International Students

[SoCalAprch]

Got a job offer from a flight school that specializes in the instruction of foreign students. They say that the instructors are logging 100 hours a month give or take a few and the pay is average. Does anyone have any advice or is there anything that I should know about before getting myself into this? Talking to another flight instructor for like 30 seconds on the phone he said that they are really intelligent students from China, Japan, and India. Also said they all speak fluent english but I think that is probably pushing the truth. I know I have heard them up there on the radios and fluent would be the a long shot. Anyone with any experience please chime in...

Thanks....

 

[GAPILOT]

I guess it wouldn't be too bad expecially if you're able to build 100hr/month. The biggest problem with foreign students is the pain from TSA. After you do a few it isn't that bad.

 

[clintoncutty]

im far from a CFI rating, but i do speak english, german, and macedonian fluently. would this benefit me in finding a CFI gig at, lets say a JAA school in the states? im not depending on this at all, i would just like to know if CFI employers consider 1 or 2 foreign languages a plus.

 

[CoffeeIcePapers]

We have a ton of Indian students, and for the most part, they are fine. They are like anyone else, some are ready to go full throttle, and others need a kick in the ass to get going.

One thing is nice: They have the money and the time to do it, so you are pretty much guaranteed 1-2 flights a day, per student.

My worst English speaking student only had 3 months of English speaking learning before coming here, but knows how to read and write perfectly. His accent is thick, but he is getting better every day.

 

[nosehair]

Some have a good command of English, and some do not. But that is no different than all the other considerations of being a student pilot.

Good english speaking students have other kinds of problems. That is the nature of flight instructing. You gotta take the good with the bad, and ugly.

Don't let the foreign speaking thing scare you off -it takes patience to work with most any kind of student.

Let me tell you a secret about instructing; we all dream of that dream student who speaks well, flies well, does his/her assigned study, shows up early, is always eager to fly, and is understandable when you are not, yadda, yadda, yadda. But he/she comes around 'bout twice a year. The rest of the time we are struggling with a whole list of personal problems.
Speech is just another one.

 

[Nick]

students from China, Japan, and India.

Is this ASA? If it is ASA then I recommend you do not take the job. If it is elsewhere, the foreign student instruction can have many advantages and the hours are plentiful.