I started tutoring back in college. One day a fellow student asked if I could help him with history. I honestly had no clue what I was doing—but I did know history. So we sat down, talked it through, and somehow that one long conversation kicked off a love affair with helping people learn.

Fast forward almost 40 years, and I’m still tutoring—now almost full-time—and enjoying it just as much.

But here’s what I’ve noticed as the business side has grown: the paperwork has grown with it, and there aren’t many practical guides out there for tutors. And when you do find resources, a lot of them are either very generic or written from an “English” perspective—what I’d call a British perspective. That makes sense; they originated the language. But I’m American, and the English I teach is American English.

When I was younger, I remember asking my English teacher if there was any real difference between American and British English. She told me, “Other than pronunciation, not really.” Over time—working with British colleagues, collaborating on projects, and just interacting more—I’ve realized that’s not quite true. The differences go beyond pronunciation and a few vocabulary choices. They also show up in how we phrase things, how we structure sentences, and even in grammar.

So this site is dedicated to helping ESL tutors in general, but it’s also especially for those of us who teach American English.

If I could ask one thing from you, it would be this: share what you’re struggling with, what you’ve learned, and what you wish you’d known earlier. I want this to be practical and useful—not just theory.

You’ll also find tools here for running the business side of tutoring. Some of these are “learned the hard way” tools, like tracking expenses and keeping clear records of how much each student pays versus how many hours you work. I’m not a tax attorney, but I have run businesses before, and I do know what kind of information you’ll need when tax time comes around (at least in the U.S.). I can’t give legal advice or promise you audit-proof perfection, but I can help you build solid documentation and better habits.

I’ll also be sharing lessons I’ve picked up over the years—things I wish someone had told me sooner—so you can avoid some of the problems I ran into.

This is mainly a reference site for tutors, but some materials will also be useful for students. I’m a lifelong learner myself, and I’ve studied several languages. A lot of the tools and methods I use come from what’s worked for me as a student, too.

So—welcome. This is post #1, and I’m looking forward to hearing from you.