I. The Basics
- What is an Online English Teacher?
- Why Teach English and Why Online
- Do You Need a Certificate to Teach English Online?
III. Required Skills for Online English Teachers
- Be Familiar with the Features of Skype
- Hone Your Multi-Tasking Skills
- Learn the Basics of Teaching English as a Second Language
V. Marketing Your Services
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I. The Basics
A freelance online English teacher is a professional who teaches English via the Internet. He is therefore a practitioner of a field of education called "distance learning."
While distance learning is not a new concept, online teaching is. That said, many educators and established teachers within the ESL community consider online English teaching as nothing more than a "movement." Meaning, while it's acknowledged to be existing, it's not a recognized method of learning a new language.
Online English teachers, therefore, do not offer formal education. To put it simply, they only offer English tutorials online.
- Why Teach English and Why Online?
It's not a secret that the English language is the world's lingua franca. However, only a few countries are fortunate to have English as their first language. Those that do not believe that in order to be globally competitive, they should speak the language of the world.
That said, there is a rising demand for English teachers especially in South Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China.
In the past, an ESL teacher travels to these countries if he wants to teach them English. But because it's now convenient to setup an online English teaching business, who wants to travel hundreds of miles and live far from home?
Aside from those reasons, other benefits of teaching English online include the following:
- you don't have to have a teaching certificate to teach English online
- you can do this as an easy way to make side money
- you can turn this into a profitable business
- it's satisfying
- you'll get to meet new friends from another culture
- Do You Need a Certificate to Teach English Online?
Although a certificate (such as TESOL) adds to your credibility, you don't really need one. Your students will not really care. They rarely ask for it. The minute they see your Caucasian features on camera, they will enroll in your classes right away.
II. Things You Need to Get Started
- Skype
Register an account with Skype today if you haven't already. It's free to use, and it has better features than any other IM applications / chat service out there (such as Yahoo! or MSN).
- Hardware
Invest in a good web camera and a pair of headsets. Your voice should be audible enough and your message must be clearly received by your students on the other part of the planet.
- Books or Lessons
Later, we'll talk about teaching without using a textbook. But for beginners, this is not advisable. That said, you need to invest in books that your students want to learn. South Korean students' favorite lessons include grammar, idioms, and preparation to English proficiency tests such as TOEFL and TOEIC.
- Paypal Account
Paypal is still the safest way to receive and make payments. You are strongly suggested to sign up for the Premier account so you can do both. You will need either a debit or credit card to verify your account.
III. Required Skills for Online English Teachers
- Be Familiar with the Features of Skype
From simple tasks such as downloading files from the Internet up to uploading images via Skype, you need to be Internet-literate. If you feel you still have a lot of things to learn, at least start with how to use Skype. Chat with friends and try to upload files, receive images from them, and use the features.
- Hone Your Multi-tasking Skills
You'll need to surf the Internet while teaching your student. Or type something while talking to them.
- Learn the Basics of Teaching English as a Second Language
Even if you have a background in education, teaching English as a second language (and online) can be a new concept. So before anything else, take time to educate yourself on English language acquisition.
To do this, I suggest that you get Jeremy Harmer's How to Teach English to build a strong foundation. I love this book because it's concise, yet comprehensive. Also, it's not technical and very easy to read.
Read my review here.
IV. How to Teach English Online
- How to Create Your English Courses
In college, we're used to having course outlines. Examples include Spanish 11, Psychology 101, and History 1.
This concept works the same way in online English teaching. For instance, in a popular e-teaching company, examples of their programs (or courses) include Phone Speaking A and TOEIC Speaking.
Phone Speaking A teaches students conversational English, while TOEIC Speaking prepares students for the TOEIC exam.
To make it easy for you, pattern your English courses from books. For your grammar course, for instance, simply divide the course according to how it's divided in the book.
In short, an English book can be your English course.
- How to Plan Your Lessons
Planning your lessons means preparing your class activities. If you're teaching grammar, for example, think about some techniques that you can use to make the class interesting.
Remember, it should be a combination of explaining the grammar concepts and giving them activities to do.
Your lesson plan doesn't have to be too formal, although of course, this is advisable. As long as you're prepared in class and your activities are organized, then the plan is good enough to execute.
Jeremy Harmer's book "How to Teach English" explains in detail what an effective lesson plan is.
- How to Teach Without Using a Textbook
If you're a beginner, do not attempt to do this. Instead, stick to the lessons in the book.
The point of teaching English without using any textbook is making sure that your lessons are tailored to the specific needs of your student. You'll soon find out that textbooks have many limitations. As you go along, you'll learn to modify the instructions and adopt other methods to make sure your student has full understanding of the lesson.
To teach without a textbook, the best technique is to find real-life situations and create lessons out of them. For instance, if the student's English skills are advanced that books are too easy for him, you might want to create lessons such as the following:
- how to write postcards
- what to say to a stranger when you're lost in the United States
- how to write an essay for your college admission
As you can see, these lessons are practical and extremely useful.
V. Marketing Your Services
- Where to Get Students
This is the most challenging part of being a freelance online English teacher. But once you find a student who likes your services, he's more than willing enough to recommend you to his friends. Then, a snowball effect happens. Soon, you'll have more students that you can handle.
One of the best places to find students or online teaching job is website called oDesk. It is a job marketplace where clients and contractors meet to get a job done. This will be a perfect place if you're just starting to build a reputation in the industry.
At oDesk, you'll get paid via Paypal when the work is done. Check it out and see if you're comfortable with it. You'll have to create an account to get access to the site.
If you're not comfortable with oDesk, you can directly advertise your services at online classified ads. For instance, you can use Craigslist to target foreigners who are taking a vacation in your country.
- Using Youtube as a Marketing Channel
Or, you might want to use Youtube as an effective marketing channel. All you have to do is to create a video presenting your services.
Here's a tip. Always optimize your videos so they show up high in search engine results pages. This will increase your chances of being seen and getting hired.
- Why Should You Blog?
On top of your videos, you might want to create a website or a blog detailing your service rates and packages. Write less about your personal life and more about your knowledge in teaching and English. Students like a teacher who is nice and kind, so post pictures showing how you're good with kids, for instance.
If you'd like to offer free classes, make sure that it's written in a conspicuous area in your blog.
NOTE:
How do I know all these things?
Of course, I learned from the best. I learned from John Buchanan. John did a very good job detailing what you need to know about finding and turning students into regulars in his ebook titled How to Teach English Online and Get Money.
In this book, he will teach you how to turn online English teaching into a profitable business. If you're interested, I suggest that you check it out.
