Different Platforms To Teach English Online in 2024 [Updated]

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The daily grind continues…and we carry on with our routine lives…the entire existence feels mundane. Just running from one point to another and still feeling lost?

Is that you?

Do you feel you have lost your zeal and fire?

Or you have thought about exploring and are still unsure when or where to start?

Well, if you are reading this, definitely you have felt the need to change and taken steps in that direction. Let me do my bit to add some food for thought. 

Do you enjoy the world of English? And feel English is your strength?

Want to teach English Online?

How about the Opportunity to Teach English from Home?

The cherry on Cake! Yes Absolutely.

English is the most commonly studied foreign language or second language. So, have you given thought to teach English online, especially it will be great to teach English from home?

It could be simply to utilize your time or find another source of supplementary income. Share your experience, expertise, and passion via a completely online option or hybrid, there are a host of options available for you, and the world is your oyster.

If you are a professional or amateur, you will want to explore the options to teach English online, especially from the comfort of your home. 

The concept of delivering virtual classes started with the advent of the internet, especially once it truly became the world wide net, available in billions of households across the world.

The online teaching, including tutors to teach English online and e-learning market has been growing every year and is predicted to reach an estimated worth of $325 billion by 2025.

With education seeing a shift to an online platform, virtual classrooms replacing actual ones, it is the right time to use the online platforms for you as well to teach English from home. 

I have observed that online teaching is evolving fast and it has become the go-to choice for generating an alternative source of income for a growing number of people.

You will break the barriers of traditional teaching and have the flexibility of your choice when you teach English online.

When you teach English from home, you can definitely count on advantages like home comfort, the flexibility of working hours to fit around your home schedule, the opportunity to reach more students worldwide, easy communication tools, and even the study materials can be reused. 

Also, the human interaction and social aspect of students’ requirement is fulfilled when you teach English online through a correct platform.

Students look forward to interacting with someone knowledgeable, passionate, and search for a mentor or guide. They are generally studying the language for academic or social requirements.

So, an interactive program would not be their choice, hence the demand to teach English and now teach English online has always been steady.

Why is Learning another Language Important for Students?

This was a question I pondered over quite a bit. Apart from the usual advantage of having the usual advantage in academic, social, business, and emotional context (which by no means are small by the way), there are other points too as well.

And it concerns society as a whole.

Why Society?

Well, there is a school of thought that having knowledge of a second language creates a more respectful and tolerant society. The people develop the ability to think more at a more complex level and the personality changes accordingly.

They gain insight into another culture, beliefs, country, region, etc. Many times it is where they are also living, in a culture diverse from their origin.

Here is where you are planning to play a pivotal role, to master the new language your student needs a teacher.

Many will search for some to teach English online to them. Then, they can fit it within the busy schedule (something everyone seems to have these days).

Yes, there are textbooks available in market and online, thousands of pages of material free material can be accessed on the internet, but can they replace a real person? 

The answer will always be NO.

Only a real person will really understand the student, pinpoint the specific weak links, pay attention when it comes to grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, etc.

Many platforms will provide you an opportunity without formal training or experience. So, you can teach English online and that too teach English from home. 

Read on as I discuss and aim to tell you about teaching platforms based on their reliability, potential earning, pricing, etc.

You can try one or more and find the one that works for you so you can teach English from home. So, at the onset, let me wish that are you successfully teach English online. 

However, before we go into various platform lists, lets quickly look at crucial things that would give an edge in your application.

These would be my strong recommendation that you do before sending off that all important application. So, what are these, here we go: 

1. You must have good proficiency over English and preferably have at least a Bachelor’s Degree:

I know you can teach English online without a degree with many English teaching companies, but most of them especially the good ones would ask for a degree. And then many times the students would ask for a teacher with a certain level of education. 

And proficiency in the language is, of course, a must, when you are aiming to teach the language

2. Why do you want to teach English Online :

This is a big question, so think carefully. What do you aim to achieve now that you have decided to teach English from home?

This could be along the Lines:

• Flexible Schedule to fit with your work/home routine

• Supplement current earning

• Maybe/ a chance to travel in future

• Manage your own calendar

• Good Pay, of course.

Think hard and set your goals.

