Teach English Online

06/12/2023

So you’re considering online English teaching as a career path but you’re wondering – how much can you make teaching English online and what’s a typical online English teacher salary?

Well, online English teaching isn’t exactly a get-rich-quick scheme. But it is a fulfilling career that can help you make ends meet and more.

As you’ll discover, “salary” is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to teaching English online pay. In all likelihood, you won’t be on salary, but rather self-employed. That’s the case even when the company you’re working for is “paying” you a fixed lesson rate.

This is important to be aware of – you won’t have an employee-employer relationship. You’ll be a freelancer which means you’re responsible for paying taxes and national insurance.

You’ll also have to use your own equipment as no-one is going to supply you with a computer or textbooks or whatever else you need. So that’s something else to take into account.

For more, check out this comprehensive guide we've put together for you:

How much can you make teaching English online and is it worth it? Check out these 3 options for making money teaching English online.

06/11/2023

TOP TIP FOR ONLINE TEACHERS: Remember You Don't Need to Talk All the Time

When you give a lesson via video chat, especially if it's a 1:1 lesson, you may feel pressure to talk all the time. Or to make sure the student is talking all the time. But a 1-hour online lesson for you, and for the student especially is tiring. Zoom fatigue is real!

So experiment with communicating differently. You could stop talking at different points in the lesson and write to each other in the chat. You could also take a break to watch a video or you could give the student something to read. In addition, you could do an exercise where the student needs to write something, perhaps in Google Docs.

Remember, you don't need to have the camera on all the time. Try one of many tips for virtual teaching without your camera. Try turning the camera off for part or even all of the lesson. You can also experiment with non-verbal communication. You can hold up pictures or use gestures to experiment with not talking.

06/10/2023

How Is Teaching Business English Different To General English Teaching?

This is a question lots of online teachers ask themselves when they consider niching down and focusing on a specific group of learners.

And it's a great question – on some levels, they’re pretty similar. All learners of English need to grasp the pronunciation and grammatical systems of English so they can express themselves.

And they all need to learn vocabulary, plus the four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Some business English learners will have gaps in some of these basics that you may need to go over with them. But many will already be quite proficient thanks to using English on a regular basis in their jobs.

Where business English starts to differ from general English is in some of the specific communication skills that you need in the workplace.

For instance, the ability to:

- give presentations
- give feedback to staff in an appraisal
- answer questions at a job interview
- deal with customer complaints
- make small talk at industry events with clients and suppliers
- communicate effectively with people from different cultures

Bear in mind that even as a native speaker, no-one learned these skills growing up absorbing the language from those around them.

We all learned how to answer job interview questions by learning about common questions and expected responses. There are countless books, articles and courses about interview skills designed for native English speakers.

As for industry-specific vocabulary or technical language, as a rule, you’ll find that your students already know this type of language. And in fact, they know a lot more than you do!

They’ll be the ones teaching you about their company’s products or their industry’s jargon. You’ll find yourself learning a lot of new vocab!

06/09/2023

Do I Need An Online Teaching Certification?

Not everyone has the same plans for their ESL career.

If you plan to teach as a side-gig, especially as an online teacher, then it will be harder for you to make back your initial investment in a course such as the CELTA, or CertTESOL. In which case, it’s probably better to take an online TEFL course.

But if you're serious about teaching online and see it as a potential career shift or opportunity to change your life, then CELTA and CeOLT are definitely worth considering.

Whatever your case, unless you have a degree in education or similar then it’s always going to be better to have some kind of initial teacher training so that you know what you’re doing.

Being a native speaker of English is not enough and students pay good money for the life-changing opportunities learning English brings. So get a certification!

Our top recommendation if you're serious about your online teaching career?

CeOLT!

You can find out more about it at

06/08/2023

An excellent way to develop as an online teacher is to build reflection time into your post-lesson routine.

Reflecting doesn’t mean berating yourself for every single tiny perceived mistake. Nor does it mean adding dramatically to your workload by spending hours journaling about each lesson.

