.
- Platform: There is no planned meeting to have to worry about with Dinolingo. All video lessons, games, and assessments are available to you online. This means you can complete them at any time, anywhere, and moving at your own pace. No obligations take the stress out of learning, making it an enjoyable and fulfilling experience.
Besides video lessons, the platform also has a plethora of language resources including books, stories, worksheets, and songs. The different media allows your child to interact with Spanish in a real way, helping make solid connections with the language and giving it a whole new meaning that reaches beyond the classroom.
Dinolingo is unique in that there is no meeting with an assigned teacher, meaning that you won’t have to go through the process of researching and picking the right tutor for your child. You also won’t have to worry about scheduling lessons as you can log in whenever you have time.
Depending on how long you would like access to Spanish lessons for your kids, you can subscribe to the service for $19.99 a month, or pay for the full year for $119. It may seem like a hefty price upfront but is an outstanding deal when you compare it to the hourly prices of a virtual tutor. Dinolingo is an alternative yet equally intriguing option for learning Spanish.
Preply
Yet another great service exists called Preply. Similar to other platforms Preply offers tutors in all subject matters, not just Spanish. Once you choose Spanish as your subject, you will be redirected to a list of available tutors. Much like Verbling, you can filter through your options including price per hour, where your tutor is from, and when you are available.
Tutors are rated on a scale of 5 stars, and you can read reviews to make an educated decision. Tutors create introduction videos, allowing you to get the feel of who they are and their teaching style in a more concrete manner. Along with a video you are offered their credentials and experience.
One cool feature of Preply is that you can even see a list of a teacher’s active students, and how many total lessons they have taught. Tutors’ profiles are all verified for accuracy, so need to stress about who your child is working with. Many tutors also have certifications for private tutoring and are native speakers of Spanish.
Prices range between $5-60 dollars per hour of teaching; there is a price point for any learner wanting to pursue Spanish online. Even better, Preply offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you don’t like your tutor, you will be given a free replacement or a full refund. What’s there not to like?
Spanish Skype
This tutoring service is particularly interesting. Spanish Skype is exactly what it sounds like- Spanish lessons through the video chat platform Skype. Unlike other tutoring services, you won’t have to learn a new platform or technology if you are already familiar with Skype. If you are not, no worries. It is a free platform that is intuitive and easy to download.
This service offers one-on-one classes with a teacher of your choice. Each of their 9 tutors is a native speaker from Spain, Mexico, or Latin America. Many are trained or certified in teaching Spanish. Teachers are carefully chosen to ensure high-quality and safe, friendly class times.
One of the coolest aspects of Spanish Skype is that they specifically tailor to kids learning Spanish, and will carefully pair or recommend a tutor that has experience with kids. The methods of teaching used are fun and engaging. By sparking an interest in your child they will progress quickly in a short period, so you can get your money’s worth.
Each lesson is 55 minutes in length but if your child is too young to focus for an hour, let the people at Spanish Skype know- they offer shorter class times and special packages to adjust to you and your child’s needs.
Each 55-minute session can range from 12 to 20 dollars depending on the package you choose. If you opt for a package of between 1 to 4 classes, each class will cost 20 dollars each. The more classes you commit to, the cheaper each lesson will be. For a total of 50 lessons, each class time will only end up costing 12 dollars.
It’s better to buy in bulk if you know you will be using the service in the long run, but this can be a downside if you’re not sure. The good news is that each new student gets one free 55-minute lesson to make sure that they like their tutor and their teaching methods.
Overall, Spanish Skype is a fantastic option as they are specialized in tutoring for Spanish and have expert teachers in the field. They are flexible and accommodating to children and offer unbeatable prices, so what are you waiting for?
Live Lingua
Last, but certainly not least, there is the tutoring service Live Lingua. This service is geared toward language learners only, which is right up your alley. They expertly pick and choose from one for their professional online Spanish teachers so you can learn one-on-one from the comfort of your home.
Live Lingua stand out from the competition and is an appealing option for many reasons, including:
- Education: Each of their teachers is highly educated as they are required to have a university degree. You will take a learning style quiz, and Live Lingua will skillfully match you with one of their tutors. Once you are matched, they will meet with you to determine your goals, then build an individualized curriculum just for you.
