Today I have a post by someone who earns money teaching English online to Chinese students as well as international students. Like many people, 2020 hit her hard and with her hours being cut to just part time hours and finding out she was pregnant, she needed to find a way to boost her income. That's how she landed on teaching English online to international students.
How to apply to start teaching English to Chinese students
The application process in the similar across most companies, your background, teaching style, and you upload a short demo video introducing yourself in your teaching style. Enthusiasm and a cheerful disposition is a must-think kids TV presenter amped up to maximum! Some companies also invite you for a short interview and a demo lesson where you are given some slides and act as it you were teaching a class.
You are mostly provided with lesson plans when working with children (again, company dependent) or you may find with adults they just want conversation with an English native speaker, as they don’t get the chance in their country and just want to improve their fluency-I've had so many interesting conversations with people from all over the world! There are also companies where you plan your own lessons to small groups. Each teaching platform is different so make sure you take time to get your head around the in and outs of the virtual classroom before you start!
I work for a few different companies, both adults and children, and a mix of Chinese/Asian students, and more international. It suits me as it is super flexible as you can pick your hours (be aware some companies ask you to agree to a minimum amount of hours per week), so you can work as much or as little as you want.
What qualifications do you need?
It varies per company, some ask you to have a Bachelors degree or a teaching qualification, a minimum of 120 hour TEFL certificate, or some ask for none at all, just for you to be a native speaker. Obviously the more qualifications you have, the better paid the company tends to be.
What do you need to have when teaching English online to Chinese students?
There are a few things that you need if you want to start teaching English online to Chinese students.
They are:
- Laptop or desktop with a webcam
- A quiet space to work
- Some companies require a child friendly background, I use a large whiteboard I can decorate
- A fast and reliable internet connection
- A headset (again, company dependent but I find it enhances sound quality)
- A well lit area to work (I use a ringlight)
- Plenty of resources on hand bookmarked
- If teaching children lots of props! I use puppets and cuddly toys if they are particularly young or shy
How much you get paid to teach English online to international students?
It varies wildly from company to company, but I have been paid up to £14 an hour where you need a degree and up to £8 an hour for a company that doesn’t require a degree.
Paying taxes
With online companies you are considered an independent contractor and you do pay your own taxes, so you need to register yourself online with the HMRC.
I screenshot each time I get paid, save it to a folder and have a separate savings pot where I put away 20% of my earnings so I don’t have a shock come tax time!
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Where to sign up to teach English online to International students
Companies I have used that require qualifications are iTutorGroup and BlingABC.
Companies that don’t require a degree are Palfish, Outschool and Cambly.
Simpy go the website and work your way through the sign up process.
I highly recommend you do your own research too. You can check out youtube videos and facebook groups of teachers already working there and see what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r5s-Gn2gJQ
Pros and Cons
There are plenty of pros and cons for teaching English online.
It is highly flexible; you can ick your own hours (if a Chinese company, this will most likely be from early morning to mid afternoon accounting the time difference). You get to meet a variety of people from all over the world and -no two days are the same. You will have lots of fun and may find it very rewarding.
A great pro is that you can work from the comfort of your own home-no petrol costs/daily commute!
There are some cons though. If you are teaching Chinese students, the time difference! If you want peak hours, they are 7 hours ahead so an early start! Due to the current climate the market is very over saturated, so keep in mind you may not be busy straight away and it can take time to build up loyal students. The hours are not guaranteed, so earnings can vary wildly from month to month, and the worst one – sometimes children simply do not want to learn!
Hints and tips for teaching English online to Chinese students
If you are looking to get started then I have some hints and tips for you.
In your application process be totally over the top! They want fun, lively and engaging teachers. Think about what makes you different from everyone else.
Always have a back up in case your internet goes with 10 minutes before a class! I use my phone as a hotspot that has saved me a few times.
Plus don’t take it too seriously. Sometimes you’ll have bad days – the connection will be awful, they couldn’t see you, you couldn’t hear them, you felt the lesson was a dud-tomorrow is always a new day!
Apply for more than one company, that way if you are particularly quiet with one company you have the other company to tide you over.
To sum up, teaching English online to international students has definitely helped me these last 6 months, but don’t go in expecting to quit your day job. It is an excellent side hustle if you have a few days/an hour or so in the day to fill, but it isn’t stable enough to rely on. I view it as I get paid to chat from the comfort of my own home (wearing pyjama bottoms!) and earn enough to pay my bills at the same time, but I never expect the big bucks, as, the climate is always changing due to the over saturation of teachers in these COVID times.
Do the research, find out what company will be the best fit for you, and most of all, enjoy it!
