Online teaching - has anyone done this (successfully)?

[simon43]

Although I'd love to get back to teaching in a classroom, I am constrained by my hotel business, which really needs me to be on-site for some part of the day, (subject of another thread about trying to sell this business).

So I started to think about online teaching, and how that could fit into my lifestyle and business commitments. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that online teaching could be a good opportunity to 'free' myself from the constraints of my business, or from the requirement to commute to a school and teach in a physical classroom.

Does anyone teach online (regularly) in this forum. What are your experiences?

I do have several years experience (and formal credentials) in teaching IELTS ==> preparing for the IELTS exam. I guess that if an online teacher built up a good reputation in teaching a specific language skill or subject area, then that could lead to a reasonable (global) demand for their online lessons, and hence a decent monthly income.

Or am I just kidding myself??

[Speedo1968]

I have taught English Conversation ( not my main occupation ) one - on - one and small groups only for many years and in many countries.

I tried once, on line teaching Interview Skills for someones up-coming interview - never again. Unreliable feed back and unreliable with times booked. Although I knew the person vaguely they didn't expect to pay, despite the hours of work I had to do to prepare for the type of work and, special interview skills the student needed.

I found some students unreliable enough even on "regular" booked teaching classes.

Here is not like teaching for Open Uni in the UK.

If you go ahead with it - good luck.

[puukao]

kidding yourself. I think you know that.

But an online model is a good idea if you have time. Explore a subscription model, sell something. then keep branding, working... not easy, but better than online teaching.

[brimacthai]

I've been teaching on-line for a couple of years now for students in China. The pay isn't great but it does provide some pocket money for me. We use Skype mainly with video or a Chinese program called QQ.

If you want more info just PM me and I'll provide you their details.

[peterb0576]

Yes been doing it for about 8 months, with a Chinese company, get paid weekly in to paypal, earnt about $10k todate, good fun as well.

All done through an app on my phone, for more details pm me ok

Edited May 5, 2016 by peterb0576

[Hairyharry]

I've been teaching online for 2 years and love it.

The company I work for provides all the students (Chinese)

They use proper conferencing software and supply all the material.

It means I can use videos, books, worksheets, anything electronic.

I earn between 20K and 30K a month over 4 evenings and on Saturday.

I sit in an air conditioned room and can have a coffee anytime I want.

Paid fortnightly in USD via Paypal

You need to ensure your Thai bank account is set up to receive transfers from Paypal - there are lots of tips on the web about how to do that.

You MUST have a good wired connection. The audio on wi-fi isn't good enough. Believe me!

Obviously a camera and I strongly suggest a good set of headhones with a boom microphone

I teach 1 to 1 - I don't like teaching groups but it can be done and pays more.

The most important thing is to check their cancellation policy.

With my company, I get 50% if a lesson is cancelled within 12 hours of the class and 100% if cancelled within 2 hours.

That makes a huge difference - internet classes are very easy for students to cancel.

I would avoid companies that use Skype, QQ and the like.

Check the company out by searching for comments from other teachers

There are a lot of bucket shops out there.

IELTS? Hmmmm. Don't know about the demand.

The majority of students at my company tend to be 5 to 16. In two years I've only had 2 adults.

If you want the school details please send me a PM

They are looking for more teachers at the moment.

[BenCrew]

I do know of people who are doing this successfully. Find a good, reliable company, work hard, and the rewards are there....apparently.

[LPCustom69]

Didn't they bust a few people doing this in Chiang Mai a few years ago?

[BenCrew]

Didn't they bust a few people doing this in Chiang Mai a few years ago?

Yes, but they were doing it for a Thai company, with no work permit or Non B visa.

[jovavnni]

Online training is very popular if you offer it the right way. You need to record your classes and sell private online video courses with quizzes.Have a look at the coursera website enroll in a course to see how they do it, they are very successful. You can build classes free on the moodle website.

[Hairyharry]

Wow! Inundated with requests for more info!! Too many to respond to individually.

I will ask the school to post an ad on eslcafe.com and post here when I spot it. There are frequent ads on eslcafe but make sure you do your research/due diligence. I stress that, in my opinion, there are a lot of cowboys in the marketplace.

Each school has different requirements. Most say a degree. Many demand North American or Canadian accents. (We're teaching English for ***** sake)!