Now, we are ready to discuss the Platforms.

So, carry on reading.

1. Thinkific: 

Thinkific is a popular online teaching platform that has been designed to meet the needs of a variety of courses, industries, students, and teachers. It is a software platform that allows educators the freedom to create, market, sell, and teach their own online courses.

Thnikific takes away the worry about technology, hosting, software to be used and enables you to concentrate on the content on the course, and then once your course is live, you can plan on how to reach those potential students. 

You can create an account on Thinkific and create, upload your content. Their mission is to forge a new path for students to learn and provide you with the platform and tool to help people with their expertise. 

You remain full control of the design aspects in terms of colour schemes, images, link placements, etc, i.e. the look and feel of your course content. 

Thus, you can build a sustainable business and have a steady earning while you teach English from home. 

Don’t want to invest too much in the beginning? Well, you made the correct choice with Thinkific.

You can sign up for free, to begin with, and unlock a lucrative set of features, then as you build up your courses and student base, you can then upgrade to your membership with various available options.

Even the free model offers a robust set of features for you as well as your students so you can teach English online effectively. 

Thinking about Integration?

Well, you are at the Right Place! Thinkific offers you within the platform with user friendly features, combining marketing tools, integration of your lessons with their website, and excellent customer support.

You don’t even need a WordPress plugin, just by using Zapier you will be able to integrate more than 1500 applications. Then, add your email provider to send out emails to your target students. 

This is what makes Thinkific a go to choice for teachers, you so you sit back and enjoying to teach English from home. 

2. Udemy

Have you heard of Udemy? I am sure you must have crossed paths, not yet? Let me introduce you to the world’s largest market place for teaching and learning, successful connecting millions of students to thousands of teachers delivering more than 150 thousand courses.

You can create a course on anything! To even think of the vast resources is amazing. 

So, you can design your own English teaching course to include video content, video lectures, Power point Presentations, documents, quizzes, text, and soon.

The best part is that this platform is completely free for you to start with or you can choose to become a premium instructor. And you can offer the course free of charge the fee of your choice.

Yes, Udemy will keep a certain percentage of the fee, but still, it is worth the time and effort. 

So, let us create an account and select you to want to teach English online. Be ready to pass on your passion and knowledge. Design and create your own course. Confused, don’t know how to go about it?

Well, Udemy has the solution for you. There are free courses available on how to build, design your course complete with real life examples. Plus, you have instructor dashboard and curriculum pages for help.

So start without delay….teach English from home.

Once your account is and the course is approved, you are good to go. Please keep in mind, if you wish to opt for a paid course, you need to become a premium instructor.

There are no fees for it, however, there is an application form. Once completed, you will receive a response within two days. Promote your course on the Udemy platform, use the marketing features for emails, or join the affiliate program.

Think about developing a marketing and branding strategy. 

There is a substantial commission on sales and a massive benefit to using their platform. Receive payment via Paypal or Pioneer, and you can also change prices anytime you want. You also have access to reliable technology and support networks.

And if you want to learn something new, well just press the search button. Udemy offers free 24/7 support, and they also have a vast library of helpful articles.

Must Check US Ranked No. 1 TEFL Certification Course Online

3. Teachable

Another very popular and user friendly platform, Teachable is where you can create, sell, maintain, and deliver your online English course. And the best bit, you don’t need any technical experience.

There is even a training program for course creators. You can sign up to teachable for free and then upgrade to one of their paid plans. The most popular being a professional plan costing $119 per month (correct at the time of writing). 

Teachable will support you on design, creation, using different media, customise, and brand your course and even launch it for you.

There is no fee for courses offered free. It’s effortless to upload your content, edit the look of your online school, and engage with your students.

Every Teachable plan includes unlimited video and course content. You can upload as many courses as you like including Videos, PDFs, etc. You also get some complete service with teachable for creating, hosting, affiliate payments, handling payment gateway, etc. 

But please keep in mind that Teachable is not a course market place. So, you have to develop a strategy for marketing your course. This means self-promotion is required for your course to be sold, though Teachable offers a limited number of marketing options.

4. Coursera

Coursera is another popular and professional course marketplace offering online certifications and virtual classes. They have courses from some well-known companies and universities as well as the University of Michigan, Duke, and Stanford.

