idea about project

[student]

I am not sure if that is right section for that topic (I would like to get opinion about one idea), if is not please move it.

I would like to introduce one of my idea which is just one of many. I think it has very good potential because it has more than 1000% difference between costs and price. But I would like to hear opinion from you. Take aplogy for any English mistake as English is my second language.

I am young (20 years old)) and I am ready to help to develop that idea for free, if you would like to join that idea into your business. So idea is teaching European people English by using webcam with help of Indian English teachers. I am from Slovenia and I can tell you some facts which are the same in other similar countries like Hungary, Slovakia, ...
-Private lesson (Person to Person) cost at least 25EUR (can be also 35 EUR or more) per lesson (40)min and English teacher in India with broadband internet connection and own computer should cost about 1 EUR per hour (200 USD per month).
-as English is in India second offical language you can get there quite a lot of good teacher with many years of experiences
-a lot of people and soonly mostly people will have broadband connection, webcam camera cost about 20 EUR, instalation is very easy

Maybe you think some people will be sceptial about that kind of teaching, but I am sure with 1000 % or even 2000% of difference between price for English teacher and price for english lesson from english schools can solve all problems, even if we offer for 600% lower price. But I dont saying that we need to put lower price because that kind of teaching has also other postitives
-The price is not only the reason why that has potencial but also:
-learners can stay at home and because of low costs of Indian teacher for us learner can choose any hour for english lesson
-we join our learners to network like
learners can join for free into network from another free internet sides where people looking for somebody with who they will speak and practice english
-learners can practice some english examples with learnes from another part of world which can be quite funny and interesting because people from small country like Slovenia are not so open mind and for them is so interesting to speak with somebody from another part of world.

For trial to start with low costs i would reccomend sollution like follows: Open off shore company in Delaware (you can get it for 400 USD) and find one teacher in India who has already broadband internet connection at home. We find for trial 4 persons who are looking for english course and offer them first 5 hours for free and other hours very cheap, just to cover costs of Indian teacher. (we can find those 4 persons in internet forums where people are asking for english programs abroad, in Malta for example). With those 4 persons we solve problems and make good program and after that we start with proper price. To prove our quality we offer first 3 hours to everybody for free, or even 5 hours because we can efford that because low costs of Indians. Malta have about 80 english schools, we can go in cooperation and offer to them learners (when they finish with course and are ready to left Malta) our services for 20% lower price...

OK I think you get the point, it is not enough place to explain everything :) Please tell me your opinion. I have not enough experiences and knowledge, to develop that business. But if you think that idea is good I can help to develop it for free as I would like to get some experiences and contacts.

Regards

[Urban Space]

Hello student!

Let me get this straight, you'll be using an instant messaging client, such as msn, and using the webcam and microphone abilities to teach indian speaking people english?

I don't see how it will be the same over msn, given the loss of sound quality. I think the reason people pay high prices for english lessons is because it's one-to-one.

Besides, English is one of the most illogical and difficult languages to learn. It'd take years to learn english properly!

Liam

[Cornish Steve]

Hello student!

Let me get this straight, you'll be using an instant messaging client, such as msn, and using the webcam and microphone abilities to teach indian speaking people english?
If I understand the message correctly, the teachers would come from India (since English is spoken commonly in India and the cost of acquiring a teacher in India is much less than in England).

My concern is with the quality of English. Many companies in the US have delegated their customer service to India. For example, I called a car rental company the other night and found myself speaking with an agent seated in Bombay. His accent was so strong that I had to hang up; I then called a different rental company.

I've been to India many times, and some people do have perfect BBC accents; however, they tend to be top-level managers who can command a high salary. My guess is that, to make the program profitable, the low wage will mean having to use someone with an accent - which would undermine the purpose of the entire program.

Using the Internet to teach someone written English, however, is a different story. We're working with a local English language school to do exactly this.

[student]

thank you for your opinion. What I dont understand is why Indians have so strong accent? Here are many Slovenian teachers who just pass the teaching university and they have accent like britain.

[Pebble Communications]

Hi,
I'm in two minds about this. I volunteer moderate an English for learners website and help out with a lot of learners' enquiries.

My thoughts on this are that overall it could be a good service and I'm sure there would be a lot of takers.

There are a lot of Indian speakers with very good English and of course there are many people teaching and learning English in India. However, there are considerable differences between the Englishes of different countries and what is appropriate and right for an Indian learner to use in India, is not right for use in another country. There are so many versions of English out there. Most learners choose either British English or American English to learn, and most prefer a native speaker from those countries to teach them. It should be possible to find Indian teachers who have good USA/British English but I don't think they will be among the cheapest. You will need to think about how you will evaluate the teachers.

Regarding accent: your Slovenian teachers may think they have a British accent but they probably don't. Not that there is anything wrong with having an accent. Just bear in mind that professional actors with professional training and voice coaches often fail to achieve an authentic 'other' accent. Even people who have been living in Britain for 20 or 30 years usually retain some of their own accent.

The Indian accent is a particularly strong accent and can be quite difficult for people from other countries to fully understand.

Overall though, a nice idea. Just don't think you can pick up the cheapest possible teachers and expect good results and happy students. You need to find a native speaker to evaluate the teachers accents as well as looking for teaching qualifications.