TEFL has little relevance, teaching experience is much more valuable.

There are also lists of online schools on the web that have a summary about the school which is useful.

China is a boom area The time is 1 hour ahead of Thailand and demand is evenings and weekends.

If you speak Spanish and are an NES then South America is also a booming market with some very reputable online schools.

I am currently learning Spanish to get work in that area. Intermediate level is sufficient.

It's not for everyone but if you are used to sitting in front of a computer for 3 hours at a time then it is a doddle compared to working in a Thai government school.

[wanderingstray]

I've been doing this for 8 years now. Started off working for a Russian company who sent me students. I stated Upper Intermediate and above which was adhered to.

Made $15 US/hour. Had more students than I really wanted as I wouldn't work on weekends and then no more than 4.5 hours a day. Each lesson was 30 minutes only.

After 4 years went private and charged $22 US/hour. This worked fine until the Ruble tanked (from 32 to 60+ per $). By choice I now have only one student.

I received my ESL Cert in 2005 and worked in a school in Mexico for 3 years before working with the my students who mostly come from Russia but also Ukraine, Italy and Israel. I cannot speak other languages except a smattering of Spanish, hence my students needing to be at least Upper Int.

I also did some proof reading charging $5US/page

There is a webpage in Russia (in English) where I saw on-line teachers asking up to $45US/hour but unfortunately I don't have that info any more.

What I did with my students was based on what they wanted to learn. I scanned articles that were of interest to them (e.g. lawyering stuff for lawyers, engineering stuff for engineers, music trends for teens etc).I also used current news articles but tried to keep away from the political stuff.

I didn't hand out certificates as it was only me, myself and I but it sure helped to supplement my income.

[muzmurray]

Didn't they bust a few people doing this in Chiang Mai a few years ago?

Yes, but they were doing it for a Thai company, with no work permit or Non B visa.

True, but the simple fact is that even just doing it at home for yourself is still illegal, you are in Thailand and you are working without the relevant work permit.

[BenCrew]

Didn't they bust a few people doing this in Chiang Mai a few years ago?

Yes, but they were doing it for a Thai company, with no work permit or Non B visa.

True, but the simple fact is that even just doing it at home for yourself is still illegal, you are in Thailand and you are working without the relevant work permit.

Maybe, but there was a story posted on here about a guy who went to Immigration for a retirement visa. When asked where his funds were coming from, he replied that he was teaching online for an American company, and getting paid into his UK account. The visa stamp was given, and off he went....This discussion has been brought up everytime someone asks about online teaching.

[brewsterbudgen]

There is a British (I think) website that pays teachers for online IELTS essay reviews. They pay about $10 a script. There is a big demand for IELTS, mainly in Bangkok, so if you have contacts and a proven IELTS track record, it's possible to do your own private online tutoring.

[muzmurray]

Didn't they bust a few people doing this in Chiang Mai a few years ago?

Yes, but they were doing it for a Thai company, with no work permit or Non B visa.

True, but the simple fact is that even just doing it at home for yourself is still illegal, you are in Thailand and you are working without the relevant work permit.

Maybe, but there was a story posted on here about a guy who went to Immigration for a retirement visa. When asked where his funds were coming from, he replied that he was teaching online for an American company, and getting paid into his UK account. The visa stamp was given, and off he went....This discussion has been brought up everytime someone asks about online teaching.

If he was asked about funds, he was most certainly not applying for a visa at Immigration - he was applying for an extension of stay, a totally different beast.

[puchooay]

Many articles around on the internet and the like showing that Thai immigration have welcomed the influx of digital nomads.

[tonray]

Why not convert some section of the hotel to a language learning center ? Onsite you can teach...or maybe supervise other teachers.

[slipperylobster]

Who would be your employer?

You need a work permit from them.

If you intend to start your own online business, you also need the proper documents, and a work permit as well.

Many were arrested, for doing the same, in Chiang Mai. They were teaching english to chinese, through a chinese website.....but doing it in Thailand. Tough penalites. I suppose one could be successful....providing you were a legal operation...more so with Chinese, Japanese, South Koreans. Plenty of cheap teachers from the Philippines....a dime a dozen, and a meagre income.

