Teach English Online

Overview

The landscape of education and learning has changed massively over the last decade or so. Some of the biggest changes happened more recently when the pandemic prevented people across the globe from leaving their homes. In order for education to continue, it became an online learning arena with teachers having to change their methods to this new way of working. Students became adept at using virtual classrooms and learning the rules of turning your microphone off and on appropriately. Although we are pretty much allowed to return to normal, the benefits of online learning have been clearly demonstrated, and for many people, this is now believed to be the way forward. This means that teaching English online has become even more popular, and there are many opportunities available.

Being able to teach English online is a simple process requiring just a computer, Internet connection, and a few other tools. There are also many different ways to teach, including video platforms or phone calls. Some classes are one-to-one, whereas others have a group of students in a virtual classroom. There are also different focuses from business English, medical English, exam English and everyday conversational English. Learning online seems set to continue making this the perfect time to consider your career as an online English teacher.

Benefits of Teaching English Online

Working from home 

Another thing that we have learnt over the last few years is that working from home is truly appealing for some people. Of course, for others, this has been the status quo for a long time, but now, more people than ever see the benefits of working from home that they enjoy. It offers a degree of flexibility if you are unable to get to an office regularly because of childcare, disability, or any other reason. Some people simply enjoy the fact that there is no commute; if it’s freezing cold, pouring with rain, or even boiling hot, they know they can create the perfect environment in their own home and still work. Teaching English online is perfect for those who enjoy remote working.

Your own schedule 

Being your own boss means you can set a schedule that works for you. Of course, working from home teaching English online does require a degree of organisational skills. But, you can build the perfect life on your terms, and some extra money, and take holidays when you want because you are free to organise yourself. Teaching English online is the perfect fit for a busy lifestyle when you don’t want to be tied to an office.

Having a Second Job 

For some people, the ideal situation when it comes to teaching English online is as a second income stream. Perhaps the 9-to-5 isn’t bringing in enough cash, but you want to actually spend some time in your own home. This is the perfect way to earn some more money and yet not have to leave the house. Many people feel that because the bulk of their income goes on household expenses, they actually want to have time to spend there that isn’t just evenings and weekends.

Essential Technology 

The good news is that most people will already have access to the vital technology needed to teach English online. There are only a few items, and you may find you already own all of them. Let’s take a closer look.

Laptop/computer

The most obvious essential requirement to teach English online is a computer or laptop. It needs to have a functioning Web camera as a lot of classes are video based. It’s important that it is a newer spec desktop or laptop because it won’t be terribly professional if it keeps crashing during lessons.

WIFI

You will also need an Internet connection, which most people do have. It needs a minimum of 1.5 Mbps download speed and the same upload speed to be deemed appropriate. It is likely that you will have the speeds on the home Internet connection anyway. The only thing you need to be aware of is that if you are sharing the Internet connection with the rest of your family during the times you are teaching English online, they need to be aware of not making large uploads, downloads or streaming movies as this could interrupt your lesson.

Headset

If you are working for a company teaching English online, they may well mandate that you have a headset of professional quality for your TEFL work. Other companies may say that something like standard earphones or AirPods are acceptable. If you’re working for yourself, you do not have to have either, but you may find that it works a lot better to have something as it cuts down background noise and makes it easier to hear each other.

Qualifications

In order to teach English online, you will need to have a TEFL certification. There will be higher-paid roles on offer to those who also have a bachelor’s degree and experience in teaching in the classroom. It is recommended that you get the 120-hour certification as a minimum.

Experience

Because the TEFL certification is mandatory, they accept that some people who teach English online will be newly qualified. So they are not necessarily looking for experience, but there will be some roles that you are precluded from applying for until you have gained a decent amount of experience teaching English online.

TEFL Specialties

As well as teaching basic English online, it is possible to undergo further training and specialise. These specialities open the door to earning more money because you have skills in specific areas. Let’s have a look at some of these areas.

Speciality teaching is one of the most underappreciated (and underused) facets of ESL.

IELTS exam preparation 

Non-native speakers are often interested in the international English language testing system. This globally accepted proficiency test demonstrates that candidates have reached a standard in the English language.

It is often requested by English-speaking higher education institutions as they know that students will not be able to keep up with teaching unless they have a base level of English proficiency. It is used right across the world by thousands of education and training providers. Qualifying to teach the IELTS exam preparation will open doors to even more opportunities to teach English online. Many institutions offer a 30-hour accredited IELTS teacher training course, and it is well worth undergoing if you wish to specialise.

Business English teaching

Another popular area that you could specialise in is teaching business English online. Globally the majority of transactions are carried out in English in the business world, and therefore, people from all sorts of countries are going to want to learn English in the business context.

Again, in order to specialise, you would need to take the TEFL fully accredited business English course which we offer, and this means you can teach English to business people online or in any setting. It has a focus on business vocabulary, and businesses often like the flexibility offered by using online tutors. It means that their staff have less downtime to attend courses, and they are not reliant on teachers coming to their premises. But with such a demand for international trade and English being the favoured language, the requirement for business English teachers online is increasing exponentially.

TOEIC exam preparation

The TOEIC tests are globally standardised evaluations of the English language skillset. This includes reading, writing, listening and speaking. It gives employers a chance to prove that non-native speakers have the correct English language abilities to perform the role for which they have applied. Coaching students to pass this exam is another English teaching specialist school, and over 14,000 organisations have signed up to use this as their standardisation for English language skills. once you have completed the specialist tutor training, you will be able to teach English online from home and help your students prepare for this exam.