If you’ve gone online to look for remote or online jobs, chances are that you’ve seen a few posts like this: [Teach English Online from Anywhere! Part-time. Earn up to $22 an hour!] It’s likely these job postings are from companies looking for online English teachers.
It may sound surprising that teaching online is a viable way to make a full-time salary, but it’s becoming increasingly in demand, creating a booming profitable industry. Much of the growth of online ESL companies has primarily taken place in China, leading to the creation of many ESL companies catered to hiring foreign teachers to teach young kids ranging between the ages of 5 and 12 years old.
Most of these companies have a business model in which they hire foreign teachers, usually native English speakers, to teach on video chat with the Chinese students on an online interactive teaching platform. The interactive platform has curriculum planned out is transformed into a gamified platform/application that makes it fun for teachers and kids to engage with each other. The teacher’s main role is to facilitate the student’s learning as they learn through the gamified application. The advantages of such a model is that teachers don’t have to prep or create their own curriculum, and can focus all their attention on helping the student learn. Students can therefore learn live, as opposed to playing a game that teaches them English. On some platforms, teachers can form long-term relationships with their students and watch their students’ language abilities improve.
The benefits of teaching English online with these companies is that you get flexible hours, freedom to work from home/remotely, and make a decent income averaging up to $16-22 a hour.
The main requirements you need to work for these ESL companies are:
- Bachelor’s Degree (or currently enrolled)
- Native English Speaker
- Working laptop (some prefer less than 3 years old)
- Solid Internet Connection
- Headset
Preferred:
- TEFL or CELTA Certificate (preferred but not required)
- Some companies may require you to be a U.S. or Canadian resident
- Have experience teaching/tutoring kids
Things to consider before applying
Early Mornings
Before you get all excited about making money from home, keep in mind that all of these classes are taking place at Beijing Peak Hours (6-10pm weekdays Beijing hours), which translates to very early mornings in the Western hemisphere. Your students will be taking online classes with you after they had a full day at school, and you will just be starting your day. 6-10pm Beijing hours translates to 6AM Eastern Standard Time, and even earlier if you are located on the West Coast of the U.S. On the bright side, you can make a side income even before your day-job starts!
Are you good with young kids?
Many of these jobs require teachers to be very engaging by visual and audio means, given that it is a virtual platform and connecting across a computer screen is harder than connecting in-person. Some of the best teachers decorate their background to be kid-friendly and will hang up maps of the United States or the posters of the alphabet. Many have whiteboards behind them and will also have physical props they hold or wear as they teach. Companies are looking for teachers who are in tune with “total physical response,” a method of teaching language that is coordinated with body movement.
Recruiters/References
These ESL companies pay their teachers with generous referral fees (up to $100 per successful referral). Many teachers make their entire income on referrals, not teaching. As you continue your search, be wary of those who are trying to recruit you, since pretty much every teacher you meet will want to have you use them as a reference. Make sure you apply with someone who will walk you through the application process, after all, they are exchanging their generous referral income with the act of helping you get on board.
Unstable Income
It’s tricky to get consistent bookings on certain platforms which means an inconsistent income. Especially when y starting out, many students might hesitate on booking you before you can increase your ratings. The more reviews you get, the higher your booking rate will be. However, we have also heard stories of teachers’ bookings suddenly decreasing for unknown reasons.
“Flexible” Hours
When it comes to the hours you work per week, the length of your contract, and the ability to take time off is completely dependent one each company. Some companies allow more flexible hours in which you can determine your slots a week before, while others will want you to stick to a schedule for months at a time. Some companies are more tolerable of sick days and last-minute changes, while for others that could mean getting fired.
Late Pay
Another thing to be wary of is that some of the less-established teach online companies don’t always pay their teachers on time. There are many blogs and posts in Facebook groups where people have discussed their experience with not being paid for up to two months! Luckily, there are huge networks of online teachers out there who support each other through instances of this. A favorite of ours is the Online ESL Jobs Reviews Facebook group! They also have an informative website with a lot of teaching opportunities.
