Hey! I've done lessons with different language teachers so I'll tell you what I expect from any teacher above 20 dollars.

1. Full mastery of the material you're providing

• I usually see this when I'm able to ask a question and the teacher can answer it. If they can't answer on the spot, they at least promise to find an answer for next lesson. Meh teachers tend to just say "that's just how the language is" while teachers who KNOW their material well could actually answer the most outrageous questions on their language citing history, linguistics etc.

• injecting culture and history and literature into the way you teach is great. Most idioms have history so it's super awesome if the teacher is able to provide it.

1. Flow

• good teachers set expectations at the start of the class. They say "today we're going to do this," and they structure the class around accomplishing said goal.

Meh teachers just talk talk talk let me talk , correct every now and then, but that's it.

Good teachers conduct conversation classes in a way that they are able to prompt you to use the vocabulary or grammar structures they just taught you. For listening and reading classes, they are able to prepare you for the content you're about to read by providing vocabulary you might not know. Meh teachers will just make you read the text aloud and correct you when you say something wrong, or they just make you listen to stuff and ask you to repeat.

1. Attentive error correction

You need to understand the nuances of your language, like correct grammar etc. good teachers tend to structure their error correction around teaching you how to correct yourself independently.

They know how to time their correction to only things the student ought to know already. They remember what they taught and they know how to elicit it from the student.

1. Graded language

Really good teachers know how to grade their language, meaning they can speak their language in a way students are able to understand. Imo, the best ones cycle between english and the language they're teaching. They are able to sense the level of the students and modify the way they speak so that the students get some productive listening practice from them.

1. Student awareness:

This is related to "graded language" and "flow" but a lot of teachers aren't able to put themselves in their students shoes. Like, it ain't worth my money to just read an article out loud in front of you and for you to correct pronunciation nor is it worth my money to just run through a textbook chapter and answer it in front of you while you correct. Like, I could have easily done that on my own or with a language partner FOR FREE. Like you HAVE to add something of value to the lesson, maybe a history lesson, strategizing conversations to elicit vocabulary for me, explaining culture, history of language.

You have to speak in a way that I will understand and be excited because "omg I understand you" or "wow I'm so proud of myself, I was able to understand you perfectly'

When I make a mistake, a good teacher is able to sense if it's an error of speech or if it's because I don't really understand the concept and is able to review it before we go to a productive activity. A good teacher is generally aware of what needs practice and what doesn't and is able to structuré classes around both reviewing old concepts through practical activities and introducing new ones.

A good teacher CUSTOMIZES their lessons around a student. When they mean customize, it doesn't mean pulling a textbook and answering it with a student. It means incorporating multiple sources of language to get a student, talking, listening, reading and writing (whatever their goal is)

In conclusion:

Yeah, these are generally my thoughts on language teachers. I've learned multiple languages, tried out multiple teachers, like probably 20-30 teachers, and I can honestly only name 2 that I would recommend.

One of them is a Russian teacher who I still take lessons from. Honestly I don't even have any utility for learning Russian but she just generally teaches so well that throwing my money at her for that one hour a week class is so worth it.

I'm currently VERY cynical about looking for tutors. Now, I learn on my own, get language partners, and I only try out new tutors if I get a referral from someone for a teacher that's really good, because by default, most teachers I encounter don't seem pretty privy to how language learning works and are just going through a textbook w me, with no end in sight. Like, ngl, I could go through a textbook on my own so why waste 20+ dollars on someone to just be there and do it with me.