10 Best websites for teaching English online
Is teaching English language online either as a second or foreign language new to you? Are you learning about this for the first time?
It is said that information is power so chill you are in the right place. Teaching English online is not something new.
The only difference, when compared to the previous years, is that thousands of teachers around the world have engaged in it, especially during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic where we could not go to the traditional classrooms to teach.
Due to this, most teachers rather connect with students online to share their knowledge.
Teaching English online is considered a side hustle to a reasonable number of tutors and do you know the most interesting part of it?
They earn a livable income from the comfort of their own homes and schedules. Below are some of the benefits of working as an online English tutor.
Benefits of working as an online English tutor
- Being your boss is one of the greatest fulfillments you could ever imagine. One of the benefits of working as an online English tutor is that you are a master of your own. You decide where and when to work which takes us to our second benefit.
- The second benefit is working from the comfort of your home. You do not need to deal with traffic. All you need is to arrange a small comfortable and conducive environment to teach.
- A flexible work schedule. As an online English tutor, you work per your schedule by notifying me when you are available or off.
- You enjoy the opportunity of being paid just for speaking English and you can as well teach with zero experience.
- There is a cost to everything which is in line with the saying that nothing good comes easy. You need to work for it.
To work/belong to any of the best websites for teaching English online, there are some basic requirements you need for you to pursue this career of yours.
Before jumping to our topic of interest, let’s discuss what we need to become an online tutor with any of the online English teaching websites.
Requirements for teaching English online
#1 Have a TEFL Certification or Other Teaching Qualification
Acquiring a Teaching English as a Foreign Language “TEFL” Certificate is like investing in your future.
Bear in mind that for you to be hired to teach in any well-paid English teaching platform/website, a TEFL Certificate is needed.
There are a variety of accepted certifications and it’s important to know the differences.
Each varies in its focus and is widely accepted across all different teaching platforms.
Certain countries prefer specific certifications (for instance, Japan prefers teachers with a CELTA), but, for teaching online at least, there isn’t a wrong certification to have.
The various types of English teaching certificates include:
- CELTA: Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults
- TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language
- TESL: Teaching English as a Second Language
- TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Don’t be scared that your dream of becoming an online English tutor will be taken because you do not possess a TEFL Certificate.
Be rest assured that not every teaching platform demands a TEFL Certificate though when you possess one is to your advantage.
You will be opened to more opportunities and for that teaching website that doesn’t necessarily want it before hiring you, it will be at your advantage to add it to your tutor description profile to gain the attention of students who equally wish to take the exam someday.
#2 types of equipment
A laptop/computer, a webcam, and a good headset are absolute musts. Your students need to be able to both see and hear you.
Most laptops have in-built webcams, but many won’t be up to scratch for teaching online.
This means you’ll need to invest in a good external webcam that can simply be plugged in.
You also need to make sure the lighting is good, so sit somewhere well-lit or move around some lamps!
Concerning headsets, it is advisable to go for a quality one. Think of it this way imagine you are a student and you reserve a lesson with a tutor but it turns out you can’t he/her clearly.
Will you reserve/book another lesson with that teacher after your first experience?
This is the feeling students get when they come to your class and something of this nature happens.
Please try to avoid this because you might lose students which is the exact opposite of what every online English wants.
Bear in mind that no teaching website allows tutors to use a mobile phone to teach. Using a mobile phone is at your disadvantage as your network connection can easily be disrupted which is not good especially when conducting a lesson.
So, it is clearly stated that teachers are not allowed to use mobile phones to teach. Some of these websites go as far as specifying the type of browser to use.
For instance, at Native camp either you use Chrome or Mozilla.
#3 Good internet connections
Another key requirement needed when teaching English online with any online English teaching website is to have a speedy and reliable internet connection.
Not having a good internet connection is like a farmer going to the farm without a machete/cutlass.
How does he/she wish to work?
This equally applies to an online tutor. Without a good internet connection, there is no way you can be effective.
Using Native Camp as an example, if you encounter any network issue while teaching the class automatically ends if the internet does not connect within 1 minute.
In a country like ours where the network isn’t always stable, it’s advisable to have at least three SIM cards of different networks. So if one fails, you switch to the next.
Is good to try different networks to know which best works for you as it varies with locations too.
Orange network might perfectly work for me depending on my location while Camtel works for you.
It varies as I earlier mentioned. Wireless connection is the best which takes us to the aspect of possessing a modem.
Some online teaching websites go as far as telling the applicant to take a photo of his/her modem and upload it when filling out the applicant form.
#4 Conducive learning environment
The environment should enhance good learning conditions like teaching in a quiet environment and good lighting.
Avoid situations like while teaching your student gets a dog barking, noise from vehicles, a baby crying. Avoid any sought of noise.
#5 Other requirements
Other requirements may include having a Bachelor’s degree, being a native speaker, and having prior English teaching experience may be needed depending on the company.
