The popularity of online English teaching platforms has grown immensely in the past few years thanks to the internet. Many ESL classroom teachers supplement their income by teaching online as well as those wanting to work from home. With this growth has come many different online teaching platforms. Which one is best for you? In this post, I go through my best picks for teaching kids, adults, and using a mobile platform.
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General Qualifications to Teach Online
Each company will have its own specific qualifications for their platform, but these are the most frequently found requirements.
- Native English Speaker from USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
- Willing to put in at least 6 hours a week
- TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA certificate
- Bachelor’s degree in any subject
- Energetic, creative, uses TPR (total physical response)
- Able to have a high-speed internet connection
- Available during peak times in China
- Has a headset with microphone and webcam
- 6 months to 1-year commitment
Refer to each company website for the most up-to-date information.
Do you need a TEFL certificate? I recommend this 120 hour TEFL course from Premier TEFL. You can easily complete this in a few weeks online and it is very affordable.
Online English Teaching Companies
For Kids
VIP Kid is by far the most popular of the online English teaching platforms. They offer high pay plus bonuses for teaching one-on-one students for 25 minutes per lesson. The curriculum is provided, the teacher just has to preview the lesson slides before the scheduled time and make appropriate props. Teachers have the ability to create their own schedule and attract new students by updating their teacher profile.
DaDaABC is also a one-on-one teaching style. The curriculum is provided and students will be assigned an age group and course to complete. Teacher time slots remain the same every week once you sign your contract. This allows students to remain with the same teacher to complete the course. DaDaABC will provide students for you to fill your schedule so there is no need to market yourself on the platform.
SayABC is new to the online English teaching industry. They have only been in business since 2017. SayABC prides itself on partnering with National Geographic to provide engaging lessons. Once signing your contract you will teach the same students twice per week until the lesson is finished. Their computer system matches students with teachers based on availability. A major requirement that this company has is that teachers must have a wired internet connection. You will not pass the screening test if you don’t have this.
Whales English is unique to the online English teaching platforms in the fact that teachers are able to teach subjects like science, social studies, and writing. They provide group classes of 2-3 students and are said to be the toughest online English platform in China. Classes are 50 minutes long and are based on the US curriculum.
For Adults
Cambly is a platform geared towards adults all over the world; however, at least half of the students I’ve encountered are from the Middle East. The purpose of Cambly is to create an environment where students can practice their conversational skills with no formal lesson. It’s kind of like having a conversation with someone you just met in a coffee shop.
To keep up with the competition, Cambly recently rolled out Cambly Kids which is one-on-one teaching with 4 to 15-year-olds. It is separate from the main platform. It also pays a little higher at $0.20 per minute.
One thing to keep in mind about this platform is that you are paid by the minute. Cambly pays tutors $0.17 per minute taught. This means that if you are on the platform for 2 hours but only taught for 1 hour, then you are only paid for 60 minutes.
Engoo has students mostly from Japan and Korea. This platform is designed for adults but occasionally you might get a child. I had one once who was 6 years old. Don’t worry though because the children can already speak in sentences and they are just looking to practice conversing and pronunciation.
On the platform, there are a number of different materials to work through with students. The most popular being the English Daily News section where you and the student will go over new vocabulary and read an article about current events. At the end of the article, there are prompted discussion questions for you and the student to use.
One thing that I particularly like about this platform compared to other online English teaching platforms, is the abundant amount of materials already prepared. They include conversation topics, literature, describing pictures, business English, TOEFL test prep, and free conversation.
Classes are 25 minutes long and at the end of each class, tutors will submit lesson notes to the student. These can include new vocabulary learned, sentences the student struggled with, and suggestions on how to improve.
For Mobile
PalFish is a mobile-based English teaching platform where teachers can set their own rates. It’s kind of used as a social media platform where teachers can hold live broadcasts and post status updates. The more popular you become on the platform the more calls you will get from students. You download the app to get started.
Is This the Right Job for You?
Teaching English online is completely different from teaching in a classroom. In my opinion, I think it takes more energy to teach one student online than it does to teach in a classroom.
Depending on where you are in the world it can mean very early mornings or late nights. I always had a hard time teaching online after I just taught all day.
It can be slow getting started on online English teaching platforms because you have to go through trial students before signing on regulars. This can take a few weeks.
In order to earn a full-time income, most people teach on at least two platforms, sometimes three. Also, keep in mind that you might receive your payment once a month.
Some of the platforms have very heavy software that can overheat your computer. I had to stop teaching with DadaABC because my laptop kept getting too hot during lessons. I couldn’t afford to have a broken computer.
Do you teach English online? Which online English teaching platforms do you use? Let me know in the comments!
Here we get to know about best online English teaching platform information in detail. It helps us to decide that which one is best among its types. I enjoyed reading this article and would suggest others it as well. Thank you for this article! This is really very informative for us.
Very helpful post! I like that you’ve listed some common requirements needed to be able to teach English online. It helps to know what companies are looking for in terms of qualifications.
Thanks for sharing this. There are some I had not heard of.
I’ve heard some very good things about teaching English online and one of my friends used to do it as a way to make some extra cash in the summer. I think they’re great as a side hustle! If I had more free time I’d definitely teach online, but for now, my regular teaching job is doing me just fine. 🙂