How to Teach English Online Without a Degree

Looking to teach English online without a degree? If you think it’s impossible, think again.  There are plenty of companies and options to start teaching online!

Who hasn’t dreamt of working from home? The thought of earning a steady income from the comfort of your own home, with a flexible schedule is very appealing. Thanks to COVID19, this dream became possible for a lot of employees. Maybe you had a chance to do it and fell in love with the comfort of working at home. Maybe you learned you are better at working at home than in an office or are just looking for a new career path. 

Teaching English online gives you plenty of career opportunities besides working from home, including being able to work and travel at the same time. This concept is called being a ‘Digital Nomad’ and is becoming increasingly popular over the last few years. You may not consider teaching online as a long-term career plan but it could give you time to focus on other things like studies or just earning an extra side income. 

So how do you get started teaching English online without a degree? Check out the basic requirements you should be able to tick off. We will also look at other options you could do to get your resume to stand out with potential employers. There are plenty of companies that allow you to teach English online without a degree, so let’s check them out! 

What are the basic requirements to teach English online?

Know the Language

Having proficiency in English is essential. Being a native English speaker instantly gives you a head start. For non-native English speakers, this could be an extra challenge when looking for a job but it’s not impossible! 

TEFL Qualification

Gaining a TEFL qualification is necessary if you want to teach English online without a degree. Most employers expect at least a minimum 120-hour TEFL Course completed alongside a degree. TEFL Courses cover a range of topics from language skills, grammar, lesson planning, and different resources used in the classroom. You will also gain a qualification that lasts a lifetime! 

However, there are longer TEFL Courses you can complete. Our TEFL Courses range from 120 hours to 300 hours!  If you don’t have a degree why not go the extra mile and gain a Level 5 TEFL Course? Our Level 5 TEFL Courses are assessed at the same level as the Celta. They range from 180 Hours to 300 Hours. These courses are government-regulated courses adding extra accreditation to your TEFL course. While 300 hours may sound like a lot of studying, our courses come with 6 months of study time and also study extensions!

Experience

Have you ever had any experience in teaching either adults or children? The type of teaching doesn’t matter, it is all gained experience in teaching. Make sure to add it to your resume for future employers. If you have not gained any teaching experience a Teaching Practicum course could be best for you. Check out below for more information about our 10 Hour Virtual Course in Teaching Methods and Practice.

Equipment

Before searching for your perfect job to teach English online, you need to have the necessary equipment. This includes a laptop or PC and a fast reliable internet connection. You will also need a headset, microphone, and a camera to be able to deliver your lessons. However, most of these are built into your computer!

What can I do to stand out?

To teach English online without a degree you need to stand out. There are several ways of doing this including doing specialized TEFL courses and taking part in a Teaching Practicum Course.

Specialized TEFL Courses

There are several Specialized courses available that you could do after your main TEFL Course. Before you dive into courses, think of what areas you would like to teach in. Would you prefer to teach children or adults? Help with IELTS or TOEIC exams? What about teaching Business professionals? There are endless areas to explore and specialize in the TEFL world. Check out our wide range of 30 Hour TEFL Courses and choose your niche. 

If you are planning to teach English online without a degree, the first course I would recommend would be to take part in the 30 Hours Teaching English Online. 

Teaching Practicum Course

Have you ever considered taking part in a Teaching Practicum Course? Our 10 Hour Virtual Course teaches you different classroom methodologies and teaching practices. It is held over zoom for two days where you meet other TEFL Teachers in training. For anyone who hasn’t had any classroom training, this would be a good start. 

Our online 10 Hour course is delivered live by dedicated tutors and is very interactive. There are a variety of practical and engaging activities to help you prepare to lead your own TEFL classes. You don’t even have to have your main TEFL qualification finished or even started to join this course. It is a great way to learn more about TEFL practically and to see what you would have to do in a classroom as TEFL Teacher. 

Top 3 companies you can teach online without a degree 

As mentioned above there are several companies where you can teach English online without a degree. While these companies don’t require a degree they may have other requirements such as being a native English speaker from a certain country. Make sure to check out all the requirements on the companies page before applying! 

Cambly

Cambly is a great start if you are looking to teach English online with no degree or experience. There are no special requirements as the classes are more conversational-based. There are no minimum hours and you can choose your hours depending on your schedule. As soon as you log in for your next call, Cambly starts tracking your minutes, making sure you get paid for every minute you teach. Cambly is also great for meeting new people around the world and learning about new cultures. 

There are two different options for teaching, either on Cambly or Cambly kids. Cambly starts at $10 an hour while Cambly kids at $12. 

Italki

Italki is an online language learning platform that offers students lessons in over 130 languages including English. With Italki you will be teaching people of all ages and abilities. This is great if you are new at teaching and looking to gain overall teaching experience. There is also no minimum hours or set hourly rate, meaning you can set your hourly pay and schedule! 

For Italki you set up a profile and students choose to work with you based on your profile and reviews. Once a new student decides to work with you, you have to plan your classes as there is no set curriculum. Make sure to brush up on how to carry out an analysis for this site! 

Preply

This is another online language platform that currently has 26,000 English tutors! Preply works the same as Italki, you can set your schedule and hourly rate. You will be teaching people from around the world of all ages. To join you have to set up your profile which will be verified by Preply. Students choose you based on your profile and you carry out a lesson with them. If a student decides to stay learning with you they can prepay for up to 20 hours of teaching with you! 

There are plenty of options to teach online without a degree. These are only 3 platforms so make sure to check out others such as Latin Hire and Amazing Talker. When starting, try to sign up to at least 2 platforms to see which suits you better!

Other options – Think outside the box! 

If you are finding it difficult to teach English online without a degree and having no success with companies, why not set up your own? 

Start-up costs for an online business are quite low, especially for teaching English online. All you need is your equipment and a few customers. You could source clients in different ways, both online and offline. You could offer services through video platforms such as Skype or Zoom. Another option be setting up your own website for your online teaching business.

Fiverr is another option for online TEFL teachers. Fiverr is an online marketing platform for freelancers to offer their services to customers globally. You can post different gigs including teaching English. This is a great option to teach English online without a degree as there are no requirements set out. 

As you can see you can teach English online without a degree. There are plenty of online platforms allowing you to teach to students across the world and with plenty of benefits. With the option of being able to set your schedule or even your pay rate, teaching English online definitely is appealing. Take the time to set up your profile on these platforms and don’t be afraid to go the extra mile when you first start. If you decide that teaching English through a company isn’t for you, branch out! There is plenty of online marketplaces where your skills can be used. There is also the option of striking it out on your own and setting up your own online business!