There are teaching websites where if you are a non-native speaker, you won’t be accepted while there are others that do not consider this as long as you can speak fluently.
So, all hope is not lost. Let’s dive into our topic of interest which is the 10 Best websites for teaching English online.
10 Best websites for teaching English online
#1 VIPKID
VIPKID is a Beijing-based education technology company aimed at connecting Chinese pupils ranging from 4-15 years old with fluent English-speaking tutors in the United States and Canada.
VIPKID is one of the most popular and best websites for teaching English online.
You do not need to prepare your lessons.
Everything is taken care of. You just need to create exciting and engaging lessons with your learners.
VIPKID requires tutors to have at least one year of teaching experience and a Bachelor’s degree in any field of studies.
Lessons at VIPKID are conducted one-on-one and a lesson lasts for 30 minutes.
The pay rate at VIPKID ranges from $14-22/hr with additional incentives available.
There’s a six-month minimum commitment, but you can work as often as you want.
Link to Apply: https://www.vipkid.com
#2 CAMPLY
The second among the 10 best websites for teaching English online is Cambly.
Cambly is an online English teaching and tutoring service that connects tutors to students around the world to help build their English language skills in a one-on-one lesson.
Cambly connects tutors to students from more than 100 countries though most students are from China, Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Brazil & Colombia.
What makes Cambly more interesting is the fact that as a tutor you can connect to teach using either an iPhone, iPad, Android phone, windows, or Mac computer.
Payment is being done every week if and only if you reach the minimum withdrawal amount which is $20.
Another glaring and interesting fact about Cambly is that tutors do not need to present a teaching certificate or a Bachelor’s degree before being hired.
Neither do they need to talk about their teaching experiences.
Lessons duration at Cambly varies depending on the students. It ranges from 15 minutes, to 30 minutes or an hour.
The pay rate ranges from $10.20/hour ($0.17/minute) for regular Cambly classes or $12/hour for Cambly kids. Payment is being made via Paypal.
Link to apply: https://www.cambly.com/en/tutors?lang=en.
#3 PREPLY
Preply cannot be left out when listing the 10 best websites for teaching English online.
This is because just like Cambly, Preply connects tutors to students from more than 180 countries. At Preply over 100 subjects are taught including languages, school and university subjects, hobbies, and art.
Tutors at Preply are allowed to set their pay rate. It ranges from $0-$40 (max.) USD for an hour.
Preply has more adult students though tutors are expected to teach students of all ages.
No teaching certificate or teaching experience is required though it’s a bonus to the tutor if he/she possesses any of this.
One crucial thing to take note of concerning the Preply English teaching platform is: that Preply takes a commission fee from your lessons to bring in more students from around the globe and develop an easy-to-use video tool and learning materials for your lessons.
It takes 100% commission for every first trial lesson you teach to a new student.
The commission subsequently starts at 33% and reduces to 18% depending on the number of lessons you have conducted. Preply pays via Payoneer.
Link to Apply: PREPLY
Check out: 10 Things You Should Say Goodbye To In Your 20s
#4 SKIMATALK
SkimaTalk is a Japanese-based teaching website where teachers create a profile and students can book them through the software.
Lessons on SkimaTalk are conducted via Skype and a lesson lasts for 25 minutes with a pay rate minimum of $16 /hour to any amount depending on the tutor.
Teachers can choose to teach their material or use SkimaTalk course content, which includes English Basics, Everyday English, Business English Basics, Business Skills & Knowledge, Writing Test Prep Topics, and Kids Courses.
While there are some children students on the platform, most of the learners are adults.
SkimaTalk deducts a 20% commission from the tutor’s earnings and payment is done through PayPal. SkimaTalk preferably hires tutors from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Link to apply: teacher with SkimaTalk.
#5 WHALE ENG
Whales English is an online English teaching school based in China, Beijing to be precise. Whales English teaches learners from the age of 3-18 years and there are over 60,000 registered students on their website.
A lesson at Whales English lasts for 50 minutes with an average of 2-3 students in a class, and approximately over 4000 different classes with more than 500 native English-speaking teachers from North America, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Essential requirements you need to be aware of as a prospective tutor at Whale English is to possess a Bachelor’s degree or any higher certificate, a teaching certificate either TEFL or TESOL, and at least one teaching experience.
Whales English sings a contract term of 6 months with tutors.
The pay rate ranges from $18-$27 per 50-minute class, plus performance-based bonuses. Payment transactions are done through Payoneer and tutors receive their pay on the 15th of every month.
Link to apply: https://m.whalesenglish.com/
User also Read:
8 Caliber Of Friends To Keep while at The University
#6 PALFISH
Palfish is not exempted when talking of the best websites for teaching English online. Palfish is an English learning platform that connects Chinese students with native English teachers.
What makes Palfish more interesting is the fact that all of the teachings take place in an application for iOS and Android where teachers get paid to chat with students from their phones or tablets.
