Has anyone ever asked you why you want to teach English online?
If you need help answering this question, we’ve got you covered.
Why teach English online?
First things first, there’s an exploding demand for fluent English-speaking teachers around the world, which equals lots of online teaching opportunities!
There’s probably never been a better time than right now to teach English online.
If you fit the bill (most employees ask that you are TEFL certified and hold a bachelor’s degree), you’ll be teaching English lessons from the comfort of your home to students all across the world!
If you’re still trying to figure out if you should teach English online check out these benefits:
- Earn good money.
- Enjoy complete flexibility! Get full control of your schedule.
- Work from home (or from anywhere really!).
- Gain valuable ESL teaching experience.
- Work in your pajamas.
- Getting started is easy.
- Meet people from different cultures.
- Opens doors for you in the future.
- Be your own boss.
- Make a positive impact.
- Work with kids or adults.
- Ditch the 9-5 job.
1. Earn good money.
As an online English teacher, you can make really good money! Expect to earn around $15-26 USD an hour teaching English online!
Some online teaching platforms also offer great perks and incentives for joining.
You have the opportunity of working as many or as few hours as you want. How much money you make depends on you!
What’s another great thing?
There is very little overhead involved in teaching ESL online. It doesn’t cost much to get started.
You’ll need a stable internet connection, a laptop, a built-in or external webcam, a headset and a quiet, well-lit space to teach English lessons in, all of you which you’ll more than likely have at your disposal anyway!
2. Enjoy complete flexibility! Get full control of your schedule.
Teaching English online is great for anyone looking for the freedom to set their own working hours and enjoy flexibility. Part-time, full-time whatever floats your boat.
It’s also a great option for certified teachers working full-time who also want to supplement their income.
You can work the hours you want – there’s no risk of having your online teaching work interfere with your day job.
And if you’re not currently working full-time, you can set and customize your online teaching hours to meet the needs of your personal and family life.
For example, not a morning person and hate setting that alarm clock? You can teach English online later in the day.
Night owls, rejoice – all you have to do is cut down on your Netflix time in the evenings and teach a few lessons online instead!
The early birds among us can slot in a lesson or two before their regular working day. Want to take a long weekend?
You can always teach online for a couple of extra hours from Monday to Thursday to offset the time you need to take off.
3. Work from home (or from anywhere, really!)
We all have different motivating factors for teaching ESL online, but one of the most incredible things is freedom.
You can teach virtually anywhere and anytime. And you’re not necessarily tied to your home, either – anywhere quiet with a decent internet connection will do!
There’s no time lost in commuting and the added stress of beating traffic, either.
Teaching English online is also ideal for adventure seekers looking to travel around while earning money. Hello digital nomads!
You can experience living in as many different countries as you like, without the fear of your savings running out looming over you! And bonus, you can skip the hassle of applying for a working visa!
4. Gain valuable ESL teaching experience
Trying to break into the ESL industry abroad and build up your English teaching experience for your resume?
Teaching English language learners online could be the perfect jumping-off point for you.
Take it from us:
Whether you’re teaching in a physical classroom setting or in a virtual learning environment, you’ll need to hone pretty much the same skills.
It’s all firsthand experience that can really help your job applications stand out to prospective employers when you’re trying to secure a full-time job teaching English abroad in the future.
5. You can work in your pajamas
Well – from the waist down, at least! Enough said on that particular perk of teaching English online – who doesn’t love stretchy pants?!
6. Getting started is easy!
All you need to qualify for most jobs is a bachelor’s degree and a TEFL certificate. No prior teaching experience needed!
If you’re an online teacher, companies make easy-to-use resources available to you. They’ll provide lesson plans and more.
They spend a lot of time helping teachers set up for success. Some of them even offer professional development and training.
This means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel and spend hours of your own time creating learning materials for your students. They’ll do it all for you!
7. Meet people from different cultures.
How cool is it to be able to talk to people from all over the world?
You can build strong relationships with your learners and learn more about different cultures through them.
Online teaching positions are a great way to broaden your horizons.
8. Opens doors for you in the future.
Teaching English opens doors and it looks awesome on your resume!
Future employers will see your experience as invaluable.
Don’t just take our word for it. Many of the staff at Teach Away were once in your shoes teaching online.
Now, some of them are working for the world’s biggest EdTech company in senior roles, thanks to their previous experience!
9. Be your own boss.
You’ll become an independent contractor or freelancer who has the freedom to pick and choose when to work and how much you’ll earn—the ball is in your court.
Plus, you’ll learn valuable entrepreneurial skills that can help you grow personally and professionally.
10. Make a positive impact.
You’re going to change someone’s life for the better.
Because of you, someone from, say, China or Korea can learn to speak English and use those skills to communicate for work, school or travel!
So ya, you’re helping people connect and communicate through a common language. No big deal (please note the sarcasm!)
11. Work with kids or adults.
If you love kids, this is the right gig for you! There are millions of kids around the world, learning online English lessons right now.
You’ll get to see their smiling faces every day and feel valued. Most online teachers will tell you that it doesn’t even feel like work since it’s so much fun.
If working with kids isn’t your cup of tea, no worries, you could also teach adults and make a new international friend while you’re at.
12. Ditch the 9-5 job.
Sometimes working a 9-5 job can be a soul-crushing experience.
Not all of us are built for that kind of rigid structure and there’s no shame in that. But you can do better for yourself.
Teaching online allows you the freedom to work on your own terms. No boss to criticize your work or micromanage you either.
Plus, you’ll have more time for side projects, travel and so much more.
Enjoy all the benefits of teaching English online!
So there you have it, aspiring online ESL teachers – the top 12 reasons why teaching English online is where it’s at!
If you’re convinced and ready to kick-start your online teaching journey, look at our job board for new and exciting online English teaching jobs.
