Teaching the English language is quickly becoming one of the most popular fields in education. While many are enrolling at schools with classroom-based teachers, there is another way to learn English. Online English teachers are already making waves on the internet by providing English classes to students all over the world.
Online English teachers are currently in-demand. Chances are, you can become one too if you fulfill the requirements. They provide high-quality lessons and enjoy a lot of benefits.
If you wish to learn more about how to teach English online, how to become an online teacher, and more, check out the article below.
- Learn More About How You Can Teach English Online
- What Are the Qualifications Needed to Become an Online English Teacher?
- Where to Find Legitimate Online English Teaching Jobs
- Work From Home or Anywhere You Want To
- Gain Experience and Expand Your Horizon
Learn More About How You Can Teach English Online
Teaching online is becoming a global phenomenon. You can learn how to speak, write, and read in English with the help of online English teachers. But what are online English teachers, and how do they differ from the ones you get to see at school?
Online English teachers are practically the same as the teachers that you have in elementary, high school, and college. The only difference is that they chose to work online, so they can cater to a wider audience.
Most of the time, these online English teachers teach basic English to non-English speakers who want to learn the language. Many online English teachers also offer tutorial services aside from the lessons that they provide during their online classes.
What Are the Responsibilities of an Online English Teacher?
Online English teachers have a lot of responsibilities, much like their classroom counterparts. They are responsible for preparing and providing lessons to their students to help them improve.
Teachers are also responsible for assigning different activities that will help cater to their student's needs. They must also cater their teaching styles to the learning process of their class and students.
Many online English teachers are also responsible for tracking and reporting the progress of each student while also ensuring that they continue to improve even outside of the online class that they provide.
What Are the Qualifications Needed to Become an Online English Teacher?
If you are interested in becoming an online English teacher, there are a lot of things that you should consider first. One of the important requirements for becoming an online English teacher is experience.
Teaching experience is needed for you to be able to anticipate the needs of each student. Teachers are expected to be attentive to their student's needs at all times.
Many online platforms that hire online English teachers require you to have a bachelor's degree, especially in education, but some only require you to pass a certain test or certification.
You are also expected to have your computer or laptop alongside a camera so your students can see you. You will also need to have a stable internet connection as well.
What Are the Certificates, and How Do You Get Certified?
Many online platforms that cater to online English teachers accept people who do not possess any Bachelor's degree especially if they are already native speakers of the language.
For those who truly want to excel in this field, it is highly recommended that you try to get certified to open more teaching opportunities. There is the TEFL certificate, where you will need to undergo around 120 hours of training before you get certified.
Many online platforms require this certificate before you can join and become an online English teacher. Teachers who have this certificate tend to have higher pay than those that do not have one. The course will help you gain a solid background in the English language.
Where to Find Legitimate Online English Teaching Jobs
Once you are certified, you should start hunting for online teaching jobs. There are a lot of online platforms that provide jobs for online English teachers such as Preply and many other online marketplaces for freelancers.
You can also apply at a local agency that offers teaching services to students from other countries. To find these legitimate online English teaching jobs, you need to search for these platforms on the internet.
Make sure that you read the reviews before you register for an account. If the platform requires you to pay a fee before starting your work, try to avoid it at all costs.
You can also ask your fellow teachers to see which ones are legitimate, or you can go and work for yourself and start your teaching and tutorial services online.
Here’s How You Can Get Experience as an Online English Teacher
Experience is key to becoming an effective online English teacher. If you truly want to master teaching English online, you need to have experience, as it is also one of the most essential requirements during application.
Teaching children at school or even tutoring, babysitting, coaching, and homeschooling can be considered experience. Any instance where you have a student, and you impart knowledge to them based on an accurate source, can be called teaching.
You can also consider taking on tutoring gigs and even substitute teaching jobs to buffer up your resume when you apply for an online English teaching job. All of these jobs can translate to experience and can help boost your chances of landing your first job.
Work From Home or Anywhere You Want To
When it comes to teaching online English classes to students from all over the world, there are bound to be quite a few benefits. One of which is you can permanently work from home or anywhere you want to.
Most online classes only require you to have a schedule, and as long as you have your laptop and internet connection, you can work anywhere you please.
Whether you stay inside the comforts of your home or you are out on vacation on a tropical island, as long as you can perform your duties online, you can be sure that you will continue to have a fruitful career as an online English teacher.
Choose Your Own Schedule
There are a lot of benefits of working as an online English teacher. Apart from the flexible working environment, you also have a very flexible working schedule. Many online teachers enjoy the option to choose their schedules.
There are a lot of online teaching platforms that allow you to pick the schedule that you want depending on the student and their timezone. This can help you adjust to your new life as an online teacher.
Take note that you should always stick to your schedule and be on time for your class. Many teachers don't enjoy such flexibility as they are often required to go to school within a fixed schedule every day, unlike many online teachers.
Gain Experience and Expand Your Horizon
By now you already know the importance of having experience if you wish to become an online English teacher. Always strive to gain more experience as it will bring more opportunities for you.
Try to grow your network by joining associations or groups that cater to online teachers on the internet. This will give you an additional opportunity for global networking.
You'll find yourself flying across the world as you have just become an English teacher abroad. Open yourself up to these opportunities through networking, and you will have all the experience you need. Soon, the world will be your classroom.
How Much Does an Online English Teacher Make?
At this point, you may start to wonder how much an online English teacher truly makes Let's preface this first by saying that many online English teachers start at a very small rate and slowly grow as they acquire teaching experience and new effective skills in teaching.
There are also factors, such as online presence and the platform you are using, that affect how much you can earn. For starters, many online English teachers earn up to $20 per hour, which is a good rate, especially if you are still new to this industry.
Some companies offer bonuses to online teachers for their attendance. You can earn up to $1,000 or more a month if you take on more classes or provide tutorial services to other students.
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways to teach English online, and it can be a very fulfilling profession if you see your students improve. The myriad of options that you have will not only allow you to become a better teacher but also get to earn money while enjoying the benefits of being an online teacher.
Go ahead and check out those online platforms so you can start your career as an online English teacher today!