Education
IN THIS LESSON
There are a number of online platforms enabling you to teach a language online ...
…to people anywhere in the world.
What is essential to teach anything online is having access to a computer system with a good internet connection with broadband speed, Skype or Zoom, a webcam and a headset.
Certification to teach English is essential, either being a registered English teacher, or else obtaining a TEFL certificate which can be done online from your own home: TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Depending on how the course is structured, a 120-hour course can take anywhere from one month to six months. Shorter courses are more intensive and require full-time study. Longer courses are part-time and allow time for other activities.
There are many free online courses – you can search on the internet for the one that suits you best.
The two most internationally recognised qualifications are the Cambridge Celta and the Trinity CertTesol.
The advantages of teaching a language online are many: these include working from where you want eg a home office, flexible hours that suit you and as many hours per day as you want to teach, teaching adults or school children or both, teaching whoever you choose to teach.
Parents who teach online English can work from home, thus saving on day care or babysitting expenses for their young children.
Your salary will vary according to how many students you teach: a basic figure could be anything between $10-30/hour depending on your own teaching experience: your earning potential will escalate as you teach more students.
Requirements
Start-up Capital: $100
Space required: Home office space
Equipment: Computer and internet connection
Specific skills: Certification to teach online English