Trying to find Online English Teaching jobs can be overwhelming.
In fact, it can be very stressful, especially when you are just starting out.
But fortunately for you, there are many platforms and ways to find teaching jobs that may suit you and your needs.
If you choose to work with one of the established Online Teaching platforms, finding your own private students or building an Online English Teaching business, each path has its own advantages — and challenges.
In Part Four of my Ultimate Guide To Being An Online English Teacher, I want to show you some of the best ways to get started, the online teaching platforms, job boards, freelancing and the strategies to becoming an independent Online English Teacher.
Are we ready?
Let’s go!
The Platforms
If you are just starting out, I suggest that you start working for one of the Online English Teaching platforms.
Many Online English Teachers stay with the platforms and like it.
Some platforms offer a structured environment with materials and a steady supply of students.
Other platforms just offer the students. Go figure.
The most valuable thing of all for you, as an Online English Teacher, is that you can gain a lot of experience in a short period of time.
Here are some of the most popular platforms.
VIPKid
This is one of the largest platforms for teaching English. Their client base is mostly children in China.
VIPKid offers a flexible schedule, lesson plans and a huge roster of students.
If you apply here, you will need a Bachelor’s degree and some experience teaching kids, but the application process is simple.
Payments are made via PayPal and teachers can typically earn between $14 to $22 per hour, depending on experience.
iTalki
This is a global platform for teaching English. (They also teach other languages too.)
They have students of all ages and all levels of English proficiency.
iTalki allows you to set your own rates and schedule, providing a great degree of flexibility.
You will not need a degree to teach on iTalki, but you will need a TEFL or TESOL certificate if you want to attract more students.
Teachers on iTalki can set prices starting at around $10 per lesson, but more experienced teachers can often earn higher rates.
Cambly
Cambly allows you to teach English to students all over the world, especially from countries like Turkey, Brazil and the Middle East.
No need for a degree or teaching certificate, which makes it a good choice for entry-level applicants looking to gain some experience.
As such, the pay is low, low, low. Expect between $10 to $12 per hour.
Most of the lessons are for students who wish to have conversational English.
Preply
Preply is another platform that connects teachers with students looking to improve their English.
It offers flexibility in terms of letting you set your own rates and working hours.
You are required to submit a video introduction and offer trial lessons to attract students.
Preply offers a large, diverse student base, with a wide range of lesson topics and ages.
The platform takes a commission (from 33% to 18%) based on your earnings, but the flexibility and student pool are excellent.
Check Subreddits On Reddit
These are just some of the Online English Teaching platforms that you can try.
I have only given some basic information here, so please do some more research when looking to work on one of these platforms.
Social media, of course, is a good place to look for other people doing the same thing on these platforms.
One such place is Reddit.
Check out the following subreddits where you can find posts about all of these platforms. Or you can ask questions.
r/englishteachers
A subreddit for English teachers to exchange views, ideas, resources, advice, and support.
https://www.reddit.com/r/englishteachers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
r/ELATeachers
A place for English Language Arts teachers to share ideas, lessons, and collaborate on curricula.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ELATeachers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
r/ESL_Teachers
A community for teachers of English as a Second Language, focusing on lesson ideas, material sharing, and discussions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ESL_Teachers/
r/TEFL
A subreddit dedicated to discussions about Teaching English as a Foreign Language around the world.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TEFL/
r/onlinetefl
A community centred on all aspects of teaching English as a foreign language online.
https://www.reddit.com/r/onlinetefl/
r/TESOL
A subreddit for teachers involved in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, sharing resources and experiences.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TESOL/
r/Teachers
A general subreddit for all things related to teaching, where teachers can share experiences, advice, and resources.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/
I would highly recommend that you join two or three of these subreddits and do some reading.
Ask questions too.
You must do your own research here!
Independent Online English Teaching
After working for one of the platforms for a while, you might decide that being independent could be a better choice for you.
By doing this, you can avoid the commission rates available to you on the platforms.
There are ways to do this, so let’s take a look.
General Online English Teaching Job Boards
There are job boards where you might find work for a private company or school.
These are not the same as working for a platform, so the rates might be marginally better.
And you might also find that there is a better curriculum and lesson plans provided by the school or company.
Dave’s ESL Cafe
A longstanding resource offering a comprehensive international job board for English teaching positions worldwide.
TEFL.com
Features a vast array of English Language Teaching jobs across the globe, updated daily.
LoveTEFL Jobs
Provides a curated list of TEFL positions, including online teaching roles, with vetted employers.
Teacher Record
An ESL job board offering numerous teaching positions for those interested in teaching English online or abroad.
BridgeTEFL Job Board
Connects English teachers with global opportunities, offering a range of online teaching positions.
Fiverr
Fiverr is a site where freelancers with a wide variety of skills can offer their services.
Clients then book them and hire them to do the job as advertised.
You can do this too.
Set up an account and then start adding ‘gigs’ to your Fiverr page offering Online English Lessons.
Students can then find you and book you.
You are at liberty to set your own rates, say what times you are available, and decide what kind of classes you wish to teach.
