Does anyone teach English (ESL) online from home?

[Coco6]

I have been doing this for 9 months and I love it. However, WFH can get very lonely!

Anyone else?

Id wondered about this. Ex teacher etc. But i havent a clue about english grammar. My kids sats are beyond me😳

pls.can you PM me details of the comments.pany you work for

The company I work for definitely requires a degree unfortunately - it doesn't have to be in English.
I don't think Palfish require a degree - they may be worth checking out.

I was so nervous when I first started, however, they provide you with all the lesson plans and material.

Also, to be completely honest, most of my lessons are with little kids - so it's things like shapes, animals and colours - not too much complex grammar. 🤣

I do this too! Only children now, I used to do adults as well but recently gave the adult classes up.

Aya I mostly teach children too, based on the hours I choose. I do enjoy the odd adult class though, especially when they are a high level. :)

Thank you for starting the thread!

I'd like some more info. I've been looking into this.I can't do a CELTA because of having to travel to do the teaching practice, but I'm worried that I don't know which online courses are suitable and which are scams!

No problem ghost! I didn't realise so many people would be interested!

For teaching English through these platforms you only need a basic online TEFL certificate. They are more focused on you having a degree.

I found a 150 hour TEFL on groupon for £29. This was accepted no problem.

I'd love to know a list of reputable companies to apply to.

Is the teaching done via Skype kind of thing?

Also a tefl teacher in a former life and would love to do it again without having to travel. I'd love to stop my current work!

I know some companies use zoom, however, the one I work for has their own online system.

It's basically like a PowerPoint presentation with the two cameras to the left (student and teacher) and you go through all the slides/ ask them to read/ correct their pronunciation/ write notes etc.

Some of the new students (children) get very excited and start showing me their pets/ drawings/ musical instruments. It's often the first time they have spoken to someone from another country. It can be very fun!

User - it won't let me PM you for some reason - sorry!

Does everyone get paid the same rate? I have a CELTA, DELTA and a MA in Education Leadership and management, as well as my first degree. And 23 years of experience, but I want to get out of where I am. But with 2 kids at Uni to support, I'm not sure I can give up my current salary. Might make a good fill in though.

It sounds great. How do you do lesson planning and know what to teach for each student if you're working so flexibly?

Veil Hmmm I'm not sure. I've heard it depends on location and experience.

I don't really want to say the company name on the thread - not sure if I'm allowed to! However, feel free to pm me and I can put you in touch with the person who interviewed me. She was very helpful.

What teaching experience did you have beforehand Coco?

I've done volunteer reading but thats all.

Bring it's all done for you. They follow a set plan. So you can check each lesson a few hours before you start and then you just log on and you're good to go.

For the adult lessons, they will give you a topic, it could be anything from rugby to Chinese New Year.

Then there will be about 15 slides with reading/ exercises/ comprehension questions. It doesn't really matter what the topic is, it's just about helping them with fluency. The adult students are wonderful, they're very grateful and appreciative. They can give you feedback after the class too and they often leave some lovely comments!

Ghost zero! Apart from a year working as a nursery nurse when I was 18!

I honestly had no idea what I was doing when I started, looking back I'm not even sure how I passed the interview, haha!

The TEFL course really helped me though and my interviewer sent me loads of videos and useful tips.

It was a case of just learning as I worked. It took me about a week to get used to the system and develop my own style. Now, 9 months later, it's second nature.

Could I get details of the company you work for too please?

Are you teaching during the day or evenings?

Trin I don't really want to say the company name
on the thread - I'm not sure if it's allowed. Does anyone else know?
Anyway I have sent you a PM.

Phyllis I normally work from 9am - 3pm. Sometimes I'll book classes from 6pm - 9pm if I've got nothing on/ need the money!

Do you work weekends?

Ata yes, I normally work from 11.30 - 1.30 on Saturday and Sunday. You don't have to do this though.

When I started you had to commit to 7 peak hours per week (I think it might be 10 now.)

So, mine are 11.30 - 1.30 from weds - sun, simply because I wanted Monday off. I just book random hours for Tuesday depending on how I feel!

Some weeks I just work my peak hours, I had the flu last month so this was a lifesaver. This month I've already done 65 hours.

I'd like to know which company too please! I'm sure it's fine to say on the thread, why wouldn't it be? But would appreciate a PM if you don't want to.

Will def be interested in doing this when I'm older I've been teaching EFL / ESOL for 23 years and currently teach and run a department. This is the way things are going for a lot of EFL businesses abroad and there are many teachers like me who will not be able to teach until 67 !!

Not op but there are lots of companies, the big ones are:

PalFish, cheapest pay and on your mobile but incredibly flexible.

These ones basically only cover kids in China so you'd only be working peak Beijing hours, around 9am - 2pm uk time.
Hellokid
DaDaABC
Blingabc
Sayabc
Alo7
Whalesenglish
31abc
Nativecamp
Landi

pay isn't as good but you can work 24/7 both adults and kids for these two as not just Chinese:
Cambly
Itutorgroup

European based companies so slightly different times required:
Skyeng
Enkids (on a hire freeze until Christmas)