To teach on Coursera though, you have to be part of the institutions providing the course.

Courses range from 2 hour guided projects starting $9.99 to degree courses starting $9000 with a duration of 1-4 years.

Most courses, specializations, or professional certifications are for 4-6 weeks and there is a monthly subscription of $49 to study these. Lastly, there are the MasterTrack certificates are starting at $2000.

Also Read: Top 15 Free TEFL Certification in 2021

5. Skillshare

Skillshare identifies itself as a learning community with a student base of millions and is mainly focussed on creative classes. With a large user base of creators and entrepreneurs, Skillshare is a great option for you to start to teach English online journey.

Skillshare is also a marketplace model mainly focussed on creative Education. They provide a great platform for affordable online study. You will have access to resources like the teacher handbook and support team to design your lessons.

Skillshare may also help premium members with production, design, course planning, and even lend a hand with online course creation at their studio in New York.

There is also a monthly Teacher challenge for new a teacher that is sure to guide you through the process of creating your first course in 30 days.

The Skillshare sessions should include a combination of video lessons and a project at the end of the lesson. You will need to upload pre-recorded classes with an average run time of 30-40 minutes in total length.

Then, your short assignment will allow students to test their newly acquired skills. There is also a community discussion forum for students to connect with each other.

Your earning will be through monthly royalties that are based on the number of minutes students have watched in your classes plus a referral bonus for every student you refer to Skillshare Premium Membership. 

Their classes are all high quality, and they can help make sure that your class will best match the needs of their audience for maximum impact. Your class will have a built in the audience as Skillshare has a large number of student members.

The only small but is that you do not get access to your student’s email addresses and as Skillshare operates on a membership model, you don’t have any control over pricing.

6. Learnworlds

Learnworlds is another new style platform for creating, selling, and promoting your online courses. The mission at Learnworlds is to create original learning products that provide the unique experience of bringing tomorrow’s learning experience today.

You get a 30-day free trial option to start with; there are various monthly plans to upgrade to teach English from home.

The interesting part is that there are tonnes of resources available on the platform to get you started. You have access to the Learnworlds Academy, interactive video tool, e-book and checklist creator, weekly webinars, and hundreds of articles for you to start your teach English online course.

There are the usual features of video content, hosting, creating tests, quizzes, drip-feed but the interface is smooth and easy. It even makes use of gamification to better motivate learners and has features for them to connect together.

You can have your own domain name or effectively start your own school. There are integrations available with virtual marketing and affiliate tools to increase the visibility and sale of your course. 

7. Openlearning

Openlearning is another online learning platform, but with a slight difference. The focus here is on learning through social engagement and connectedness.

The platform encourages learners to be active, to create, discuss, and reflect rather than just memorise and repeat. You can teach English from home by creating own course content and delivering through this easy to use platform.

There are three levels of pricing plans available starting with the entrepreneurial educator and going up to institutional levels. Another plus is that there are no platform transactional fees and multi-currency support (AUD, US, RM) is available.

There is a lot s of content available for you to create and design your course, also there is an experienced support team and further you will be supported by a community of OpenLearning educators.

Further, you will have live chat, customer service, and priority phone support as well.

Wrapping Up

We have just scratched the surface discussing some of the more popular online teaching platforms with the intention to teach English online. There are a host of others available, some just based on language learning, some targeted at children while others are country specific.

Some platforms don’t ask you for any formal qualification, while you will only consider your application if you have a TEFL/ESL/CELTA/TESOL qualification. 

Then there is also the concept of contractual teaching, some companies want to have a contract with you while others let you operate without one. 

You can start working with a dedicated provider to teach English online and start with an online course as a side earner.

While you gain experience teaching, you can grow your audience, become more confident and mature as an instructor to teach English from home, eventually branching on your own course.

Once you start to look at platforms to teach English online, remember to carry out your own research first. Take into consideration time restrictions (if any), costs involved, monthly expenses, and marketing feature available. 

But other key elements will help you further in your aim to teach English from home:

• Prove your passion and efficiency: Demonstrate your passion for the language and teaching. Be efficient in the execution of all related dealings and discussions.

