Tutor FAQs

What is LovLan?

LovLan is a subsidiary of a major international language training organization. For nearly 20 years, we have been connecting people eager to learn new languages with skilled and qualified teachers around the world. LovLan specializes in offering customers affordable, one-to-one or small group, online lessons with their teacher of choice.

What are qualifications I need to teach on LovLan?

You must have experience teaching your native language. Ideally, you should have a certified teaching qualification and/or a university degree related to the language you teach, but if you have sufficient teaching experience, this may not be necessary.

Which languages can I teach?

LovLan offers teachers of any language and we are always interested in working with talented tutors. Whether you teach a common language (English, Spanish, French, etc.) or a rare one, write them in the “Languages You Teach” box in your profile. You can do this when you create your account or later by editing your profile. You can insert up to 10 languages, but we request that you only teach languages that you speak to a native level.

What if I have colleagues/fellow teachers who would also like to work for LovLan?

If you know people with the experience and qualifications we require, please pass on our contact details and recommend that they complete their profile.

How can I contact you with any questions?

You can call us on one of the following phone numbers:
USA: +1 646 787 0772
Canada: +1 647 371 5082
UK: +44 (0)208 106 2455
Australia: +61 (0)2 4063 1009
Alternatively, you can send your inquiries to us via email: [email protected]

How do I create a teacher profile?

Click the “Register” menu button at the top of any page on this website. Complete the initial short form and click “Sign Up.” Please make sure you select the “I want to Teach a language” option. You will then be redirected to a longer Teacher profile creation form. There are 5 pages to complete.

On page 1, you will be asked to submit various details, including the languages you teach, your qualifications, your experience, and your interests.

On page 2, you should enter the details of the language classes you want to teach. Decide if students must book a minimum number of hours with you, or if one 1-hour lesson is sufficient. Choose the language levels you teach and any specialities, such as Business language lessons or Exam Preparation. You can also set the maximum number of students you are willing to accept for group classes, as well as any discounts/offers you want to give. By default, you will offer a 30-minute trial lesson, and you can choose if this is free or available at a reduced price. If you do not want to offer this, then make sure you untick the box next to “I want to offer a 30 minute (half hour) trial lesson.”

On page 3, arrange your timetable. Tell us the time zone you will be teaching in and select the days and times when you are available for students to book their lessons. To open/close a time slot, simply click it: green means you are available to teach during that time slot.

On page 4, you should write your Teacher Profile, record a Video Profile, and upload a profile photo. These are important determiners of how students choose their teachers on the platform. Thus, we strongly recommend taking your time and completing these items to the best of your ability. We have included guidance on the page to help you complete each part. Please note, these are mandatory items. You must complete these before you can finalize your profile.

On page 5, enter your contact details and preferred payment option. If you choose to be paid by PayPal, insert your PayPal email address. If you another method of payment, tell us what method you require and we will be in touch to arrange the specifics.

Finally, you will be asked to review your profile before confirming it. If you have missed any mandatory steps, you will be invited to go back and complete them. Once the profile creation process is finished, your profile will be live on the platform.

You can change any details, including your profile description, video, and photo, your teaching availability, and your prices, at any time by accessing your profile and editing the information.

How does the booking system work?

Learners are responsible for finding, choosing, and booking your services.

After the learner has found your profile and decided they want lessons with you, they click the button on your profile page to book your lesson(s). If you offer a 30-minute trial lesson, they may choose to book this service instead. They will select the dates and times when they want their lesson(s) from your public calendar. It is important you keep your calendar up-to-date with your availability.

After the learner has made their payment, the lessons will be booked, and you will receive a message from us with the dates and times of the lessons, as well as a link to the learner’s profile.

Can I suspend my availability for when I don’t want to accept bookings?

Yes. You can access your calendar from your profile, where you can choose days and times when you are available. Also, you can pause your calendar for determined or indefinite periods.

Can learners book a series of lessons with me?

Yes, learners can book as many lessons as they want. There is no upper limit.
If you would like to set a minimum number of study hours that the learner must book with you, you are free to do so in your teacher profile. The default minimum number is 1 lesson, but you can set this up to 10 lessons. This is a great way to encourage commitment from the student by asking them to pay for a series of classes upfront. However, please keep in mind that other students value flexibility and will likely prefer a lower minimum number of lessons.

How do I accept bookings?

By default, you will accept all bookings automatically. However, you can change your profile settings so that you must manually approve bookings, if this is what you prefer.

How do I see my upcoming bookings?

Log in to your profile to see your lesson history, how many hours you have taught, and the dates of any completed and upcoming lessons.

What do I need to teach online lessons?

A good Internet connection and suitable communication software (we recommend Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp or Hangouts). A headset is not essential but can help improve the sound quality of your voice but it is necessary to have a webcam on your computer or phone or tablet so that the learner can see you during the class. You will also need to create and provide your own teaching materials. Our Academic and IT teams can provide general guidance, if required.