Not related to your post, but of value to some people who are interested in just being in Asia ..and teaching on the side:

...In Japan, I made 1000 yen for an hour and a half, during lunchtime, helping a mom with her teenage kids. They basically just read their assignments to me. I would help them with the pronunciation. The mom would buy us lunch at the Base club and would play slot machines while I taught her kids, and ate lunch. If she won, she would also share her winnings.

lol. That was a great job, but I was on a military base. Had to sign them in...but I had friends who would do the same, off base, in their homes. It was very congenial and informal.

Japanese kids were so polite and it was a snap. I would not want to teach kids here...lol.

Edited May 8, 2016 by slipperylobster

[Scott]

An inflammatory post and reply have been removed. Please stay on topic.

The OP did not ask about visa and work permit, so I think we can dispense with a lot of back and forth on the issue. The people caught in CM for an online school were all working in an office. I believe it was for a Thai company.

A close friend, who has a work permit for doing online web work, had a conversation about this situation with Immigration some years ago and he was told that immigration is not concerned about people working on their own and that it would be very, very difficult to find out who they were. This does not mean it is legal, but it does give an idea of immigration's take on this type of work.

[simon43]

Why not convert some section of the hotel to a language learning center

I looked at opening a language school in this are a few years ago. Too much red tape, have to involve Thais in senior roles, (don't know any that I trust...). Gave up on that idea.

[BugJackBaron]

I've been doing this for 8 years now. Started off working for a Russian company who sent me students. I stated Upper Intermediate and above which was adhered to.

Made $15 US/hour. Had more students than I really wanted as I wouldn't work on weekends and then no more than 4.5 hours a day. Each lesson was 30 minutes only.

After 4 years went private and charged $22 US/hour. This worked fine until the Ruble tanked (from 32 to 60+ per $). By choice I now have only one student.

I received my ESL Cert in 2005 and worked in a school in Mexico for 3 years before working with the my students who mostly come from Russia but also Ukraine, Italy and Israel. I cannot speak other languages except a smattering of Spanish, hence my students needing to be at least Upper Int.

I also did some proof reading charging $5US/page

There is a webpage in Russia (in English) where I saw on-line teachers asking up to $45US/hour but unfortunately I don't have that info any more.

What I did with my students was based on what they wanted to learn. I scanned articles that were of interest to them (e.g. lawyering stuff for lawyers, engineering stuff for engineers, music trends for teens etc).I also used current news articles but tried to keep away from the political stuff.

I didn't hand out certificates as it was only me, myself and I but it sure helped to supplement my income.

I know of this webpage but I don't know any teacher here making anything more than about 10 bucks an hour. When the bottom fell out of the Russian rouble a couple of years ago, a lot of online business also took a dive.

Same thing happened with the Chinese. Yes, you can supplement your income but as for a full time job (I have one friend who has tried this since 2008 on a retirement visa), you are unlikely to make any more than an average school job in Thailand.

You may also want to consider that for a Moscowvite who wants to study at a convenient hour, say 8pm in Russia, what this means for you.

Yes, teaching at midnight here. I have another friend who didn't care about a social life but would that work for you?

[casualbiker]

You can easily earn upwards of 70k baht teaching online full-time. I earn 35-45k part time evenings and Saturday (normally 3 hours a night and 6-7 hours on Sat). It CAN be up and down and difficult in the first few months but with IELTS experience it should be easy enough.. others have stressed the need for rock solid internet.. and yes 100% that's necessary so if you're on TRUE ya bolloxed!

Edited May 30, 2016 by casualbiker

[attrayant]

Although I'd love to get back to teaching in a classroom, I am constrained by my hotel business, which really needs me to be on-site for some part of the day, [...] So I started to think about online teaching, and how that could fit into my lifestyle and business commitments. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that online teaching could be a good opportunity to 'free' myself from the constraints of my business, or from the requirement to commute to a school and teach in a physical classroom.

Online teaching is certainly an option, but if you're looking for something that will let you teach and manage your hotel business at the same time, just moving your office from school to home won't do that. If you teach online, you're still obligated to be attentive and available for your students. You can't, for example, excuse yourself from a lesson for five minutes to go sign for a FedEx delivery or listen to a complaint from a hotel guest. That five minutes is 20% of the student's class time. You also can't have people and other distractions buzzing about in the room while you're working. You need to make sure you have a proper setup and won't be disturbed.