• Encourage reviews: Ask for valid feedback and showcase it on platforms. Learn from mistakes and save reviews for future references.

• Be prepared to start with lower earnings: When you start as a new teacher, it will take a while for you to reach a higher income bracket. Don’t let that discourage you, continue with a positive attitude.

• Personalized Teaching: Do you want to give 1-on-1 lessons? Then remember no two students are the same. So, make your sessions personalized to the student you are teaching.

Finally, I hope you have found useful information during our discussion. And are full of energy to start your classes to teach English from home. It may not be an easy road, there will be competition and hard work, but I am sure if your dedication and perseverance will make it all worth in the end. 

So let’s start and Register to teach English online.

Also Check this Video

FAQs

Q-1. Can I teach English without a Teaching Degree?

Yes, of course, you can. There good news is that several companies would be willing to engage you without a Bachelor’s or a teaching degree.

However, it is always advised to TEFL/TESOL for better prospects. There is always a lot of native speakers available to teach English online and having a TEFL will make you stand out.

Q-2. How much will I earn by Teaching English Online?

Teaching English online is a flexible role, and it is always advised that online teaching should just be a side role, not your main source of earning.

With little or no experience you will start will lower rates, around $10-$20 an hour, while veteran teachers can definitely command more. But it is also dependent on the platform you are teaching on, is it your course or you work through a company.

So, overall it is very difficult to predict a set figure on income.

Q-3. How can get a Teaching job Without Experience or a Degree?

There are different approaches to this, one way is to start with volunteering to teach English and gain some experience. Another way would be to gain a TOFEL/TESL/ TEFL certification online.

Most reputed TEFL providers also offer placement options and the course should include a practical element. You can also sign up online with companies who are happy to accept a beginner.

Q- 4. Which is Better: delivering own Course or Working with a Company?

It is a very difficult choice whether to design and teach your course or continue as a teacher with a company. If you have little or no experience, it would be a good idea to work with a service provider to gain experience.

Then you can branch out to teaching your course after gaining insights into teaching English online.

Check Out The Global Ranking For Best TEFL Certification

Q-5. Which Online Company Pays the Most?

Well, this is a very difficult one to answer. It will be dependent will who you speak to, what skill level they have and how are they compared to yours, the experience will also play an important role in it.

Experienced and qualified tutors may command their prices sometimes while the same company might pay beginners a low rate.

While on the other hand, a company paying new teachers a decent rate, maybe paying experienced tutors less and may even be recruiting less number of experienced tutors.

Do your research, and consider other pros and cons as well before you make a decision.

Conclusion/ Summary :

English is the most commonly studied foreign language or second language. So, have you given thought to teach English online, especially it will be great to teach English from home?

It could be simply to utilize your time or find another source of supplementary income. Share your experience, expertise, and passion via a completely online option or hybrid, there are a host of options available for you, and the world is your oyster.

If you are a professional or amateur, you will want to explore the options to teach English online, especially from the comfort of your home. 

Read the article as I discuss and aim to tell you about teaching platforms based on their reliability, potential earning, pricing, etc. You can try one or more and find the one that works for you so you can teach English from home. 

My strong recommendation that you consider these before sending off that all-important application.

1. You must have good proficiency over English and preferably have at least a Bachelor’s Degree

2. Think about Why do you want to teach English online?

Platforms we looked at:

• Thinkific
• Udemy
• Teachable
• Coursera
• Learnworlds
• OpenLearning

We have just scratched the surface discussing some of the more popular online teaching platforms to teach English online.

There are a host of others available, some just based on language learning, some targeted at children while others are country specific.

Some platforms don’t ask you for any formal qualification, while you will only consider your application if you have a TEFL/ESL/CELTA/TESOL qualification.

Finally, I hope you have found useful information during our discussion. And are full of energy to start your classes to teach English from home.

It may not be an easy road, there will be competition and hard work, but I am sure if your dedication and perseverance will make it all worth in the end. 

Recommended Read:
– What is TEFL Certification
– Top 10 TEFL Certification Program in 2021
– Top 5 Programs to Get Your TEFL Certification in South Africa
– Top 50 Best TEFL Certification Courses
– TEFL Vs. TESOL

 

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