One of the fabulous new ways to make a living teaching English is to sign up with an agency and teach English online. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity for those who would love to teach foreign students but can’t or don’t want to live abroad, it’s also a good opportunity for teachers who need extra money no matter what country they’re currently living in.
If you are already teaching overseas, you can even teach online during the evening or on weekends to make some extra money and, as rates per hour are high, you could find yourself making even more than at your day job.
I recently looked into the teaching English online business and, while for me it wasn’t something I could fit into my busy schedule as a full-time teacher in Thailand, a close American friend who researched it with me has already signed up with an agency and she is loving what she’s doing.
If you too have thought about teaching English online, here are a few ways you can get started and a few things you should know.
Sign up with an agency (or two) – One of the easiest ways to get started teaching English online is to sign up with one of the many teaching agencies that have cropped up in the last few years. Sure, they take a cut of the income you make but as they find you all your jobs, provide the teaching materials you’ll need and, in some cases, even deal with problem clients for you, the cut you lose can still be well worth it.
With average rates between $25 to $50 an hour depending on the level of English you are teaching, your experience and qualifications, and if you are teaching children, young adults or corporate, you can make a very nice salary from working just a few hours a week.
Start off by looking at Global English and LOI English. They are both professional outfits that are always looking for new teachers and pay well.
Start your own online teaching service – Although a lot more work than signing up with a teaching agency that specializes in online English instruction, once you start getting clients you will keep all the proceeds yourself with no cut going to an agency. As for set up, the only things you will need are a website and a connection to Skype.
Starting your own service offering English instruction online is also a smart thing to do if you already have a lot of teaching experience and a fair number of students. My friend plans on setting up her own site once she’s gained six months experience with the agency she is currently working for.
That’s because she already has private students in Thailand, where she has taught for eight years, and they know other people who want to learn English from a native speaker but don’t want to travel halfway across Bangkok in horrendous traffic to do so.
No set up costs – The friend who recently started teaching English online particularly loves the job as it didn’t cost her anything to get set up. She already owned a computer and all she had to do to be up and running was to install Skype and to read some training information sent to her by the agency and watch a few training videos.
Specialize in business English – If you really want to have the pick of jobs and make the highest rates per hour and you have a background in business, teaching English online and specializing in business or corporate English is a wonderful way to do it.
Corporations all over the world are now realizing how important it is that their employees speak fluent English. Being so busy, however, they don’t always have time for staff to leave the office to do so, which means having an English teacher online and accessible by computer directly from their office is a godsend. A godsend they are willing to pay for.
As technology improves and more and more companies get into the global marketplace, you can only expect the English instruction online business to grow. Why not get in on the ground floor now?
