Ready to Start Teaching English Online?

Be Fluent in English

Being fluent in English is one of the most essential parts of being able to teach online. If you are a native English speaker, you probably find it easier to get work at the beginning than somebody who is not, but don’t let this get you down. Non-native English speakers can quickly build up a career as well; they have to demonstrate proficiency in English to be accepted into jobs.

Get Your TEFL Qualification

Technically speaking, you don’t have to have a TEFL qualification to teach English online. However, it’s recommended to get all of the best jobs and prove that you are a qualified professional.

You will want to work with a recognised company like ourselves because many qualifications aren’t worth anything and won’t be recognised online or internationally. Plus, you get an excellent education on how to be an effective teacher

Set up Your Equipment

If you’re going to teach English online, you need to ensure you have the right equipment for the job. You will need an Internet connection. You will also need the right equipment to be able to teach correctly.

You can technically teach from anywhere worldwide with a stable Internet connection and the audio equipment necessary. However, teaching in the UK is often a straightforward way to start your career. You need to make sure that you have a webcam in your computer or device which is at a high enough resolution and will not experience buffering or lag. Generally, you want more powerful laptops and desktops to get this quality. Furthermore, we suggest a headset with a microphone.

Ensure Your Software is Installed

The software that you will be using as a new teacher will vary depending on what company you are working for or how you have chosen to do things as a freelancer. Lots of online academies use Skype, but you may also find yourself using Microsoft Teams or Zoom. There are even providers who use bespoke, proprietary software. Whatever you are working with, you need to ensure that you install it correctly and are available when required for teaching.

Build Your Online Presence

If you want to be able to work online as an English teacher, you need to build up a presence on the web. As is the case with any other career, you should build up a résumé which has numerous skills and experience in it. Developing an online image will help with landing new clients and encouraging students to keep coming back. 

Your profile should talk about your strengths as a teacher, as well as the experience and qualifications you have that showcase your strengths. If you don’t have business pages on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, you should consider making them.

Set Up Your Payment Channel

If you are going to work as an English teacher online, you need a payment channel. Whether you’re working for an employer or as an online tutor, you need to be able to take payments from students and employers. Most people use something like PayPal because it has good security, it is recognised around the world, and it’s easy enough to set up. However, with that being said, it’s essential to find a payment platform that works for you and ensure you have the right level of Internet security in place to protect yourself and your earnings.

Find Work!

Now that you have set up everything else, the last real thing to do on your quest to become an online English teacher is to find work. There are numerous job boards on the Internet that you can use to search for opportunities, and we offer a job board you can browse once you’ve completed a course.

It would help if you found a job platform that will support you and offer you actual opportunities instead of trying to get you to do something for free or offering a career to lure you into a scam.

Start Teaching English Online

Once you have successfully found a job or started bringing in students, you are ready to enjoy teaching English online. Always remember that we are here to provide constant support if you need it, and we are more than happy to discuss building a career here in the UK or abroad with you.