Be an English Tutor on Skype

[DancingLady]

I have read about this in a couple of magazines. Apparently you can sign up to be an English tutor via skype, and you get paid for it.  Supposedly you just have a conversation with someone who needs a native speaker practice conversation.  Has anyone done this? 

[Dora M]

I have also read about it online, but I wonder what kind of qualifications are required, and how the payment system works. There is so much more to teaching someone a language than just having a conversation for them. I wonder if there is a demand for certified teachers online. I haven't looked into it yet, but I would be interested to find out.

[Traveler]

I've heard of this, but never tried it myself. I have heard of two types.

First, you can apply at some companies and teach clients they find for you. You get paid hourly typically.

Second, you can be an independent teacher online. But you'll have to be good at finding customers. And then you'll have to find ones who will pay you. But I think most wouldn't rip you off. For this, it can help to use online translators so you can post on foreign language parts of the internet. And it also helps to get some qualifications that you can advertise to students.

[xTinx]

Yes I've tried this EFL option. The company owner is Japanese and he set up ESL learning centers in my country, though he himself is based in Japan. There are many home-based ESL teachers employed by that company and I would have been one had I not backed out. You can search the Internet and there are actually a lot of them out there.

[Baburra]

I've tried this before but I didn't ask for payment because I'm not a professional. Instead I just tried to work out an agreement wherein I would be taught the native language of whomever I was teaching. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to do since there are scheduling conflicts left and right and the motivation is lacking if no money is being exchanged since you aren't pressured to take full advantage. It was very fun to make foreign friends though.

[Traveler]

I've tried this before but I didn't ask for payment because I'm not a professional. Instead I just tried to work out an agreement wherein I would be taught the native language of whomever I was teaching. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to do since there are scheduling conflicts left and right and the motivation is lacking if no money is being exchanged since you aren't pressured to take full advantage. It was very fun to make foreign friends though.

It could be useful just to gain experience. (And no one will argue with free!) But you bring up a good point about scheduling. One would have to be very careful because of time zone differences. Asia is 11-14 hours different from the Western hemisphere, so it's difficult. I've read plenty of people trying to do this kind of job but having to wake up at crazy hours to get on Skype and teach.

[TimTime34]

When I was in a Chinese class in college it was mentioned that, just by being a native English speaker, you can get hired pretty much on the spot to just be present in Chinese classrooms, teaching English. This is even if you have zero prior teaching experience. A classmate of mine said he had done just this, for about, if you can believe this, $20 an hour.

Personally, I've made an agreement with a native Chinese speaker, living in China, to teach one another our native language via IM and Skype. While we kept this up for about a year, China is 14 hours ahead of the US, and keeping a schedule between us was very difficult.

So there must be a more organized way to make such a mutually beneficial connection via the internet. And if it doesn't exist now, then it will probably exist soon.

Will keep my eyes peeled, and on this thread, for links to such an organization. I would be interested in signing up.

[JessiFox]

Hmm...the premise sounds really nice and interesting, but I wonder if it would be a lot more complicated in practice. How exactly would you get paid and at what rate, for instance? Would you do it through a company that basically sets it all up between tutors and clients, or would you be trying to freelance it? If there were a reliable company to facilitate it, with a good track record of ensuring payments and being reasonable to their tutors, it would be a very tempting opportunity, for sure.

[Traveler]

Hmm...the premise sounds really nice and interesting, but I wonder if it would be a lot more complicated in practice. How exactly would you get paid and at what rate, for instance? Would you do it through a company that basically sets it all up between tutors and clients, or would you be trying to freelance it? If there were a reliable company to facilitate it, with a good track record of ensuring payments and being reasonable to their tutors, it would be a very tempting opportunity, for sure.

Yeah, that's the main draw of doing it for a company. They set up things for you. Regardless, time zone differences will always suck. I just went abroad to teach and it was a normal job - and I really enjoyed it. Being a freelancer, you have to do all the legwork. And that will many at least several unpaid hours. And you have to figure out how to find customers. And then hope you don't get ripped off. Not saying it can't be done. It really can. But it might not be for newbies.

[DancingLady]

My guess is that the hours that tutors are wanted are really awkward for most American's. Probably really early in the morning or really late at night if most of the people wanting to do this are Asian, which I'm guessing they are.  I may still give this a try, but as yet I'm undecided.  I have another house cleaning job coming up soon so I'm feeling less desperate.

[Hemikune]

I have personally made a living doing work of this sort for various agencies on the internet for a while, about three years. Mostly all the companies I have worked with all have the same 3 drawbacks, getting you students, getting you students, and getting you more students.

  Technically, I still work for three, maybe four organizations online, but for the lack of students I would be too busy to even write this post. I rarely ever had problems getting paid, getting paid on time or anything of that sort. I just have never figured out how to get more students and keep them coming in when working with agencies. Doesn't mean I will stop looking or trying though.