How can I determine my student’s current language level?

We ask students to state their current proficiency level in their profiles. If they have not done so, we recommend they look at our Language Level page.

Some students may decide not to complete this field (it isn’t mandatory). However, once the student has made the booking, you will be able to contact them via our internal messaging system. We strongly recommend asking them if they know their current level. If they don’t, you can request they take a Level Test on one of the many websites that offer free level tests and to send you the results before your first class. It is up to you if you decide to do this, but not knowing the student’s level before the first class means you may waste time preparing inappropriate material and exercises.

Can I teach small groups?

Yes, you can use LovLan to teach one-to-one and closed group lessons.

LovLan only provides accounts of single users. Upon booking a lesson or lessons with you, the student will be asked to specify if they want a one-to-one class or if other students will attend. If they choose the latter, they will be asked to enter the names of the other students in the group and will be responsible for payment for the entire group.

To help us settle any disputes that may occasionally arise, we recommend limiting all out-of-lesson communications with your students to the internal messaging system. In the case of teaching small groups, you should only communicate with the account holder who booked the lessons with you. All other group members should agree to the number, course focus and content, and times of lessons with the student responsible for booking the lessons.

Can I contact the student before the lesson?

Yes. Once your student has booked a lesson with you, you can communicate with them via our internal messaging system.

Can I organize lessons with students privately, outside of your platform?

No, this is strictly forbidden and against out Terms and Conditions. If we suspect you have used our service to find a student and then circumvented out processes, we will review your communications on the internal messaging system. If we determine you have violated this rule, your account will be permanently deleted and we may seek legal recourse against you and your student.

We trust such action will not be necessary. For a very modest commission, we provide a platform to connect you with honest and enthusiastic learners from all over the world. In exchange for keeping prices as low as possible and bringing clients to you directly, we believe you will honor our reasonable terms of service.

How do I delete my profile?

Inform us via email and we will send you an email to confirm that you really want to delete your profile. After you give us that confirmation, we will delete your profile for you.

What is the duration time of a lesson?

Lessons are at least 60 minutes (1 hour). Teachers and students can decide if they would like longer sessions.

What is the minimum number of lessons I must teach a student?

By default, students can book just one class with you. However, if you would prefer to have more lessons, you can set a minimum number of up to 10 classes.

There advantages and disadvantages to setting a lower or higher minimum number of classes per booking. A lower number provides students with more flexibility, but also, they may prove to be less committed. Conversely, the opposite is true when setting a higher number of minimum lessons per booking. This decision is entirely your own.

What level of proficiency must I teach?

Lessons are available from Beginner to Advanced levels. Please state in your profile which proficiencies you are capable of teaching. You can find out more about how we define each level here: How to Find Out Your Current Language Level page

Must I only offer General Language lessons or can I offer Specialist lessons, as well?

You can offer specialist lessons and we actively encourage this. If you have experience teaching your language with a particular focus, such as business, tourism, healthcare, etc., be sure to mention this in your profile. We will offer you the chance to apply specialist lesson filters to your profile when you set it up, so it is easier for students requiring such courses to find you. Don’t worry if you don’t do this when you set your profile up; you can edit it at any time.

Will students expect me to speak their native language?

We encourage you to speak to your student in the language you are teaching throughout your lessons (target language). This makes for a more organic, immersive learning experience. However, it is common for students to ask questions in their own native language as they learn, and you should be able to understand what they say and respond.

You should mention any additional languages you can speak in your profile. This will help students to find you using the search filter and know they will be able to communicate with you in their native language.

Is there a standard syllabus or curriculum?

No, you are responsible for creating and administering your lesson plans. Since this platform is for experienced language teachers, we expect you already have your methods and materials and know where to look when you need to teach something that you have never taught before. Alternatively, you may only wish to provide Conversation Practice (if this is the case, please highlight it in your profile) and in that case, we recommend you find materials (articles, videos, radio broadcasts) that are of interest to your student and then discuss them during the class. Our Academic Team can provide guidance via email if you need some assistance.

Do I need to provide materials?

LovLan is a service to put you in touch with our students but we do not provide materials for lessons. While we recommend using various resources and materials to keep exercises and activities fun and engaging, it is up to you and your student to decide what to use.

You are free to recommend course books and similar resources to your student to purchase (digitally or hard copy), but they must do so privately and in the full knowledge that it is their decision to do so. LovLan will not be held responsible for any materials used in your lessons or purchased by you or your student, nor will we refund any resources purchased in error or following poor advice.

However, while we do not bear any responsibility for materials purchased for or used during your lessons with your student, our Academic Department can offer advice via email, should you need it.

How do you know the class took place?

We will provide you with a link, which you should send to your student at some point during the course of the lesson (we recommend shortly before the end). They will need their profile PIN to access it. From this link, the student can confirm the lesson took place.