Here are five popular platforms for teaching English online:
1. VIPKID
VIPKID is by far the most well-known of all the teach online companies. They deem themselves as the “world leader in online English education for kids 12 and under.” They currently have more than 30,000 teachers, and over 150,000 paying students and 500,000 registered students. Since it is such a big platform, becoming a VIPKID teacher is competitive.
Pros: They are well-established and have a good system with hiring teachers and making sure they get paid.
Cons: Since they are so big, teachers are easily replaceable, meaning you could get hired and fired fairly quick if you make a mistake. They are also known for teachers not being able to get bookings even when they are hired on, meaning that you could go weeks or months without classes and have no income as a result.
The requirements to apply for VIPKID are:
- BA degree or higher
- Experience with any kind of teaching (1+ years)
- Eligble to legally work in the U.S. or Canada
- Desire to engage and inspire young learners
2. Dada ABC
Dada ABC is another popular teaching platform in China. They identify themselves as “the first online English education company in mainland China to partner with the American TESOL Institute.” Unlike VIPKID, their students are from multiple countries around the world, not just China.
Pros: Well-established and full schedules.
Cons: The schedule you set for yourself cannot be changed for six months. Schedule changes or taking up to two days off a month leads to a 10% deduction in monthly pay. We have also heard of teachers having bad experience with their administrative support.
Dada ABC requires:
- Native English Speaker
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Desktop or Laptop with fast speed Internet connection and audio/video capability
- 6-month/12-month contract term
3. Magic Ears
Magic Ears provides “fun, interactive and efficient online English learning experiences to 5-12 year olds in China.” In their “About” page, they state that you can work as more than a teacher with them. They provide a good breakdown of their pay on their website, stating what is required to make up to $26 an hour.
Pros: Flexible and understanding. Schedules are flexible and set 4 weeks in advance. You can work anywhere in the world as long as you have a good internet connection.
Cons: Platform is not as intuitive and will take some time to learn, but the staff is helpful and will walk you through it.
The basic technology requirements for Magic Ears are:
- Clean and kid-friendly background and a quiet environment
- Strong and stable ethernet connection/plugged in cable internet. The minimum requirement for both download and upload speed is 10 Mbps
- Native Speakers – USA/Canada
4. Landi
Landi is growing platform that is becoming very popular for teachers as some are choosing to leave the bigger platforms for more personable and smaller ones.
Pros: Supportive staff, good vacation policy, clear communication, great training, and consistent meetings with the same students. You determine your schedule on a week-by-week basis and they fill it for you.
Cons: They are a young company and are growing really quickly that may lead to decisions that may affect teachers negatively.
5. QKids
QKids, a smaller and newer platform than the rest, is growing rapidly with positive reviews from teachers all around. They are known for having a user-friendly and fun interface on their application that both kids and teachers enjoy a lot. Their curriculum is well-organized and they even have cute animated characters that will act as your teacher assistant when you’re teaching!
Pros: Once you’re hired, you’re guaranteed to be fully booked because the company is in charge of booking teachers with students. We have also heard that QKids staff is very friendly and more understanding of tolerable of teachers having sick days or last-minute changes to their schedule.
Cons: Unlike the other platforms that are teaching one-on-one with students, you can have up to six students in one Qkids classroom (this is a pro for some teachers). Another con is that QKids wants all their teachers to be located in the Canada or the U.S., meaning that even though you can work remotely, you can’t travel very far.
The requirements to apply for QKids:
- Eligible to legally work in the U.S. or Canada
- Earned a degree or currently enrolled in a university program
- Prior teaching experience or equivalent in education, tutoring, mentoring, or schooling
- Technical requirements for operating QKids’ online platform
And ta-da! There you have it. All the information you need about teaching online with Chinese ESL companies. Whether you’re a retired teacher or looking for a side-job, or someone who is a native English speaker who has never taught before, teaching ESL online on these platforms is a viable option for you to work online.