- Native-speakers: Each of Live Lingua’s tutors is a native-speaker, which they call ‘language learning guides’. Your language-learning guide will speak, write, and teach you native Spanish, and can offer you a unique cultural perspective on where they are from. Culture will bring your language learning to life.
- Methods: Live Lingua is intriguing because they put the focus on you. Their custom-made curriculum is built around your Spanish level, your learning style, and your goals. Much like in a formal learning setting, you will be presented with new material then assessed on your retention to track progress.
- Pricing: Price per hour starts at 16 dollars, but the more hours you buy the more discounts you will receive on each hour. You won’t be forced to lock yourself into a package or buy in bulk, which is a plus. If you’re still unsure, you can enroll in a trial run before committing to anything.
- Platform: You won’t have to learn and adapt to a new platform, as Live Lingua uses Skype for their video lessons. Skype is a safe and reliable platform, so you won’t have to worry about your child’s safety while using the app.
Live Lingua’s reputation precedes them, having been mentioned and endorsed by Forbes, Buzzfeed, and Entrepreneur Magazine for their quality and consistency. Your first 30-minute class is free, so there is no risk!
How to get the most out of Tutoring
Now that you have found a tutoring service, and been matched with a tutor, it’s time to lock into language learning. To get the most out of your tutoring, and the most bang for your buck, there are habits that you should develop as a student and a learner so you can advance as quickly as possible:
- Plan your lesson: Instead of leaving the reins exclusively to your tutor, you should discuss goals for your child and mention their interests and hobbies. This will allow the tutor to incorporate topics that your child will engage with, therefore allowing them to enjoy their language learning and advance with ease.
- Consistency: Once you are done with your lesson, the learning is not over! Language requires consistency. The more often you practice, the more quickly you will reach your goals. Encourage your child to speak to you in Spanish, or point out objects using Spanish vocabulary. Incorporating Spanish into your lifestyle will give it true value.
- Ask questions: With language learning comes making mistakes. The quicker you get used to not knowing it all, the quicker you will let go and allow the learning process to happen. Encourage your child to ask as many questions as they need, especially if they are unsure about a topic. This will promote engagement and curiosity in Spanish.
- Notes: Make sure to ask your child’s tutor about each day’s lesson plan and take notes about what topics they cover. Keeping track of what your child is learning will better allow you to review with them on your own time, and maps their progression out more clearly. If you have time, listen in on a lesson to really get an idea!
The more you put into learning Spanish the more you will get out of it. Scheduling regular lessons for your child is simply not enough to help their language skills grow. Make sure to buy resources in Spanish like flashcards, games, songs, and TV shows that will build a true connection between the language and your child.
The more good experiences they have with learning and using Spanish, the more motivation they will have to continue. Learning can be fun! Make sure to reinforce this with your child as often as possible. The benefits of online tutoring are innumerable, you will just have to build on language skills outside of the virtual classroom.
Wrap-up
Children are like sponges- they can absorb information and learn languages naturally. Once you have decided you want your child to learn Spanish, it’s a good idea to consider online tutoring to help advance their skills. With so many tutoring services available to you, there is no reason to not take advantage.
Online tutoring is especially beneficial because you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home! Your child can learn Spanish wherever, whenever. The variety of services and platforms available will allow you to pick and choose the most appropriate for you and your child. The hardest part of learning Spanish will be picking where and with whom.
While platforms like Dinolingo are crafted specifically for children learning Spanish, others like Preply are more general tutoring platforms for all subjects and ages. Each service has its own range of prices, availability, and video learning platform. Some services even offer options to pick where your tutor is from to better control what dialect of Spanish you want to learn.
Once you have picked your service, choosing your tutor is the next step. Many sites allow you to vet teachers for yourself, offering video introductions and resumes for each employee. Other services will expertly pick a tutor for you themselves, taking the headache out of having to choose altogether. Many services require teachers to have degrees and certificates, too!
The process of online tutoring is straightforward once you have chosen the right service and tutor for your child. Being stuck at home can be boring, so why not encourage your kid to learn a language in the meantime? Tutoring services make learning Spanish safe, simple, and successful. So, what are you waiting for? Start your child’s language journey today!