Can the student leave feedback about me and my lesson?

Yes. Using the same link to confirm their lesson attendance, your student will also be invited to rate your teaching (1-5 stars). In addition, they can choose to leave public and private written feedback.

Can I leave feedback for the student?

Yes. After your student has submitted their feedback, we will invite you to leave feedback about them.

Do students receive a certificate at the end of the lesson(s)?

Yes. For every 20 hours of lesson completed, we can issue your student with a PDF certificate with their current proficiency level (as assessed by you).

What happens if I need to reschedule or cancel a lesson?

You can reschedule a class by contacting your student directly via our internal messaging system, ideally 24 hours or more before the lesson is scheduled to take place.

What do I do if the student needs to cancel or reschedule a session?

Your student can cancel a class free of charge, provided it is 24 hours or more before the lesson is scheduled to take place.

It is not possible to cancel a class within less than 24 hours before the class. Inability to attend a class with less than 24-hours’ notice will be regarded as the lesson having taken place. You must send your student the lesson link for them to digitally confirm (using their PIN) the late cancelation and you will still receive the payment for that class.

What do I do if I have to stop teaching due to relocation/change of employment etc.?

If this is a temporary change, pause your calendar availability so no-one can book your services while you are busy. For permanent changes, please pause your calendar indefinitely

What are the benefits of teaching with LovLan?

We offer a great number of advantages, including:

• We take care of payments from and contracts with the students, so you don’t have to worry about chasing invoices and discussing contracts, late cancellations etc;

• We will send you an end-of-year report with everything we have paid you over the year, in case you need a record of how much you have earned on our platform;

• Our in-house Academic Team can advise you of any teaching issues or which materials to use, etc.*;

• We can provide you with before and after Language Level Tests to track students’ progress;

• Our Disputes Resolution team will handle any disputes with the client;

• Our IT Team can advise you about any technical issues*;

• We have a constant flow of new students, so you won’t need to build your own site or run your own advertisements;

• Our Teachers’ Blog is the perfect place for you to post blogs if you want to say something interesting, promote yourself and/or other services. Please note, we do not pay for the blog posts, but tens of thousands of teachers and students worldwide will read your articles, leading to more students booking your services. And it is something extra to add to your CV! Most importantly, your blog posts will be linked to your Profile so potential students will easily see that you are an expert in your field, helping you stand out from with the other teachers.

Am I a contractor or employee of LovLan?

No, we are not hiring you in any capacity and will pay you as freelancers using our reservations platform. You are responsible for the quality of your teaching and for maintaining your profile and calendar. You are also responsible for your own lesson scheduling and the materials you use.

Do I have to sign a contract with LovLan?

No, but you must agree to our Terms and Conditions when creating your profile.

Do I have to provide you with my date of birth?

We need to see a copy of your ID (passport, driver’s license etc) to verify your identity before you are approved on our platform. Your date of birth must show on this ID. We need to ensure that you are 18 or over as we cannot accept teachers who are under 18.

How much work can I expect from LovLan?

We cannot guarantee any hours as clients decide for themselves whom they want to hire and for how many lessons.

There are some things you can do to increase your odds of students booking lessons with you:

• Teach as much as possible with us to accrue a high rating and positive reviews
• Keep your profile and calendar up-to-date and be honest
• Choose a professional profile photo and video
• Contribute to our Teachers’ Blog and establish yourself as an expert

How much will I be paid?

You decide how much to charge per lesson. It is free for you to create a profile and advertise your teaching services on LovLan. We charge a small commission fee to help us cover our administration costs, which include profile approval, accounting, legal, dispute resolution, and, of course, our Academic Advisory Team. Note: for all teachers who register their Profiles before 31 March 2023, we agree to a reduced commission fee of 9% per booking and this reduced fee is valid for life. Any new teachers registering from 1 April 2023 will be subject to a 13% commission.

How will I be paid?

For fast and reliable payment, we pay all our teachers weekly via PayPal.

If you live in a country where it is difficult or impossible to open a PayPal account, get in touch. We will arrange for alternative ways to pay you, although you will be paid monthly, not weekly. Additional charges may also need to be deducted from your payment.

When will I be paid?

After completing each class, your balance (which you can view in your Tutor Dashboard) will update with money we owe you. When you have $US50 or more in your balance, you can Request Payment via the Dashboard – our system will send us the request automatically and also create a mini-invoice for you which will also be emailed to you. As soon as we receive your request, you will be entered into the next payment run. Balances of less than $US50 will not be paid until you have accrued at least $US50.

Will LovLan deduct any taxes?

No. You are a self-employed freelance contractor and, as such, are responsible for your own taxation. Our platform will enable you to save a report showing how much money you have earned via our platform in any given time period, in case you need this for your personal accounts.