What Are The Requirements For Teaching English Online

Not all the time, but for the most part, yes.

There are a few online companies which will give you a teaching job without a TEFL certificate but, if we’re honest, why would you want to teach without knowing how to teach? 

A TEFL certificate is for your (and your students’) benefit, not for your employer’s.

A TEFL course gives you a better understanding of English grammar, theories of learning, and teaching techniques. It shows you how best to plan a lesson and gives you ideas for effective exercises and activities. If you’re serious about teaching English online, there really is no reason you wouldn’t do a TEFL course.

You can’t do just any TEFL course, though. Which TEFL course should you choose?

A good TEFL course:

• is accredited, reputable and internationally recognised,
• is at least 120 hours,
• has thorough and in-depth course content, 
• and has good – no, amazing! – recommendations and testimonials from students.

Many companies prefer their online English teachers to have a degree but there are also a lot that don’t require it. 

In other words, it’s technically not a requirement, but it can be – if you know what we mean. 

If you’re tempted to try the independent online English teacher route, of course qualifications don’t matter at all but they will boost your reputation.

As an English teacher, it should come as no surprise that your English ability is important. You don’t have to be a native speaker but if you’re not, you need to be able to prove that your English level is at least CEFR level C1.

If you want to work for a company, some stipulate that you need to be a native speaker or that you need to come from a certain country – often the US or Canada – but there are many who don’t have such restrictions.

There are a few must-haves you need to start teaching English online. If you’re tech-savvy in any way you probably already have the equipment, but let’s make sure you got the right stuff.

Laptop and webcam

Most jobs teaching English online require a computer. There are a few which allow you to teach with an app on your smartphone but generally speaking you need a decent computer. It needs to have a webcam so if your computer doesn’t have a camera you’ll need to get an external webcam.

Headset and microphone

You can get by without a microphone or headphones and rely on those built into your laptop but a headset gives you the best results. Communication is a lot harder online and as a teacher of English it’s especially important to make sure both you and your students are able to be easily heard and understood. Headsets also help to block out any external noise.

You’re teaching online so you need an internet connection. Duh. 

However, it needs to be fast and stable. You cannot teach English lessons if your connection is going to cut out intermittently or if your connection is slow. Most teaching companies require that their teachers have wired and not wireless connections to prevent any connectivity issues.

Think about it: would your students want to have lessons with you if your internet connection keeps dropping? Probably not, which means companies won’t hire you without evidence of a good connection. Most online companies will require you to have a minimum upload and download speed of 10Mbps. During your interview you’ll be asked to test your internet speed, so make sure you check it first by going onto a website such as Speedtest.

Then, if you’re in an area where the internet connection or power supply is a bit unreliable (hello, South Africans!), you should consider investing in a UPS. A UPS is an Uninterruptible Power Supply. If there is a power outage, a UPS will power your computer and wifi for a few hours – hopefully until the power comes back on. There are different sizes available but you only need a small one for home use and thankfully, they are not overly expensive – and totally worth it since your livelihood relies on it.

With a TEFL certificate under your belt, now is the time to hit the virtual streets and find a job teaching English online. 

First, make sure all your paperwork is in order before you can start applying to jobs. 

Getting a job teaching English online is no different to any other job, so your paperwork is the same. Update your CV, making sure you highlight any experience or skills you have that could be useful when teaching. Certify your degrees and make sure you have digital copies of your certificates and ID. 

Read more: How To Apply For TEFL Jobs Abroad

In terms of digital paperwork, you should also sort out a Paypal, Payoneer or similar payment portal so that your school or students can pay you quickly and easily. This can sometimes take a few days to be approved so do it sooner rather than later.

At this point you need to think about what kind of teaching you want to do. Do you want to teach Young Learners or would you rather teach adults? Would you like to teach General English or Academic English or Business English? How many hours a week would you like to teach? 

Once you’ve thought about these questions, do some research online and find some companies which suit your needs. Your teaching preferences will dictate which companies you will apply at. 

For example, if you’re a North American citizen and you’d like to teach Young Learners, you can apply at VIPKid or Palfish. If you’d rather teach adults and you’re in the UK, look at English First or Skimatalk. 

Make sure you know exactly what the companies require of their teachers to make sure you qualify before applying. Just as with any other job hunt, now you need to apply for as many different teaching jobs as you can. 

It might take a while to find the right fit for you, but any demo you need to do can be from the comfort of your own home, which makes the application and interview process really easy! What’s even better is that with online teaching you can work for more than one company, so you don’t need to worry about having to choose employers if you can’t decide between two.

If you choose to be an independent online English teacher, you’ll need to market yourself online to find students. A website, blog or Youtube channel is a good idea to promote yourself. 

You might be wondering how you actually teach your students online. And the beauty of the internet is that you actually don’t need to worry about that. Most commonly, your online school will have its own teaching platform which you have access to. This should have a classroom as well as an interactive whiteboard, a shared screen, and messaging capabilities. You will also use this platform to check your class schedule and bookings, give feedback on your lesson, and request payment. 

Each company will work differently but you’ll be provided with adequate training before you start teaching.

If your school doesn’t offer this, there are other options available to you. Skype used to be very popular, but Zoom is becoming more so these days, probably because it offers a lot more by way of interactivity. Either works fine, you’ll just need to check them both out and see which one suits your needs best.

And that’s it! You’re ready to put a smile on your face, teach and change the world!

Start your teaching journey with a certified TEFL course provider.