The obvious benefits are what you'd expect from telecommuting - no fighting traffic, no department head looking over your shoulder, no silly rules like gate duty, and you can set your own schedule. The downsides are that they are just as (if not more so) concerned about your appearance and accent than Thai schools are. If you speak with any kind of an accent at all, you'll probably be offered a lower hourly rate.

Also, most of the parents of Chinese students are quite good at basic English communication which is both good and bad. The good part of that is you can actually communicate with them about any problems, and they're almost always quite fair and understanding. The bad part (for some teachers) is they'll expect you to actually know the mechanics of English construction and be able to explain to a student, for example, why that sentence you just read uses the subjunctive mood instead of the standard verb inflection the student was expecting. I once had a parent insist (wrongly) that a comma wasn't needed when joining two independent clauses. This kind of thing is rare, but it does happen. Quite often the parents will sit next to the child (but off camera) as behavior police, especially if the child is young.

Will you make more money? It's certainly possible depending on how many classes you schedule and how popular you are. If you keep the student's attention and the parent feels the student is learning something from you, they'll be lining up to reserve your time slots. For me, I need to have about 167 online teaching hours per month to match what I make at a Thai school, where I work 180 hours per week. That seems like an obvious plus for online teaching but remember all 167 of those online hours are student contact time, whereas if you work in a school, only about 90-95 monthly hours are in front of Thai students; the rest is sitting at your desk pushing paper around. Having done both, I can say with certainty that 160 hours per month of one-on-one teaching with a polite Chinese student and her parent beats the heck out of 90 monthly hours standing in front of a classroom of 40-50 screaming teenagers.

Anyway that's my take on it, having experimented with it for the past few months.

[simon43]

As an update to my OP, I should firstly comment that my hotel business would not interrupt my online lessons at all. My presence at the hotel is more to 'reassure' myself that if some emergency occurred, then I would be on hand to deal with it.

But I have replied to perhaps a dozen advertisements seeking online teachers, mostly to teach Chinese students. To date, not a single online provider has responded to my application (I guess that they are either swamped with applicants, or maybe I am a very bad teacher...).

[richard10365]

With the OPs experience in the hotel business, teaching the ASEAN MRA-TP curriculum to students in Southeast Asia online could be a very lucrative business. Trainer Guides, Trainee Manuals, PowerPoint slides, competency standards and Assessors Manuals are all online and free to download.

Website: waseantourism.com

Login: guest

Password: guest1

[bovril85]

If you need to support yourself while travelling but dont want to work alot then this is the job to apply for.

I have been travelling round Asia for 9 months now and its all been possible because I did my TEFL.

Dada offer you a contract and you can work from any location with good internet.  It saves being tied down to one place while you work at a school.

The minimum you can work is 2 days a week for 2 hours but then there is the option of overtime if you need extra funds.

First of all buy it from groupon, do it at home, save lots of money.  Just make sure the company are certified.

Then although there are many companies that offer work they all seemed to be awkward to work for and your not guarenteed the work.

However now I work for DADA ABC and they are fantastic.  You have a contract so you know you will get paid, there is the option of overtime, the lesson plans are already done and you get to teach Chinese children English and make the lessons fun.

This has helped me achieve my goals and we are having a nice lifestyle while travelling.  

If you interested I have posted a link .....

https://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/job/p8K9T2N16e

The company will then contact you for a very brief interview and a trial lesson.  It is nothing to worry about.

Hope this helps some of you!!

[BenCrew]

Thanks bovrl. ... but guess who I work for? ?....good aren't they? ?Thanks all the same. Good luck with the referrals! ?

[mommysboy]

On 05/05/2016 at 4:13 PM, LPCustom69 said:

Didn't they bust a few people doing this in Chiang Mai a few years ago?

This was a ............................

 

I edited as mod already answered definitively

Edited April 4, 2018 by mommysboy
delete

[Andrew108]

On 6/7/2016 at 2:35 AM, simon43 said:

But I have replied to perhaps a dozen advertisements seeking online teachers, mostly to teach Chinese students. To date, not a single online provider has responded to my application (I guess that they are either swamped with applicants, or maybe I am a very bad teacher...).

You posted this in 2016. Can you give an update? Did you eventually find enough online work? Why do you think you weren’t getting many replies to your applications?

Thanks.