Frequently Asked Questions for Teachers

We employ teachers on a freelance basis, and are therefore unable to guarantee a stable flow of students. The nature of the business is to hire to meet demand, so as the demand for teachers increases, we will have more positions to offer.

Yes. In addition to signing a contract, we will also need you to fax or email Reference Release Form from sources that can verify and evaluate your work within the last five years, W9 form and a copy of your certification proving your university degree and any other relevant qualifications.

Yes. We need these for tax reasons and to perform a criminal background check. We cannot hire you without this information.

We accept references from former employers and students, so long as they are able to evaluate your previous teaching work within the last 5 years.

You will receive a confirmation email from us with all relevant information pertaining to the student, complete with templates for the student register, monthly report and Initial Session Assessment Form (ISAF).

Generally this information is given to you in the confirmation email, once the classes have been fully booked by the student and we have all the required paperwork from you. Before this stage, however, we can give you the student's postcode in order to aid your travel planning, as well as the student's motivation for learning the language.

Generally it is only necessary to report to us through the monthly invoice and report(s). However, feedback on the first session with your student is greatly appreciated to make sure there are no issues; and otherwise we only require notification if you need to take any lengthy holidays (if you require more than two sessions to be rescheduled).

No - it is impracticable for us to have alternative teaching locations available throughout the US and Canada, as we employ teachers nationwide. However, if both the student's home and workplace are unsuitable, there will most likely be a quiet public place where you can hold the lessons, such as a library, café, hotel lobby etc. If it is agreeable to both you and your student, you may conduct classes in your own office, but this must be agreed upon in advance. Please contact us if you have any queries about study location.

No. As our lessons are meant to be tailor-made to fit the individual needs of the student, there is no established teaching plan. Your first session acts as an introduction, during which you can discuss with your student their aims and goals. It is essential that you take with you the Initial Session Assessment Form (ISAF) sent to you along with the confirmation email, and we recommend bringing a few exercise sheets or similar as well (most sessions are two hours long, and establishing the student's aims should not take that long).

No. All books should be arranged by the teacher. You should then submit your receipts for such purchases along with your monthly invoice, and you will be reimbursed up to the value of $50.00 ($CAN50) per student. For larger groups only, it is possible for Listen & Learn to purchase the books you specify and have them shipped out to you. Additionally we can offer up to $2.00 ($CAN1 ) per session per student as compensation for printing and photocopying costs, but you must provide receipts. Unfortunately we do not offer reimbursement for any multimedia study aids (such as DVDs, audio CDs etc.). Feel free to recommend these to your student if you feel they would help, but they will have to purchase these themselves. It is essential that the lesson book is given to the student during the second session. If for any reason this is not possible, please inform us immediately.

Yes, please contact us and we will send it to you.

We send out a template for the monthly report with the confirmation email. The report is very straightforward to complete and the whole process, including invoicing, should not take longer than thirty minutes.

You should write reports for each individual student, not the group as a whole.

We are always looking for teachers, so if you know people with appropriate qualifications who are looking for teaching work, please pass on our contact details and recommend that they get in touch with us. If they let us know that you referred them, and they go on to complete a full lesson with Listen & Learn, you will receive a $10($CAN10) book voucher as a thank you from us.

A General lesson concentrates on the student's individual needs and goals and covers a wide variety of topics. A Business lesson will generally feature most of the material from the General lesson, but in addition to this, your student should learn how to talk about their job, how to answer the phone and make phone calls, send emails, introduce themselves in a professional way, and, if necessary, learn about the business protocol and culture of the target country. Intermediate and advanced students may also learn formal letter writing, presentation skills, negotiating, and how to conduct entire meetings in their desired language. You should aim to address any specific skills that the student wants to develop, such as public speaking or international travel vocabulary.

Our payment system is straightforward and we require invoices from you at the end of each month. At the end of your first month, you should send us an invoice, along with the Initial Session Assessment Form (ISAF). For each following month, you should send us an invoice, the register reflecting the invoiced hours, and the monthly student report. The templates for all of these documents are included in the confirmation email.

Payments in any other currency are sent out by check. Please note that checks can take up to eight or nine days to arrive on your doorstep.

We pay our teachers within the first five working days of each month. To ensure prompt payment, make sure you get the necessary documents to us in good time.

We strongly advise that you send in your paperwork no later than 25th of each month, although you can send your documents earlier if you have already finished your classes for the month. It is important to be aware that if you send your paperwork later than 25th , you will not be paid until the start of the following month.`

In the unlikely event that your payment has not gone through even though we have received your invoice, register and report, make sure you get in contact with us as soon as possible so we can rectify whatever caused the error.

This depends entirely on the language, your qualifications and your location. Please contact us for more information.

Your travel costs are taken into account and included in your hourly rate. We are able to negotiate reimbursement in special circumstances, so please contact us if you have any specific queries.

Make sure to include copies of receipts for any books that you purchase for your student/s, and fax them to us along with your first monthly invoice. We will reimburse you for books up to the value of $50.00 ($CAN50) per student, and up to $2.00 ($CAN1 ) per session per student for printing and photocopying costs.

No. You are a self-employed contractor and, as such, are responsible for your own taxation.

In rare cases, our students need to cancel their lessons. If this happens, you will be paid for all the hours you have already taught for the lesson, upon receipt of the appropriate supporting documents for payment.

The contract is valid for all teaching positions taken up with Listen & Learn. The payment you receive will depend on several factors (like number of students on the lesson, travel costs), and may vary from lesson to lesson. For this reason, no figure is mentioned on the contract, but your hourly rate will always be stated in the confirmation letter sent by us prior to the commencement of each lesson.

No, you will not be penalized for absence of students from a group class. If one or more students are absent and you teach the remaining students as usual, you will be paid the usual hourly rate.

In this situation, we recommend still going ahead as planned. The lesson has been booked and confirmed with the student already, and it is unlikely that they will neglect to turn up for the first session, even if you are unable to contact them beforehand. If the student does not turn up, you will still be paid, so it is in your best interests to carry on as confirmed.

Most importantly, you should inform the student immediately via every means available (you should have received your student's phone number and email address in the confirmation email), and reschedule the class for a time that is convenient for both of you. We would appreciate it if you also informed us of the cancellation.

If the student cancels more than 24 hours before the session is due to take place, the lesson will have to be rescheduled. If the student cancels less than 24 hours before the arranged time, you will still be paid, but your student must sign the register at the next class to confirm the late cancellation.

You must give the student as much notice as possible so that you can reschedule the lesson for another time that is convenient for both of you. We would also appreciate being informed.

You must notify us as soon as you are aware that you will not be able to continue working for us. You must give us notice of at least two working weeks.

Yes, but we would prefer that you discuss this with us as soon as possible. Your colleague must have similar qualifications to yourself (a native speaker with university-accredited diploma), must sign a contract with us, and must also be briefed on the student's needs and goals before they can act as your substitute.

Please let us know as soon as possible, preferably before your details are due to change, and, if possible, please provide us with the date that the new details will come into effect.

You must discuss this with Listen & Learn first. You must not teach the student for any more hours than laid out in the confirmation email you receive from us. If the student requests extra lessons from you, you must inform us immediately and tell the student that they need to discuss this directly with Listen & Learn. If you teach the student for any extra hours without authorization from us, you will be in breach of contract and will not be paid for these hours. We may also take action if we feel that you have deliberately tried to arrange extra lessons with the student without discussing the matter with us first.