Teaching English online is a fantastic way to make money, whether you're trying to supplement your income while traveling the world or searching for a method to earn money without leaving your house. In truth, teaching English online as a full-time job is possible. Amazing!
Who can teach English via the internet?
First and foremost, do you have the necessary abilities and certifications to teach English online?
To teach English online, you'll often need the following:
- Strong English language abilities, ideally as a native English speaker, although proficient, non-native English speakers can also obtain possibilities, such as through the Palfish app, where passion and experience are the main considerations.
- TEFL certification from a reputable organization indicates that you have the necessary abilities and expertise to teach English, as well as a certificate to show potential employers.
- It is necessary to have a bachelor's degree in any field.
- Experience teaching for one to two years, either online or in a TEFL classroom. You can still get online teaching jobs if you're a freshly trained teacher, but you'll have to start in less popular professions and work your way up.
To teach English online, you'll also need a competent laptop/computer, headphones, microphone, webcam, and a high-speed internet connection, as well as a quiet space in which to offer your lessons.
You'll have everything you need to teach English online if you check all of these items. Hurrah!
How do I go about getting a career teaching English via the internet?
TEFL employment forums, such as LoveTEFL, are an excellent place to start looking for opportunities to teach English online. Online TEFL jobs are listed alongside classroom-based ones, and the number of online jobs is growing all the time.
Most firms welcome direct approaches and frequently outline their application procedures on their websites, making it quite simple to apply. While the particular steps differ, you'll almost certainly be required to fill out an initial online application form to ensure you fulfill their requirements, followed by an online interview and a demonstration lesson.
If you meet the requirements, the application process may be completed in as little as a week, and you could be teaching English online the next week!
One word of caution: due to the exponential growth of online teaching firms, there are unfortunately a few dubious ones out there. Before you apply, be sure to read evaluations from other online instructors. If you'd rather avoid online English firms entirely, see our post on how to freelance as an online English teacher for another way to make money teaching English online.
What is the cost of teaching English online?
In reality, if you work for a good firm, you may expect to make roughly $15 to $25 per hour in the first year, including bonuses. Remember that this rate is based on the number of lessons you provide, not the number of hours you work and that you will need to devote time to lesson preparation and administration in addition to your actual teaching time.
For example, if you work a 40-hour week, you may teach 30 hours and spend the rest of your time on lesson planning and administration. If a 30-minute class costs $8, your weekly earnings are $480 (i.e. $8 per lesson × 2 lessons per hour x 30 hours).
Take your interview carefully to offer yourself the best opportunity of starting at a suitable wage. Your initial rate will be determined by how well you do in the interview, as well as your credentials and experience. If you arrive prepared, you may be able to jump one rung up the ladder, which may rapidly mount up as you accumulate more courses.
How many hours per week am I able to teach?
It seems apparent that the number of lessons you teach determines how much money you make from teaching English online – but it's not as easy as figuring out how many hours you're available and calculating it by your lesson fee.
When you work for an online English teaching organization, you'll usually have to list your available slots and then wait for students to sign up for them. You could wish to teach 40 hours per week, but you'll only be able to teach 10 of those hours if you only have 10 students signed up. Because students choose tutors they know or who have high ratings, you'll need to put in a lot of time and effort to get your student numbers to where you want them to be.
However, don't be thrown off by the sluggish start. New students join the program regularly. Make sure you're accessible during peak teaching hours, accept as many student trial/taster classes as possible, and thoroughly prepare your courses. It may take several weeks or months before you begin to receive regular bookings, but if you stick with it, your lesson numbers will increase to the level that you desire.
On the other hand, if you simply plan to teach on occasion evenings as a side hustle, make sure you verify if the organization requires you to work a minimum amount of hours each week. While minimum teaching hours aren't as frequent as they once were, some contracts still need you to be available at specific times, so it's important to read the fine print.
How can I be paid more for teaching English online?
- If you teach more than a particular amount of hours per week,
- Following a trial with you, if students decide to schedule a block of classes with you, they will offer you ratings.
- How long have you been with the company?
- Whether or not you've recommended any additional English instructors or students
- You should start and finish your lessons on time.
Simply put, the more boxes you check, the greater the rate you may be paid. It's worth mentioning that your pay rate is inextricably linked to student ratings and the number of reservations you make. It truly pays to put in the additional effort to plan lessons, be on time, and work hard to engage each kid in this career.
How can I make more money online by teaching English?
The most basic technique to earn extra money teaching English online is to increase your hourly rate through bonus payments. However, there are a handful of alternative options that might help you earn more money:
Educate students in specialized English classes
Specialist lessons, such as corporate English or test preparation, typically cost significantly more than general or conversational sessions - sometimes up to twice as much.
If you haven't taught these topics before, consider investing in further specialty training or maybe conducting volunteer teaching to gain experience before applying for these lucrative positions.
Teach English online for a variety of businesses.
Teaching English online for several firms is a unique alternative.
Depending on where their students are located, online English firms have varied hours of operation. So, if you work for organizations that operate in different time zones, you can free up additional teaching slots in your schedule – and take advantage of any reward schemes that online teaching companies give to their tutors regularly (e.g. for taking on late bookings).
To prevent getting double-booked, you'll need to be well-organized to manage to work for various organizations. To stop this from happening, you may simply set up various periods on your calendar for each firm.
How will I be compensated?
It's critical to understand how you'll be compensated. Many online English teachers prefer to be paid using PayPal since it is safe and convenient to use from anywhere on the globe. If you choose, some firms will also provide choices such as direct bank payments.
Check if you'll be paid weekly or monthly, as this might vary, and also whether you'll be paid if a student cancels (which, unfortunately, occurs more frequently than we'd like to admit). If your student cancels within 24 hours of the class's scheduled start time, you should at least get some compensation, which might be as much as the entire lesson price.
Is there anything more I should know?
It's important to evaluate how much money you'll make teaching English online, but it's not the only issue to consider. Before you join a firm, be certain you know:
- What instructional resources will be available to you? Even if you're not given a fully prepared curriculum and lesson plan, a good online teaching company should have a bank of online teaching resources from which you can draw. Whether you're required to work specific hours and what happens if you need to take time off for a planned holiday, appointment, or emergency.
- How will the firm assist you in increasing your student numbers (for example, by sending you sample lessons)? Does the company invest in its instructors in any manner, such as by offering access to professional development opportunities?