Job Discussion Forums

[Mike S.]

I'm wondering if anyone on the forums is making a living teaching ESL from the comfort of their home (or internet cafes) using their computer? I've been reading about online teaching programs such as Berlitz Virtual Classroom (on the Berlitz website), but am curious to hear from teachers who are actually doing this. If you are, I'd love to hear about the pluses and minuses of online ESL teaching as opposed to moving to a foriegn country to teach ESL. Also, do you know if this a growing thing or is it a turnoff for ESL students? Thanks in advance for your replies!

[danielita]

I think I am the only person on the board who makes a living doing online ESL work. I did it before I went to Mexico and I am back doing it right now.

There are advantages and disadvantages to doing this. For starters, you are classified as a freelancer, so the good thing is, you get to set your own hours of availability. The bad thing is that you won't always have a student during the time you are available (no student=no money). So the hours worked vary from month to month. You are teaching students in their country, so you are at the mercy of their holiday and vacation schedules and you must also work in their time zone. It doesn't help them if you are available to 2:30 AM Korean time when they are sleeping and no one is going to book a lesson with you during Golden Week.

Technically, I can work from anywhere. As long as there is an internet connection and a phone line. Heck, I could work from Starbucks off my cell phone if I wanted to....

You don't get sick days or vacation days (OK, you do, you just don't get paid for them). The good thing is, you can take vacation when you want to, you are not a the mercy of a school calendar to tell you when your holidays are.

The great thing is, I get to work from home so there are no costs for commuting, lunches, office pools etc. When it's cold and crappy outside, I don't have to worry about the drive, I just get up and turn on my laptop. I can work in my pyjamas if I so desire. The bad thing is, you work from home, so you lack a certain amount of interaction with people who speak English as a first language. It depends on your personality, but this might be something to consider depending on your personality and if you live alone.

It is a lot more difficult that it seems: I have some low level students that make 30 minutes seem like 30 years and when you aren't face to face, you need to develop skills to make sure that the students understand what you are saying or explaining and to know when a they don't understand something. You can't rely on faces, gestures or white boards to get the point across. My students tend to be adult professionals who want to improve their English in business situations, so I have to be able to talk about anything with them: semi-conductors, potatoes, finance, seeds you name it. Sometimes I am in awe that I just spent 1 hour talking about auto parts or oranges, but for me it comes quite easily. It's definitely not for everyone. You have to like talking to people on the phone and be able to maintain the phone session for the allotted time.

You have to have a super reliable internet and telephone connection (all my lessons are done over the phone and the scheduling is done through the internet). If the phone or internet go down and you can't keep your lessons, you don't get paid.

You also have to be super reliable and time conscious. If a lesson it at 10:00 it starts at 10:00 not 10:03 or 10:05. Likewise, it must end on time so it doesn't make you late for your next appointment.

Not all online companies are the same, so read the terms of employment carefully! There are some that charge YOU if you are late or miss a lesson, others that pay you if a student cancels within a certain amount of time and others that don't pay you for any cancellations.

On the whole, I really enjoy doing online ESL. I don't have to deal with the bureaucracy or politics that come with a lot of schools and I like being able to take my vacation when I want to take it. As I said before, it's definitely not for everyone, but it does work for me....

[naturegirl321]

Thanks for all the info. What are some good places to work for and how's the pay?

[Mike S.]

Yeah, sounds good to me. Who do I email my resume to?

[ecocks]

is that I don't use Pay-Pal. Is there a way to get paid without using them? Like a direct deposit deal to a bank account or through Western Union or something?

I would also be curious to know who are the reputable companies that do this type of work?