Trial lessons
After nearly 30 years in business, Dave and I think we have hit upon the best way to do trial lessons. Before I outline what we do, I will talk about what we don’t do and why. All of what we don’t do now, we did for years - but we changed to our current system around 10 years ago and haven’t gone back.
What we don’t do and why:
1. We don’t allow trial lesson students to join in with existing lessons, with Moms/ Dads watching because:
• It disrupts the class. My responsibility is first and foremost to my paying students. When a trial lesson student joins in, the lesson is disrupted as you accommodate the new student. And of course, if Mom/Dad brings younger siblings, your lesson can end up in shambles.
• Without a level check, you have no idea of the child’s level and the child can try a lesson that is too easy or too difficult.
• And finally: WHATEVER class the trial student joins, the Mom will think it is TOO EASY or TOO DIFFICULT for their child (even if it is actually the perfect level). And even if you explain that we have lots of lessons and of course, we have a lesson to fit their child, they often are not interested after seeing the 1 lesson.
2. We don’t allow children to join in lessons for 1 or 2 months for free or at a reduced rate because:
• Again, it disrupts the lesson.
• We want students to hit the ground running. Learning and Leveling up. If they are not even sure if they are in the lesson or not, how can they fully participate, doing weekly homework, wanting to challenge themselves?
What we DO do in trial lessons (either solely or with other trial lesson students of the same level):
• New students contact us and I get the information: name, age, what experience with English they have had (as detailed as possible), and then I sign them up for a trial lesson.
• If a child is a beginner elementary student and we have other younger beginners, then we will separate into group a kinder trial or a group elementary trial. Up to 4 in 1 group. We normally have 6 in a lesson, but for the trial, I allow only 4 because:
- It’s not just the student. It is like a family day out with Mom/Dad/siblings… (I even had a 3 month old baby once) so 4 x 3 or 4 is 12 to 16 in your room—that is already too many.
- Even if you have screened with the experienced questions, 1 child can really throw off the entire trial if they are not actually a beginner and the other Moms think, ‘oh this is too difficult because 1 child is answering everything and their child is answering nothing’. With 4 kids, I can usually control the situation, explaining that there are 2 different levels and that we would recommend 2 different classes: one for the beginners and one for the child who has studied before.
If a child has had experience with English, we do a level check and then a trial lesson with just that student and parent:
• In the level check I test the child’s speaking, reading and writing levels.
• When I know the child’s level, I can do a simulation for their level, showing what we would normally do in the lesson
Etiquette for the trial lesson:
• Greet the child/parents warmly and direct them where to sit and put their bags
• Check names, ages, birthdays if possible
• Give them a list of lessons that they can join after the trial. Include on the list how many spaces in the class are available (1 space left - best to join now) showing parents the list before the trial is super important. Have the parents thinking straight away about what day/time they want to join. Many times, parents have already decided they want to join our school and when I give them the list, they say (before they trial has even begun), that their child will join the ‘Monday 4:00’. If they don’t already know which class they want, then they can be thinking during the trial.
The mini-lesson:
• I explain what I am doing and why in Japanese as I do the trial lesson. I want the Moms and Dads to know the reasoning behind why we do what we do - basically the philosophies of the schools’ methods. Of course, I begin the trial lesson by explaining that in normal lessons, there is no Japanese, but for the sake of the parents, I will explain what we do and why first.
• Finish, ask any questions and explain about joining. ‘You can join today, this month’s fee is ____’. ‘From next month will be _____’.
• If they decide to join, have any bags, books, first homework ready to go
This individual treatment takes time - but the benefits are:
• I meet every new student.
• All Moms/Dads know how we teach and why. They help us by adopting some of the the same methods and using them at home during homework time.
We don’t offer discounts for joining on the day or hardly under any other circumstance. I want students joining because they want to join, not because they feel pressured to make a decision. I find 90% of trial lesson students sign up anyway. Most sign up on the day, but others will think about it and call in the next week.