Abstract
In France, English has become the most studied international language at school and is regarded as an asset for workers. In order to stand out in the competitive labour market, children and adults search for additional sources for learning and mastering English. Due to that fact, many private tutoring (PT) companies have developed all around the country. This chapter explores the spread of PT in France from the perspective of English private tutors. Firstly, the chapter briefly presents the concerns surrounding PT and its development in France, with specific attention to English language teaching. After that, based on data collected from a series of semi-structured individual interviews with six English language tutors, the chapter outlines the qualifications, experience, and professional lives of these tutors. The interviews shed light on a profession that little is known and on the challenges these professionals face daily, including their dual identity as tutors and teachers. Describing these challenges can be seen as the first step to improving this professional sector. The implications are twofold: on the teachers’ side, this chapter sheds light on this particular career path; on the enterprise side, the results can help managers understand English language tutors’ needs and career expectations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Xerfi is an independent economic institute, which offers analysis and reports on many sectors, among them, PT.
References
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Langage et pouvoir symbolique. Seuil.
Bray, M. (2022). Teachers as tutors, and tutors as teachers: Blurring professional boundaries in changing eras. Teachers and Teaching, 28(1), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2021.2019700
Castellotti, V. (2011). Natif, non natif ou plurilingue : dénativiser l’enseignement des langues ? In F. Dervin & V. Badrinathan (Eds.), L’enseignant non natif : identités et légitimités dans l’enseignement-apprentissage des langues étrangères (pp. 29–50). Éditions Modulaires Européennes.
Charmaz, K. (2007). Constructing Grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Sage Publications.
Galinié, A., & Heim, A. (2016). Inégalités scolaires: Quels rôles jouent les cours privés? [Educational inequalities: What roles do private lessons play?]. UNESCO.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of Grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
Glasman, D., & Besson, L. (2004). Le travail des élèves pour l’école en dehors de l’école, Rapport établi à la demande du Haut Conseil de l’évaluation de l’école, 15. La Documentation française.
Halimi, S. (2012). Apprendre les langues, Apprendre le monde. Ministère de l'éducation nationale, de la jeunesse et de la vie associative.
Hetzel, P. (2007). Temps des familles, temps des enfants : autour de la scolarité. Conférence de la famille 2007. Rapport de propositions remis à Philippe Bas, Ministre de la Santé et des Solidarités.
Holliday, A. (2006). Native-speakerism. ELT, 60(4), 385–387.
Kobakhidze, M. N. (2014). Corruption risks of PT: Case of Georgia. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 34(4), 455–475.
Kobakhidze, M. N. (2018). Teachers as tutors: Shadow education market dynamics in Georgia. The University of Hong Kong, CERC and Springer.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2016). The decolonial option in English teaching: Can the subaltern act? TESOL Quarterly, 50(1), 66–85. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.202
Levis, J. M., Sonsaat, S., Link, S., & Barriuso, T. A. (2016). Native and nonnative Teachers of L2 pronunciation: Effects on learner performance. TESOL Quarterly, early view. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.272
Loi Borloo. (2005). LOI n° 2005–841 du 26 juillet 2005 relative au développement des services à la personne et portant diverses mesures en faveur de la cohésion sociale. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000632799/
Monier, N. (2022, January, 17). L’Officiel de la Franchise. http://officieldelafranchise.fr/analyses/secteur/soutien-et-cours-particuliers-quelles-lecons-tirer-de-la-pandemie-17012022
Moussu, L., & Llurda, E. (2008). Non-native English-speaking English language teachers: History and research. Language Teaching, 41(3), 315–348.
Paikeday, T. M. (1985). The native speaker is dead. Paikeday Publishing.
Popa, S., & Acedo, C. (2006). Redefining professionalism: Romanian secondary education teachers and the PT system. International Journal of Educational Development, 26, 98–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2005.07.019
Rámila Díaz, N. (2015). Students’ Preferences regarding Native and Non-Native Teachers of English at a University in the French Brittany. Procedia 32nd International Conference of the Spanish Association of Applied Linguistics (AESLA) (pp. 93–97). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.036
Rámila Díaz, N. (2016). L’analyse des malentendus dans une entreprise linguistique multiculturelle: de l’instabilité émotionnelle au turnover. In S. Gerolimich & S. Vecchiato (Eds.), Le plurilinguisme et le monde du travail. Entre besoin, défis et stratégies (pp. 111–127). Peter Lang.
Rámila Díaz, N. (2020). European and national trends impacting on EFL development in public education and private tuition sectors in France. Estudios Interlingüísticos, 8, 209–224.
Rosenwald, F. (2006). Les aides aux devoirs en dehors de la classe. Ministère de l’éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, Note d’information, n° 06–04, février.
Tatar, S. (2019). Employment of English language teachers in an EFL context: Perspectives from school administrators. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 21(2), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v21n2.72648
Xerfi. (2017). Le marché du soutien scolaire à l’horizon 2020. Menace d’ubérisation, enrichissement de l’offre, recours croissant au numérique : quelles perspectives pour le marché et ses différents acteurs? Xerfi.
Xerfi. (2021). Quelles stratégies pour les acteurs du soutien scolaire face au durcissement des conditions de marché? Xerfi.
**ong, T., Li, Q., & Hu, G. (2022). Teaching English in the shadow: Identity construction of private English language tutors in China. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 43(1), 73–85.
Yung, K., & Yuan, R. (2018). The most popular star-tutor of English: Discursive construction of tutor identities in shadow education. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 153–168.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rámila Díaz, N. (2023). Tutors’ Perspectives of English Private Tuition in France: Challenges and Implications. In: Yung, K.W.H., Hajar, A. (eds) International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring. International Perspectives on English Language Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-26816-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-26817-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)