17/09/2022
Yes! It's Possible Teach Online From Anywhere
Teaching English online is a fantastic way to fund your travels abroad. We had no idea teaching English online was for us but here we sit, 18 months later, and we’ve got some awesome tips to help our fellow teachers out there make ends meet while traveling.
Who knew that our decision to teach English abroad would turn into teaching English online while we travel from country to country? It’s been an adventure!
There are a lot of online companies out there to choose from for travelers, but we work for SayABC. For more info on how SayABC allows us to travel the world while teaching online.
Today we will walk you through some of the basic requirements for teaching English online plus a couple of very helpful resources to use.
What’s Required to Teach English Online and Travel?
So, do you need a bachelor’s degree? Any experience?
The answer to all these questions?
Maybe!
Ugh, we hate that answer, but it’s true!
It all depends on the company you want to apply for. For example, SayABC, who we work for, now requires a bachelor’s degree but that wasn’t the case when we applied. Luckily we had those anyway or we’d be teaching elsewhere!
Teacher’s Tip: If the company is based in China, we can guarantee that they have to follow the recently updated Chinese law. All ESL teachers, that includes online teachers, are required to have a bachelor’s degree and a TEFL or relevant teaching certificate.
If you don’t know what a TEFL certification is (you definitely want one before teaching English online), check out how you can get TEFL certified here: https://www.tefl-teachertraining.com/teflcourse
What if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree?
Don’t be discouraged! China isn’t the only country with online English companies! They’re probably the biggest player, true, but other companies like Palfish or Cambly, Verbing, PalFish (and many more) are available.
Flexibility and Mobility Are Key to Teach English Online:
As a traveling online English teacher, the digital nomad life is the new norm. Being flexible enough to weather the storms (there will be plenty) and being mobile enough to get where you need to go is key.
For instance, you just arrived at your Airbnb in Prague but it doesn’t have fast enough internet speeds and you teach the next morning. Or the internet has stopped working while you’re in Bali and you teach in four hours.
Initiate panic mode!
Kidding, don’t do that! Luckily we have search engines like Google to help us fix these problems in a flash. Flexibility and mobility are key! Be ready to pack up and relocate in an instant.
Packing for Teaching:
If you’re seeking the digital nomad life as an online English teacher then prepare to pack light! You don’t want to feel weighed down by heavy luggage that you don’t even need and the more you have, the more miserable traveling is.
Before we did this whole travel and teach a thing, we actually moved to Taipei with four suitcases. Let’s just say it was a really bad idea.
But what about teaching props? You need them for class but you need room too!
Many companies prefer you to have at least a few teaching props of your own for class. Some teachers go all out and have a super colorful background, puppets, toys, you name it. That’s awesome and the students will love it. But those teachers are probably teaching from home and can have them however they want.
That kind of setup is not really possible when traveling and teaching! This is especially true if you’re always going from country to country like us.
For example, we just stick to a whiteboard, some colored markers, and some signs to put up during class, like our name and the SayABC logo. We don’t have room for much else in our backpacks!
Even though we’re minimal when it comes to teaching props, our kids love what we have, especially the whiteboard. Drawing, games, spelling, there are so many activities it can be used for.
In addition to props, you’re going to need some teaching equipment too.
Ethernet cables, a computer that meets teaching requirements, wifi extender (or travel router), and a reliable teaching headset will need to be part of your packing list as well.
So, our biggest tip for packing teaching props and gear while traveling: keep it light!
GET STARTED HERE: https://www.tefl-teachertraining.com/teflcourse