Teaching English Online – How to Make Money While Traveling

Online teaching has become a key strategy for home-based workers and digital nomads. Online teaching comes in various forms like language teaching, subject knowledge in Math, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, and other subjects. The most popular among these are English language teaching as there are various schools all over the world hiring teachers to teach students. Mostly, the countries hiring English Language teachers are from regions where there is a lack and scarcity of English.

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TEFL/TESOL Certification

There are some terms you should know if you want to do this as a job. TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign language) is a term used to describe teaching in countries where English is mostly used as a foreign language. TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) is used to describe teaching people whose mother tongue is any other language other than English (for instance teaching English to non-English speakers in the U.S.). There are popular certification programs for both TELF and TESOL and often, in practice, these terms are used interchangeably and are often written TEFL/TESOL.

A TEFL/TESOL certification program does not teach you English. Competency in English is a pre-requisite for entering the class. The course will teach you how to teach English. It will cover areas like managing a classroom, lesson planning in addition to how to teach reading, writing, speaking, listening, and pronunciation of English.

There are various modes of teaching like the Grammar translation method, Task-based Learning, Community Language Learning, Communicative Language teaching, Linguistic approach, Natural approach, Lexical Approach. These methods have been tested and have been shown to facilitate language learning among students. Although language learning is difficult and takes time, these methodologies can speed up the process of language learning.
How do I get started with TEFL/TESOL certification?

Various schools or language institutes charge around $200 to get certified. The certification can be completed in one month by completing all the assignments and multiple-choice questions after the end of each course.

There are normally five or six assignments in a 220 hr TEFL/TESOL certification program that need to be completed along with quizzes after the end of each module. The evaluator then evaluates the assignment by giving their scores and feedback to each student. The certificate is then dispatched after the course completion and the student can now be in a position to apply to premier English language schools or online teaching institutes to get started.

The institutes where one can get TEFL/TESOL certified are the Asian College of Teachers, The TEFL Org, International TEFL Academy, ITTT, TEFL UK, Bridge Education, etc. These institutes have connections with leading schools and colleges and employ teachers willing to teach full time by physically delivering classes. They have job opportunities in various cities and countries throughout Asia, Europe, the U.S, U.K, Canada, and other nations. Learn more about this in a guide about TESOL and TESOL certificates.

Teaching English online has become the best job for travelers

One of the reasons that teaching English is popular with travelers is that the schedules can be more flexible and part-time. The pay is based on hourly commitments of tutors and requires a minimum of 20 hours per week in top English companies hiring ESL and TEFL teachers.

Normally the recruitment process requires all teachers to sign up in the online portal and give all necessary information like education completion, name, address, photo, a short video followed by an interview to get the approval. After the approval process is completed, the tutor’s profile appears in the database. Students can contact their preferred tutors from the tutor database and get started.

Certain companies hire from only specific regions or countries, these companies allow tutors to teach in their portal having a valid passport and citizenship from specific countries. The preferred tutors are from countries like U.K. U.S, Canada, some European nations, and New Zealand.

Other companies have no restrictions for tutors and they allow tutors to have a valid TEFL/TESOL certificate to start teaching in their education portal. Without a valid TEFL certification, it is difficult to get selected in these companies and teach online. There are many schools where the tutor needs to be physically present in schools to teach and the online method is not allowed. Below is a list of companies that hire from all nationalities and teachers can apply to these companies directly after completing their certification.

Companies that hire TEFL teachers from all countries

1. Preply: Preply is a popular platform for language teachers in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, and German. They do not have any restrictions on nationalities and hire teachers from all countries having a valid TEFL/TESOL certification. However, preference is given to tutors having some experience in English Language teaching.

2. Cambly: Cambly is another platform where there are normally no restrictions in hiring from various nationalities. The tutor needs to have a C1 or C2 and a fluent level of proficiency in English to get approved by Cambly. They also hire native English speakers from English speaking nations.

3. CoLanguage: CoLanguage is a European platform for students from various European countries. It hires tutors from all nationalities. They also give the option to tutors to set up their standard rates after which the students can contact the tutors directly by seeing their profile and reviews. My experience with CoLanguage has been awesome and I would recommend them to tutors.

4. iTalki: iTalki is a good platform for tutors to showcase their English language skills and develop a good experience. iTalki hires from all countries and they prefer teachers having some experience in language teaching.

5. Lingoda: Lingoda is a famous platform for English language learners and tutors to interact with each other and develop good communication skills. They hire from all nationalities but preference is given to native English speakers and teachers having at least 2 years of teaching experience.