[OddVisions]

Hmm, this seems like an interesting idea if it's true that you can get paid for being an English tutor via Skype. I already talk to a few people from foreign countries on Skype but I'm not really on the application long enough for it to be any good amount of one on one time to help them learn. I'll let them know about this if it's true!

[zabina12]

I have read about this online tutoring jobs on some freelancing sites. But I have not tried applying on those kind of jobs since I am not good on teaching others. I also do not think that they would accept a non Native English speakers for such positions.

[shellychen]

Online English Teacher

Location: Work from Home , Anywhere

EnglishTutor.co is building a community of online English teachers. Our goal is to make it easy for online English teachers to be discovered by schools and organizations who are looking for qualified online talent.

We are looking for Online English Teachers to join our community! You are welcome to apply if you have 1-on-1, small group, and/or course creation experience.

Job Description

Teach 1-on-1 and/or small group classes online based on your preferred schedule

Student assessment

Lesson planning

Requirements

- Native English Speaking Teachers (US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa) or with Neutral accent

- Advanced English language ability including but not limited to: proper grammar, sentence structure, word tense, subject-verb agreement, and proper use of adjectives and adverbs

- Fast Internet connection, Headset, Microphone, Webcam

- Experience teaching online

- Bonus if: Experience teaching TOEFL, IELTS, Business English, and/or Industry-specific English; Certified

Please apply at www.EnglishTutor.co/apply

[petrushka]

I tried this for a short time while studying for college to get some extra income on the side. It wasn't on skype though, the company I signed with have their own program to use with timestamps and their own voice-over-ip program.

I was so nervous starting because English is my second language, not my first, but more than my accent, the students really just want someone to converse with to practise their listening and speaking skills as well as to maybe widen their vocabularies when they hear me say something they're not familiar with. When a new word interests them, I explain what it means, shows them how it's spelled and in what cases the word can be used. Then we either talk more about that new vocabulary word they learned or we continue our conversation for their conversation skills.

It wasn't as stressful as I was expecting but speaking in a second language can be hard when you do it continuously all the time. I had to stop when I got full-time work because I just wanted to rest or have fun once work was done. I might try it again now though. Wonder if they're still hiring.

[byeeeeeeee]

I wish to have a tutor on Skype, but I am just a student, so I can't really afford paying a tutor. I hope there is some free tutors that are volunteering for helping ESL student.

[Cookiesandcream]

I've personally never tried this myself but a friend of mine tutors English, not through skype specifically but some other messenger (not sure which anymore). She specifically teaches Korean students from 10 to 40 years. She was trying to get me into the programme a few months ago. I'll give it a go next year and let you guys know more about it.

[AExAVF]

I have recently applied as an English tutor.  I just wanted to give it a try for myself.  The offers of being an English tutor are quite high, especially for people who consider English as a second language.  It would also help that I passed a government service licensure examination, and language proficiency is one of the key subjects covered in that exam.

[elles-belles]

Hmm, this sounds very interesting. I wonder though do you only need to be a native speaker of the English language and have no other qualifications? Sound to me like it would also be a tricky one to do in terms of scheduling teaching times and so forth.

It all in all sounds like a great idea though,especially if you get to make some extra money out of it.

[Trellum]

I'd love to do this, but I'd offer my services as a native Spanish speaker   I'd love to get paid for doing something like that!  I know I'd surely pay for something like this if I had enough cash to pay or that right now   I wish I could afford a private teacher right now, at least thru Skype, it's so great to have someone you can ask questions to regarding the language.

I do have help tho, but the help I have isn't so reliable...  :cry:

[Frenchfried]

I'm currently looking into this option as a I have a Bachelors in teaching esl and tutoring experience. I'm just not sure how much grammar you need to have memorized. My bachelor's program was more focused on immersion style teaching for younger kids so it wasn't necessary to have all grammar rules completely memorized. Most of the tutoring jobs I've seen online seem to be geared towards teaching adults. I'm wondering how much a celta would help in this area or if I'm qualified enough already with my degree.

[JMarie]

There are also online platforms where you can teach languages. I think it's a lot better than skype, since  those platforms already have their own classroom and other gizmos.

[booklover22]

I have heard of this before, and know that you can make good money for it. There are always people who want to learn English. And the best part is that there are a lot of people who are willing to do it. I have been thinking about doing it, but I don't know how to teach someone. If I had any idea on how to teach someone English than I would love to do it.

[missbookworm]

There are a lot companies here in my country that offer that kind of job, Online English Teacher/Instructor. I am actually considering applying for this job as well. However, I still don't have all the needed requirements for teaching via Skype such as wired internet connection and headphones with an external microphone. Probably one of these days, I would definitely try this one. It seems like a good opportunity.

[jamesbonner]

I never tried it, but I will definitely do it, I would pay anyone to teach me any foreign language if i'm in need to, but only if the costs aren't so expensive, so yeah i'm with the idea but I never tried it before.