Teaching English online from home offers a flexible working experience that gives you greater freedom to choose your hours and set your own schedule.
Working from home is more popular than ever, with people from all walks of life opting for this more flexible lifestyle. Teaching English as a foreign language (or TEFL) is a great way to capitalise on this way of life, but it’s important to know what to expect whenpreparing to teach English online.
From getting qualified with a reputable organisation like The TEFL Org to setting up a home office and planning your timetable, we’ll look more closely at what it’s really like to teach English online from home.
What Does Teaching English Remotely Involve?
Teaching English remotely involves delivering classes to students from all over the world over the internet, offering a high-quality learning experience through virtual global connections.
As a remote TEFL professional, you’ll be supporting learners who are keen to develop and hone their English language skills in their learning journey. The students you’ll be working with could be based anywhere worldwide, from Asia to South America and everywhere in between, and could be any age and from any type of background.
It’ll be your responsibility to plan effective lessons and deliver them in an engaging way so that your students can improve their English and meet their learning goals in a way that is both enjoyable and successful.
What Benefits Come With Teaching English From Home?
Many benefits come with teaching English from home, including the freedom and flexibility to choose your hours and set your own schedule and thus enjoy a better work-life balance.
A few of the rewards that come with this career path include:
- The opportunity to connect with learners from different countries and cultures.
- Reaping the rewards of knowing you’re helping others achieve their life goals and improve their lifestyles.
- Greater flexibility in your working hours, allowing you to fit your work commitments around your responsibilities and obligations, such as caring for children or elderly relatives.
- The chance to work from any location of your choice, enabling you to travel while earning a living
Are There Any Downsides To Teaching English Remotely?
There are some potential downsides to keep in mind, including the potential to feel lonely, concerns about technology issues and possible scheduling issues.
While primarily teaching English as a foreign language online brings a host of rewards, there are some possible problems that you’ll want to bear in mind before embarking on this career path. These include:
- A lack of in-person connections. Some people prefer the hustle and bustle of a physical workplace and feel lonely when working from home.
- Potentially tricky hours depending on the needs of your students. For example, if many of your learners are based in the Far East, you may need to fit in your classes very early in the mornings.
- Worries about technology problems. Inevitably, sometimes you’ll encounter audio issues or poor internet connections, and therefore, you’ll need to be ready to troubleshoot rapidly.
- Depending on your working situation, you may be freelancing, which means you won’t get paid if you’re sick or take a holiday.
Fortunately, for most people, these potential downsides are outweighed by the rewards and benefits they enjoy from this way of life.
How Do I Prepare For Online English Teaching?
Preparing to become an online English teacher involves getting TEFL certified, optimising your technology setup and preparing a suitable working environment in your home.
TEFL Qualification
The most important step when you’re preparing to teach English online is to obtain your TEFL certificate. This is a qualification that is recognised all over the world, which demonstrates you have the right knowledge and skills to effectively deliver English lessons to speakers of other languages.
When choosing a TEFL course provider, it’s crucial to choose one that is reliable and trusted, such as The TEFL Org. While there are many providers online, some are not accredited by a reputable body or do not offer sufficient hours. You’ll need to take a minimum of a 120-hour course, and it makes sense to opt for a provider that gives you personal tutor support to maximise your potential for success.
Armed with a TEFL certificate, you’ll be far more attractive to employers, and you’ll really stand out from the crowd if you’re planning to set yourself up as an independent tutor.
Setting Up Technology
Technology is the backbone of your work as an online English teacher, so you’ll need to prepare with reliable equipment that can withstand the rigours of frequent use.
Internet speed will be a key element of your work, so make sure your connection is stable with a minimum of 20Mbps download speed.
You’ll also require a laptop or PC that is equipped with a webcam as well as a headset, preferably one with a noise-cancelling feature, to ensure that you can hear your students and they can hear you clearly.
Having a second device or mobile hotspot ready will also protect you if you experience a drop in your Wi-Fi connection or a power cut.
Preparing Your Classroom
If you’re working from home, you’ll need a suitable working environment to use as your classroom. Finding the right location is crucial to your success, and you’ll need to choose an appropriate background.
Your home classroom should be professional and free of distractions. Opting for a space that is private and quiet is ideal, away from potential noise from roads, animals and children. Selecting a room in a secluded part of your home would be best, preferably one with a door that can be closed.
Consider lighting, too. Your classroom should be well-lit, preferably with natural light, but without shadows over your face to prevent your students from seeing you clearly. You may need to invest in a light ring to achieve the best effect.
While a plain backdrop, preferably in a light colour such as cream or white, is best when delivering English lessons online, you may want to add a whiteboard or relevant posters to your background. Having an appealing working environment is crucial for your mental well-being, too, so check out some home office décor ideas.
How Do I Get Started With Online English Teaching?
Once you’re TEFL qualified, you’ll need to decide whether to work as a freelancer or with one of the online language schools, as well as set up an attractive profile.
When you’ve obtained your TEFL certificate from The TEFL Org, you can choose to set yourself up as an independent tutor or secure a position with an online English teaching platform. Both have benefits and drawbacks.
Freelancing maximises your flexibility but also brings potentially more hard work as you’ll need to market yourself and do all your own planning and preparation. Meanwhile, working for an online language school makes life easier since often your lesson plans and resources are already created for you, but you may need to compromise a little with your working hours.
Nevertheless, whichever option you choose, you can be sure that you’ll be embarking on an exciting and rewarding career path where you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re positively impacting the lives of others all over the world.
