Teach English Online: Best Companies

When it comes to teaching English online, there are three different ways to find work: you can teach with a program, set up a profile on a freelancing marketplace, or go totally independent and find your own paying students.

As you consider which method will work best for you, take into account your prior experience, your desire for autonomy, and what rate you hope to charge. Are you a first-time teacher and interested in doing this as a side hustle? You may want to consider teaching with an online language company. Or, are you interested in marketing yourself, building a website, and growing a client base? Then private tutoring may be right for you.

Whatever stage of your teaching career you’re in, there is an online option for you. Here are the three different types of online English teaching jobs:

Teach Through a Program or Company

Programs that pair eager English teachers with students around the world are plentiful, so it’s important to make sure you’re choosing the right one. If you sign up with a language company or institute, they’ll most likely manage the creation of lesson plans, assign students and courses, and handle payment processes. This leaves you to focus on one thing—teaching!

While this option won’t be right for everyone, it’s a great choice for people with little to no teaching experience. It will allow you to build up your confidence and your teaching repertoire without having to hit the pavement, as it were, to find students on your own. Keep in mind, though, that if you sign up with a company, they will most likely set your wage rate and could charge service fees as well.

When choosing a program, it’s important to read reviews, do some research, and talk to people who have taught with the company before. There are many companies out there that recruit ESL teachers, so make sure the organization you decide to work with is legitimate and can help you fulfill your goals.

Freelance Tutoring through a Marketplace

This is the in-between option for teachers who want a bit more autonomy but aren’t ready for or interested in being fully independent. As a freelance tutor, you’d set up a profile on an online marketplace that facilitates connections between tutors and students. Make sure your profile stands out! Teaching online is quite popular at the moment, so you’ll want to make sure you’re attracting potential students by putting effort into your profile.

These sites will generally also manage the payment process, but everything else will be up to you. You can create your own lesson plans, set your schedule, and manage your students as you see fit.

Private Tutoring

If you’re entrepreneurially-minded, private tutoring could be the route for you. As a private online English tutor, you would set up your own profile, find your own clients, and make your own lesson plans. This allows you maximum flexibility to set your schedule how you’d like it and teach what you want to teach. Plus, 100% of the profits go directly into your pocket—no need to worry about third-party fees!

But be aware: while this option may sound like the best of both worlds, it is also the most challenging. Unless you are a well-established tutor, it can be hard to convince students to sign up for your service. If this is the path you choose to take, consider offering promotional deals, such as free sessions so that you can build up some good reviews.

When to Apply for Jobs Online

The answer to this is easy…anytime!

Since you will be working remotely, you can work with students all over the world who will need support during various times of the year. Remember that school schedules vary by hemisphere and country, so even if the school year has ended in your home country, you may be able to find work teaching students in a different hemisphere.

Additionally, you’re not limited to teaching during the school year. Many students will want support over long breaks, so summer can actually be an ideal time to start teaching.

How to Apply for Online Teaching Jobs

If you’ve decided that the best route for you is through an online language company or institute, the first thing you’ll want to do is consider who you want to be teaching. Some companies specialize in teaching older students (think high school), some that work with the young kiddos, some that are geographically specific, and others that cater to the full range of students. Check out the various sites and explore all of your options before making a decision.

At some point in the application process, you may be asked to interview and give a sample lesson plan. Get a jump start on this by brainstorming different topics that you could teach in a very short amount of time (probably 5 minutes). And remember to get creative! If you’re hoping to work with younger students, try to incorporate props to make the lesson interactive. This demo lesson may very well be a major factor in your hourly pay, so make it count!

If rather than teaching with a company you’ve decided to freelance or tutor privately, then there’s no application necessary. Set up your profile or tutoring site at your leisure, but make sure it stands out among your competitors!

Average Salary for Online English Teaching Jobs

Unlike in-person teaching jobs, online gigs are rarely salaried. For the most part, you can expect to receive hourly pay, potentially with additional monetary incentives for things like student referrals and additional sessions.

Pay rates vary dramatically based on several factors. Private tutoring will generally pay the best, and depending on your qualifications and experience, you could make as much as $85/hour or more. But generally, most private tutors will charge between $25-45/hour.

If you’re teaching with a company, your pay will most likely be considerably less, anywhere from $14-22/hour. But remember, while the pay may be lower, you generally will have a much easier time finding students, so your take-home income could still end up being higher.

Qualifications Needed to Teach English Online

Generally, most jobs will be looking for the following qualifications in an application to teach English online:

• Native or near-native level of English proficiency. Some organizations may even require that you hold a passport from an English speaking country;
• A university degree, or proof that you are in the process of receiving a degree;
• Reliable access to high-speed internet and functioning audio and visual technology;
• A TEFL certification (in some cases).

Requirements will vary by program, so it’s important you check the details specific to each company. Although many programs require a bachelor's degree, it doesn't mean you're automatically out of luck if you don't have one. While a TEFL certificate (or other English teaching certification) is not required by all programs, it can certainly boost your pay grade and can sometimes stand-in for a university degree. Plus, going through a TEFL course provides knowledge, skills, and tips on teaching English as a foreign language, which can be very different than teaching a native English speaker.

if you find you're not eligible for one online English teaching job or another, countries will often have specific requirements for teachers that may include a degree and certification, so you can always broaden your search to different locations.

Lastly, there are a few companies that work with non-native English teachers, too. In this case, you’ll most likely need to pass an English proficiency test to demonstrate your fluency in the language. Try specifically searching for online English teaching jobs for non-native speakers, and you’re sure to find some options.

Distance learning is a booming business. With hundreds of online English teaching companies all over the world and more cropping up routinely, the industry is growing at an exponential rate.

While this can be good news in terms of finding a job, it also means that to find long-term success as an online English teacher, you really need to stand out. Consider how you can make your lessons fun and interactive, how you can incorporate non-traditional learning materials such as online videos and games, and how you can carve out a niche in the industry.

Remember that English is the most commonly spoken language in the world—there are nearly 1.5 billion speakers globally—so the chances of this demand slowing down are pretty remote. So whether you are fresh out of college and looking for your first job or freshly retired and looking for something to fill your time, online English teaching can be a great way to make connections and virtually travel the world.