Lessons at Palfish last for 25 minutes and the lessons are one-on-one.
Palfish classifies teachers into three categories:
- PalFish Teachers (those who teach “free talk”, do live streaming, and create their content)
- PalFish Official Course Instructors (pre-set curriculum, has stricter hiring requirements, see below)
- PalFish Philippines Course Teachers (open to Filipino English teachers)
Concerning the requirements, you must be fluent in English; possess a teaching certificate either TESOL, TEFL, CELTA, teaching experience, must be a native speaker.
No degree is required. To belong to the second category of teachers which is official course instructors, only tutors from the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or Australia are eligible to apply.
The pay rate ranges from $10 to $30 per hour. As an aspiring tutor at PalFish, you must possess a Payoneer account as payment is being only through this means.
Link to apply: Download the PalFish app or apply to Palfish here.
#7 ENGOO
Engoo formerly known as BIBO GLOBAL is one of the biggest and fastest-growing online English teaching schools in the Philippines and Japan and cannot be left out when discussing the best websites for teaching English online.
In Japan, Engoo is considered to be the leader in terms of providing tutoring services to a thousand subscribers via DMM Eikaiwa.
DMM Eikaiwa is a web-based platform where users reserve their lessons to take 25 minutes of Skype English conversation.
Engoo deals with all ages and a lesson lasts for 25 minutes with a pay rate of $2.8-10 per hour. Zero teaching experience, no degree certificate, and no teaching certificate are required but if you possess any, it’s a bonus. Lessons are conducted one-on-one.
To become a tutor at Engoo you must be at least 18 years of age before applying. Engoo hires both native and non-native speakers.
English learners at Engoo do not only come from Japan but include students from Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil, Russia, and Spain amongst others.
Concerning hiring native speakers, they mostly hire tutors from North America, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Payment at Engoo is being done via PayPal/Payoneer and be rest assured of being paid on the 20th of every month.
Engoo isn’t just an English learning service. It equally offers lessons for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Mandarin) language learning.
Link to apply: https://engoo.com/
Check out: Top 14 Surprising Careers With A Degree In English
#8 MAGIC EARS
Another best website for teaching English online is Magic Ears.
Magic Ears is an innovative online English learning platform that teaches elementary-aged (4-12 years) students in China. Lessons at Magic Ears last for 25 minutes. Magic Ears conducts group classes of up to 4 students.
You do not need to plan lessons at Magic Ears.
Everything is taken care of all you need to do is to conduct fun and interactive classes.
Earn up to $26 /hour Magic Ears. You must have a Bachelor’s degree or be in active pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree as well as a teaching certificate. You must be a native speaker.
Teaching on Magic Ears means committing to a six-month contract with the possibility of extension after review by the company (think of it as a probationary period).
Magic Ears requires one to be a teacher based in the US or Canada, to be hired.
Link to apply: https://t.mmears.com/v2/
#9 DADAABC
DaDaABC is a Chinese-based online English teaching school aimed at teaching Chinese learners from the age of 4-16 years.
Lessons at DaDaABC take place through video conferencing between the teacher and his/her student using pre-loaded teaching materials prepared and provided by DaDaABC.
To become a tutor at DaDaABC you must have at least 2 years of experience in teaching, a teaching certificate, a native speaker as well as a college degree.
DaDaABC is well known for hiring teachers from the U.S., UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and South Africa.
The pay rate at DaDaABC ranges minimally $15 and maximally $25 per lesson.
It is one of the best online English teaching platforms if you want to teach subjects apart from English. DaDaABC equally offers Spanish classes.
Link to apply: https://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/landing
#10 NATIVE CAMP
Native Camp is one of the best ESL online tutoring schools in Japan. Lessons are provided via a unique language platform developed by our company.
The glaring fact to note about Native Camp like other websites for teaching English like Cambly and Preply does not require any teaching experience or teaching certificate.
Tutors have a one-on-one lesson with students and a lesson lasts for 26 minutes. Native Camp pays 1.54 USD per 26-minute lesson. Payment is being made via Payoneer.
As a tutor at Native Camp, you do not only teach Japanese students. Nope. It connects you to students from different nationalities like Taiwanese, and Vietnamese just to name a few.
Watch Sample application video:
Link to apply: https://nativecamp.net/tutors/
Concluding Remark
There you go. We’ve come to the end of this amazing and self-fulfilling journey.
Wonder no more on which website for teaching English online to apply to or the requirements needed because this blog is just all you need to achieve your goal of working as a freelancer.
Bear in mind that knowledge is power.
Without knowledge/information, ignorance becomes a barrier.
Rather than paying all of your attention to dropping files from one company or office to another, why not engage in any of these teaching platforms to earn a passive income from the comfort of your room?
One source of income is never enough.
While working as a freelancer equally invest in something else that can equally put money into your pocket. Good luck with your application process.
Leave a Reply