You could set up a gig on Fiverr that offers IELTS Speaking Classes.
You say how much it costs and then, in theory, students can book your services.
You can add all kinds of teaching gigs to Fiverr. The idea being that you can build your brand and reputation while having the option to offer lesson packages and materials for additional fees.
That is the theory.
But me personally, I wonder about the validity of an Online English Teacher having any success with this.
How many students go to Fiverr to look for a teacher??
If anyone has any experience with this, please let me know and I will make adjustments here.
But it doesn’t seem like the ideal place to find students.
Upwork
Upwork is another large freelancer platform where you can find long-term or one-off teaching projects.
I think this might be more suitable if you are looking for clients who have a specialised need for English Training.
For example:
- Business English
- Test Prep
- Writing
And so on…
The same as Fiverr, you can create a profile, bid for the available projects and set your own rates.
As you gain more experience and positive reviews, you can increase your rates.
Other Gig Platforms
There are other similar platforms to Fiverr and Upwork, such as Freelancer and Guru.
You might be able to find teaching opportunities here too.
Creating An Online English Teaching Business
If you truly want to be 100% independent and have total and complete control over your schedule, rates and student base, then you need to start your own Online English Teaching business.
This will require a lot of work, but it offers the most potential for long-term growth.
Let’s look at some of the steps you can take to build this kind of business.
Building Your Own Personal Website
If you are going to do this, you will absolutely need your own website to stand out from the competition.
This will give you full control of your Online English Teaching business.
Buying a domain name and getting good hosting is simple these days.
I personally use Zume.net, and I am very happy with their service.
Click the link below to find out what they can do for you:
I use WordPress to build the actual site. It’s very easy and there are many videos on YouTube to show you exactly what you need to do when creating your site.
Your website should showcase the following pages:
- Home
- About me
- Your teaching services
- Qualifications and certificates
- Testimonials
- Blog
By adding a constant stream of useful content to your blog, you will find that over time, you will attract a lot of visitors.
Just try to be helpful at all times.
Social Media For Promotion
You will need to make use of social media platforms to promote your services as an Online English Teacher.
Platforms such as:
All of these offer great ways to connect with potential students and build your brand.
By using these social media platforms, you can:
- Share your observations and views about Online English Teaching
- Offer educational content
- Talk about the success stories of your own students
You can give the public a behind-the-scenes view into your own teaching methods and your life as an Online English Teacher.
Facebook has many groups for language learning and English learning.
This is a great resource if you can get into one of these groups.
If you join a group, then this is where potential students may gather and you can then find new clients for your business.
On LinkedIn, you can create a professional profile and post regularly about your teaching experiences and achievements.
You can offer tips and advice which, in turn, can build your network and help you to gain more credibility.
Social media is essential to grow your business.
But it is the kind of thing that you have to do every day. You have to spend hours on this every week.
Then, over time, you will grow a following of readers and subscribers.
Creating Content Online
Another thing you can do to attract students is to create your own content online.
This can come in the form of:
- Blogs, Articles and Guides on your company website
- YouTube videos
- Online Courses
By doing this, you can build an audience that then converts into paying students.
Blogs, Articles and Guides
On your company website, you can write regular blogs and articles about learning English.
You can also write guides on how to use various English skills on a variety of topics.
Just as an example, take a look at the kind of blogs, articles and guides I write below.
12 Different Ways to Say I’m Fine in English
How To Describe A Room In English
How To Talk About Your Neighbourhood In English
How To Describe Your Friend in English
The Pros and Cons of English Only in The Classroom
YouTube
On YouTube, you can create videos that offer advice to people learning or improving their English.
Add appropriate links in the section under the video and potential students can find you.
Online Courses
You could also create your own online courses and position them on platforms such as Udemy and Teachable.
I think many people put courses on these platforms to sell. But I imagine if the course were there for free, this would attract many more potential students to you and your business.
Additional Tips
Here are some more pieces of advice I would like to offer you.
Start Small
You cannot dive all in into being an independent Online English Teacher.
You need to grow gradually and slowly.
Maybe start with the platforms and gain some useful experience.
Then use the job sites and freelancer platforms to build your roster of students.
Finally, transition to freelancing or building your own Online English Teaching business once you have gained more confidence.
Diversify Your Income
When starting out on the platforms, do not rely on one.
Use multiple platforms to get maximum exposure and access to as many students as you can.
The same applies when using social media to attract students. Don’t just use one platform.
But also, don’t use all of them!
The ideal thing is to pick two platforms and stick with them.
Conclusion
There are many ways to find Online English Teaching jobs.
The best approach should be in line with your own personal goals, experience and preferred level of independence.
Starting with a platform can provide structure and a steady stream of students. But for some it can be quite restrictive.
This is where freelancing and starting your own Online English Teaching business which fit in with your goals.
This way you can define your own schedule, income and demographic of students.
But whatever method you choose, you need to build your online presence and continuously improve your teaching skills if you want to stay ahead of the game.
In Part Five, l will go into more detail on How To Prepare For Classes.
Click here to go to Part Five right now!
And let me know your thoughts on Part Four.
Write me a message below and tell me your thoughts…
