How to Earn Money Online As a Language Tutor
Language proficiency is fundamental in today’s world. For many years we did not have the opportunity (and a particular desire, to be honest) to study it, and recently we decided to fix it. To find the right virtual school, we pored over multiple sites. In search of the necessary information, we came across job offers for language teachers online. Now we’re ready to provide you with lists of schools happy to open their doors to suitable candidates for mutually beneficial cooperation.
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We’ll note right away that we didn’t cooperate with them as a teacher who helps with English homework, so we don’t have many ideas about this cuisine. Still, we will share my general impressions about the atmosphere in the schools we tested and talk a little about others we found on the vastness of the virtual web. So let’s get started.
But where to find students who are ready to study via Skype?
When we decided to go online, this question arose in front of me.
Now we can highlight several options.
- Go back to work in online language schools (be prepared for ridiculous pay per hour here)
- Place your resume on bulletin boards
- Place your profile on platforms that bring together tutors and students (There are several such platforms, do not limit yourself to your mother tongue sites as well)
- Grow your social networks.
We started working on one of these platforms. Initially, we set a modest fee for the lesson and a practically free trial lesson. After all, who knows how online education works and how much a language lesson via Skype costs? And then the orders for lessons started pouring in. The site also took its commission from students.
“People are willing to pay for an online lesson,” we thought, increasing the cost of my lesson. The most exciting thing is that the price has risen, and the number of students has increased. And what is essential, we had people not only from Europe but from all over the world – we had students from Belarus, Moldova, Spain, the Baltic countries and even the USA.
For students from Europe and the USA, let alone for students from Moscow, this price tag for a lesson is cheap compared to the average price tag in their cities, but for me, a teacher from the middle lane, it is enjoyable.
It is one of the advantages of working online. You can not be limited to your city but reach out to a more solvent audience.
The next question that often worries teachers who turn to me is:
How to Teach Online?
An online language lesson in 2020 no longer differs from a lesson in an actual class. Now, so many services allow you to conduct interactive lessons, demonstrate handouts, play games, and even broadcast audio and video material. In addition to individual lessons, group lessons can also be undertaken, which significantly increases the cost of a teacher’s hour.
Very often, teachers believe that an online lesson is devoid of interactivity and that there is no contact between the teacher and students. However, this is far from the case in the 21st century. Skype and Zoom enable video conferencing, and online whiteboards add interactivity to the lesson. Interactive whiteboards are boards you can work like in a regular online classroom – broadcast textbooks, additional handouts, play games, and so on.
Now you have all the tools for a quality online lesson, take care of a stable Internet connection and headphones with a microphone, and that’s it – you’re ready to go.
However, having worked as an online teacher, I ran into limitations. The working day is not rubber; you can’t spend more lessons than you can and begin looking for a better place to earn money.
Conclusion
Develop your social networks, and build your brand; even if you don’t want to turn your activity into a business, it will be much easier to find students for tutoring. Yes, this is something new for you, a way out of the usual, but it’s worth it! If you have any questions or suggestions for me, I would be happy to talk to you.
