Ready to Start Teaching English Online?

Be Fluent in English

Being fluent in English is a core component of teaching English online. It’s up to you how you choose to do things, of course, but if you’re comfortable enough to teach, then you’ll need to speak English as if you were a native. However, a lot of teachers grow throughout their careers – as long as you’re working from a good starting point, then it becomes easy to develop yourself.

Get Your TEFL Qualification

Whatever else, you need to get a TEFL qualification if you’re going to be a good TEFL teacher. Trying to do this job without the right skills and certifications to back up your resume is an uphill battle, and it’ll wear you out. We offer our qualifications to everyone because we want you to be qualified. Take a look at the courses we offer, and don’t be afraid to grow and develop over time. You can always come back and do another course later to develop specialist skills. 

Set up Your Equipment

Being a teacher involves having the right tools for the job. We can’t stress enough how important it can be for you to have a strong internet connection and a good bit of kit like a desktop to make your life easier. 

If you’re working from home in South Africa, you need a good teaching setup. We suggest you have a webcam with a good resolution, a desktop computer, and a wireless headset. These will be basic tools you’ll use every day.

Ensure Your Software is Installed

If you’re a teacher who works online, then you’ll need to use whatever tools are chosen by the company you work for or simply adopt your own. It is standard procedure to use Teams, Skype and Zoom, so install those when possible. You should also consider that you will be asked to use in-house software, so make sure you get it set up correctly.

Build Your Online Presence

If you want to be able to work online, you need to constantly push yourself out to people and improve your online presence. You’ll need to succeed via hard work and networking, but as a freelancer, you’ll need to do these things yourself – there’s nobody to help you out. We suggest that you take the time to set up social media accounts on platforms like Facebook and Twitter/X. You should also have a LinkedIn profile and a dedicated business email. These all help you to look professional. The goal is to sell yourself to prospective clients. After all, anything that helps with that is a good idea. 

Set Up Your Payment Channel

If you want to work online, you need a payment platform to take money in and keep an eye on your earnings. We’d suggest finding a globally accessible app like PayPal, but you can use whatever platform you choose. Your only real consideration for finding a payment platform should be to try and pick one that has an option to convert currency for you and one that doesn’t charge a fortune in payment fees. However, it’s up to you – just keep a proper record of what you earn because, as a freelancer, you’ll need to do stuff like your own taxes, and that requires accurate figures.

Find Work!

So, once you have successfully gotten yourself set up to work as an online TEFL teacher from South Africa, you’ll need to find yourself some work and build up regular jobs. We’re here to help you in that regard. We have a network of connections and friends in the education industry who are happy to give opportunities to our graduates. You can use the job boards we have to find work or strike out on your own. You’ll need to be wary of scams, though – they’re all over the web and can lead to your personal information being stolen or not getting paid for a job – neither of which you want to happen.

Start Teaching English Online

Well, that’s all you need to know about teaching English online as a foreign language. We’ll always support you in your goals, so please stay in touch!