It can be as simple as noting down three things that went well and three that went not so well after your lessons.

As time goes by, you can spend less time reflecting or reflect less formally – you may just make a quick mental note of what to do differently next time.

06/07/2023

Don't forget to... CONNECT.

Teaching can feel like a lonely, solitary job where it’s just you and your learners. This is especially true if you’re teaching ESL online and don’t have any “colleagues”.

But it’s important to get out of your teacher:student bubble and connect with other teachers like you. If you’re teaching online, you can find support in online groups such as ELT Professionals on LinkedIn or the Smart teacher’s Library.

Other teachers can be invaluable sources of support. As you talk to them, you’ll find out that they have the same struggles and doubts as you. This can temper any isolating feelings of being the only person on Earth to have these problems!

And of course, by connecting with other teachers, it'll be easier to implement my final piece of advice.

06/06/2023

One assumption that can undermine your confidence as a teacher is thinking you have to reinvent the wheel.

But you don’t (and shouldn’t) have to spend hours planning each lesson from scratch to dazzle your learners.

It’s enough to use published materials like ESL books or materials you’ll find on ESL blogs. Or materials and ideas you’ll receive from your trainers on a course like CeOLT.

Over time, you’ll be able to make tweaks to these teaching materials so that they’re better adapted to the particular situation of your learners.

And gradually, as you work with existing materials, you’ll get ideas for how to make your own.

But don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself to create new material all the time as this can end up undermining your confidence.

My colleague, Maria Glazunova, used to spend hours creating beautiful PowerPoint slides for her classes. But all her efforts didn’t actually make the students any more motivated or interested.

When she switched to using a materials-light Dogme approach, focusing on her students' needs rather than on creating materials, she started to get better results.

06/05/2023

Be careful to avoid teacher burnout!

You trained to teach English online (or other languages) because you’re passionate about language learning and helping others.

When your work motivates and enthuses you then you might assume teacher burnout won’t be a problem.

But hard-working and motivated teachers are at risk of burnout because they give too much – to their students, school, colleagues – and neglect themselves.

06/04/2023

REASON #12 TO TEACH ONLINE:

**Change Your Students’ Lives**

If you’re motivated to help others and want a vocation, not a job, then teaching English online could be perfect for you.

Becoming an online English teacher could change your life for the better. But most importantly, you'll change the lives of your students!

You’ll have the chance to help people relocate to an English-speaking country for work or studies. You’ll also be able to help them get a promotion or a job that requires English.

Beyond the world of work and study, you’ll open doors for people who want to travel. Or connect with friends and family.

You’ll help people break down language barriers and communicate with whoever they want to or need to. English is a lingua franca after all.

English will also help your students access the wonders of the internet:

online courses
online content like blogs, podcasts etc.
They’ll be able to learn new things and meet new people in ways that they perhaps can’t in their native language.

06/03/2023

How Do I Build Rapport With A New Student?

Do you get nervous at the thought of meeting a new student for the first time? Worried what they'll think of you, or what you'll teach them?

In this video, you'll learn how to quickly build rapport with a new student, so that you get every new teacher-student relationship off on the right foot.

https://youtu.be/m8Ajn1eTomc

06/02/2023

REASON #11 TO TEACH ONLINE: Focus On Your Teaching

When you’re teach online you don’t have to worry about commuting, printing out worksheets or meetings and administrative tasks.

You can just focus on your students and your teaching. No one will expect you to be there for parents’ evening or the school open day. You also won’t have exams to set and mark.

Of course, you can give your students homework, but you don’t have to. You can teach your way.

06/01/2023

How do I make great teaching materials?

Making materials for your lessons is a big part of a teacher's job. But how do you create good materials that help students learn?

In this video, you'll learn principles for making fun, effective teaching materials that your students will love.

🎓 http://ceolt.com --- Find out more about CeOLT here.Making materials for your lessons is a big part of a teacher's job. But how do you create good materia...