Franchising FAQs

If you are considering investing in a Master Franchise for either Direct English or Pingu’s English, you are bound to have plenty of questions to ask us. We’ve helped you by listing some of the most frequent questions we get asked below.

Do I have to have previous language teaching experience?

No, it’s not essential to have this experience although it may be helpful to you if you have taught, or worked in a language school.

What support does a Franchisee receive?

All teaching resources including teaching manuals and study plans
A tailored training programme delivered in-country
On-going business development consultancy to help you with your business strategy and day to day management, and marketing /PR support
A full set of management manuals
Access to the Linguaphone Group Extranet and other management software

Do I have to open a centre?

We highly recommend that you open a pilot centre and operate it for at least 6 months, before recruiting Unit Franchisees. Our programmes work best when they are centre based, as they have been designed to provide a blended learning approach. Additionally, operating a centre will provide you with excellent hands-on experience. However, we don’t insist that you open a centre and we do offer other market entry models.

Does Linguaphone Group train the teaching staff or does the Franchisee?

We provide initial training to our partners and their staff, including tutors in market before their launch. We will train the team on all aspects of delivering the programme, including the teaching to customers during this period. After this training the Master Franchisees will be expected to provide any further training to new teaching staff as and when it is required.

Can I produce the learning materials locally?

As Direct English and Pingu’s English are franchised exclusively by Linguaphone Group, it is not possible to produce locally. All teaching and learning materials must be purchased directly from Linguaphone Group in the UK.