6. SkimaTalk: SkimaTalk is a new platform that hires native English speakers and C1/C2 level proficient teachers having a valid TEFL certification. They provide competitive rates to teachers and allow tutors to teach their desired hours.

7. Amazing Talker: Amazing Talker hires English speakers having considerable teaching experience. There is no restriction in hiring speakers or teachers from any nation and they require a proper TEFL or any other valid certification for tutors to get their profile approved in their portal.

8. Languagetutors.ca: Languagetutors.ca accepts proposals from teachers of diverse nationalities and approves their request after seeing the desired experiences and qualifications. Students are allowed to contact their respective teachers from various countries depending on their choice.

9. Palfish: Palfish is a very popular platform for students seeking proficient English language tutors. The platform only hires teachers with good proficiency in English and provide competitive rates to tutors and good flexibility.

10. LearnLight
: LearnLight hires all English speakers after a rigorous hiring process. The tutor receives the offer of employment after completing the interview. They, however, have a restriction of 2 years of teaching experience for tutors willing to teach in their portal.

Companies that hire TEFL/TESOL teachers only from native English speaking countries

1.VIPKid: VIPKid hires teachers from U.S/Canada without any teaching experience. There is a minimum time commitment of 7.5 hours per week and the payment terms and conditions are good. The maximum payment is up to $22 per hour.

2. EF English First: EF English First pays teachers up to $17 per hour and students of all ages come to their portal seeking language teachers. They do not require any teaching experience and only hire teachers from the UK and the US.

3. Dada: Dada hires native English speakers with 1-year experience and pays up to $25 per hour to teachers fulfilling a minimum time commitment of 4 hours per week.

4. Kids: Kids hires teachers only from the U.S and Canada having a minimum of 2 years of experience in language teaching and pay up to $20 per hour for a minimum time commitment of 6 hours per week.

5. SayABC: SayABC hires teachers from U.S/U.K/Australia/New Zealand/Canada and South Africa. They pay the best in the industry up to $28 per hour and also hire teachers without any teaching experience.

6. iTutorGroup: iTutorGroup hires native English teachers from U.S/U.K/Canada having 1 year of experience. It pays up to $24 per week to teachers committing a total of 10 hours per week.

7. Whales English: Whales English hires teachers from U.S/U.K/Australia/New Zealand/Canada and pays up to $22 per hour to teachers willing to teach children and teenagers for a time commitment of 8 hours per week.

8. Magic Ears: Magic Ears accepts teachers only from the U.S. and Canada and pays a maximum of $26 per hour to tutors willing to spend a minimum of 2 hours per week and teach children and teenagers. They also hire teachers without any teaching experience.

9. GoGoKid: GoGoKid accepts teachers willing to teach children and teenagers and hires tutors from the U.S and Canada. The pay ranges between $14 and $25 and requires a valid TEFL certification from experienced teachers.

10. English Ninja: English Ninja requires teachers to be from native English speaking countries as their platform only allows adults. The pay varies between $9 and $13 and requires a minimum time commitment of 12 hours per week.

Who Teaches Online

Online teaching continues to a preferred option to earn an extra bit of money for salaried individuals and businessmen. Online teaching is preferred by travelers who are on a mission to explore the world and require money to fund their travels. English language teaching requires proper study of linguistics and grammar to get acquainted with teaching.

Referrals help a lot in providing new opportunities to teachers entering and planning to build a career in online English language teaching. Companies depend on referrals to provide employment opportunities to teachers having a valid TEFL certification and some teaching experience.

It is possible to live a life of freedom and joy while teaching English. English is required in every sphere of life and requires experienced and knowledgeable teachers to provide a basic foundation. Travelers can enjoy their perfect lifestyle by teaching English online through apps and laptops via zoom or skype and setting their desired working hours per week. Online teaching continues to be a high paying and lucrative job apart from any freelance activities that travelers or home-based workers prefer to do.

Tips For Teachers

Teachers need to be fully prepared and ready with their study materials before planning to teach online. They can teach via zoom or skype and set up their working hours after discussing with students.

Most platforms accept PayPal payment so it is essential for the teachers to set up their PayPal account to get started with online English Language teaching. Teachers can expect a weekly or monthly payout depending on the platform and their policies and terms and conditions.

Teachers need to purchase the best quality headsets and devices to communicate with students. After the lesson completion, the student feedback is very important and creates a positive impression of the teacher and his or her knowledge and expertise. These ratings and reviews are considered to increase the profile visibility of teachers in the learning portal. The teacher can also cancel and schedule sessions depending on their availability but it is advisable to remain punctual and stick to the timings. Consistency holds the key to a successful online teaching career.