How to get began as an online instructor of English
How to get started as an online teacher of English
for British Council
Have you considered teaching English online?offers some practical ideas and useful web sites for getting started
in considered one of our high five articles of all time, illustrated by artist Jamie Johnson.
When I first started teaching in 2004, I was sceptical about the effectiveness of on-line instructing, however since then I actually have amassed a lot of experience. I'd wish to share with you a number of things I've learned alongside the way in which.
Getting began
Contrary to well-liked opinion, I advocate beginning your online teaching career by working for an established firm. If your teaching experience is restricted and you're not an internet wiz, working for a company can act as a superb sort of 'internship'. Admittedly, the money could be low and the hours unreliable, but you'll receive on-the-job coaching and technical and pedagogical support. I started out working for one of the properly-known English learning centres. I gained valuable skills, expertise and the confidence, which later enabled me to go it alone.
When selecting an established firm, you'll need to find one that has college students in search of lessons in your working hours (your time zone). There are sometimes advertisements on Facebook pages like, I haven't labored for any of those companies. However, I am certain that you could request feedback from the teachers within the group which have. A lot of on-line lecturers choose to leap straight in on the deep end and use platforms liketo advertise their classes.
Creating a weblog
In the previous couple of years, I've created more of my very own materials, usually on the back of envelopes, in notebooks, phrase files and on scraps of paper. I typically use authentic materials such as information articles, TED talks and YouTube clips, and create lesson plans around them. While looking for inspiration for a new lesson plan, I got here across an English educating weblog for the first time and so discovered the possibility to create and save lesson plans on such a platform, which can then be easily accessed anyplace. I was so impressed that I immediately set to work studying the way to create my own blog. I chose, because it seemed very straightforward to use. Mywas born in November 2013 and marked the beginning of an unimaginable journey of self-development.
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Becoming a part of a network of lecturers
The most necessary discovery I've made since starting my blog is undoubtedly the British Council's. If solely I had found it earlier! Through this page, I even have connected with an incredible group of academics (educating on-line can at instances be a little lonely) and to an enormous amount of excellent materials and sources. My blog has been visited by thousands of new folks, which has led me to engaged on a very interesting new challenge.
I live in Israel and would by no means have dreamed of with the ability to enter a classroom in Iran. But a couple of months in the past, a course co-ordinator in a college in Iran approached me about educating three groups of Iranian men. I accepted the supply, and now I'm beamed into their classroom through, which is projected onto a display. I display screen share a document containing an inventory of weekly subjects connected to their course materials, and each scholar gives a presentation on these matters. Learn English language online courses coach and correct the scholars and send detailed feedback to each one after the lesson. These courses show the unbelievable energy on-line educating has to break via cultural and geographical barriers, offering countless possibilities to both teachers and students alike.
Choosing a platform to communicate along with your college students
is a very helpful platform for on-line teaching. You can have free video or audio conversations together with your college students, as long as they've a Skype account. You can ship information, kind corrections and new vocabulary within the message field, share aand additionally share a system sound, which makes Skype a powerful software for academics wishing to use videos in their classes.
allows you to connect with college students utilizing an interactive video convention platform. The free model provides limitless 1 to 1 conferences or group meetings that are restricted to a 40-minute period. The system automatically creates a copyable URL and invitation to affix the meeting, which may be forwarded to your pupil, once you have created a brand new assembly. When your pupil first connects they are going to be prompted to upload the Zoom plug-in, which only takes a few seconds. The call seems to be of a a lot greater quality than other video convention platforms, it works properly internationally, and seems to supply an answer to students in some nations the place Skype is not out there. Easy English learning ’s features like display screen sharing, system sound sharing, a whiteboard, display annotation and assembly recording are perfect for an internet classroom.
is a free on-line web site builder. About two years ago, I determined, that in addition to my weblog, I required a. I needed to have a calling card for my enterprise, one thing to share with potential students. It was time to clearly outline the courses that I offer, and create an easy to make use of on-line booking system.
Initially, I thought it will be worth investing money and paying an expert to create the web site, then I found how much they charge. I did some research and realized that there have been a variety of web site constructing platforms, I chose WIX. From the critiques, Wix is user-friendly, it provides a free plan, will get probably the most on-line searches, has a good selection of designs, and a mobile editor. It is important to have a really clear thought of your model, your niche, your students' necessities, your costs and what it is exactly you are providing. When I started my weblog I started nice tuning my enterprise; the method of making my website has taken this a step additional.
Managing your time effectively
The most tough aspect of being a self-employed teacher is learning to manage your time. To be trustworthy, I'm nonetheless not very good at limiting my analysis and preparation time. I hope, in the long term, that having my lesson plans on a blog will assist, however creating these supplies is time-consuming. I wish to recommend two webpages I've found, which I'm positive will assist teachers handle their time effectively.
is free and works on all main web browsers. It is free and works on all major internet browsers. It enables you to create interactive video lessons using any YouTube video, a URL or MP4 file, and allows you to embed time-linked interactive activities, within the form of questions, to the video. Students take part in these actions as they watch the video. They can cease and rewind the video at any point, however can't progress until they've accomplished every exercise. When you've finished creating your interactive video lesson, it may be shared or you can embed it on your website or weblog. I think it's a incredible thought and very useful for online educating and.
is a web site that provides prepared-made course supplies within the type of a set of slides. The site provides a library of ESL (English as a Second Language) lesson plans and new lessons are added weekly -- they're really good too. The content is teacher-led and designed for a live conversation class, to be taught online. As the instructor, you could have the flexibility to invite a pupil to join you to be able to view the lesson materials collectively and interact with the content material through the lesson. It's a great web site and a real time-saver, you possibly can even brand the location with your personal private emblem and area.
Summing up
The internet is a window of opportunity for lecturers. It allows us to develop, create, share and teach independently, wherever and nevertheless we select. Happy educating!
This article is certainly one of our high five most-learn of all time.
Emma Segev owns. She offers online English lessons to adult learners and business professionals of all ranges, worldwide. The best way to learn English language from the UK, currently dwelling in Israel, and have become an English teacher by chance. She has been teaching on-line for 13 years; teaching greater than 25,000 classes to students in 57 completely different nations in that time. She specialises in enhancing spoken communication and favours a mix of communicative languages training (CLT) and content material-primarily based instruction (CBI). She looks for new and fascinating methods to teach, utilizing materials primarily based on genuine movies, information articles, case studies and actual-life situations. She is passionate about using know-how to facilitate studying and encourages her students to use quite a lot of learning tools.
When she’s not working, she enjoys taking long walks within the countryside with her husband, spending time with her two teenage sons, cooking and going to the gym. She also loves taking photographs, discovering new places, listening to loud music and eating out with friends.
is an artist and illustrator based mostly in Glasgow, Scotland. He works in portray, collage, drawing and various digital media strategies. Jamie has exhibited his work in galleries across the UK, Europe and North America, most just lately as a solo show at Chopping Block Gallery in London. He continues to work with all kinds of purchasers as an illustrator and designer, alongside a private interest in neighborhood-based mostly projects.
Update, eight May 2015: A previous version of this article made reference to Google Helpouts, which is now not obtainable. We have therefore eliminated the reference.
Update, 6 July 2018: A earlier model of this text made reference to Google Hangouts and WixIQ, and has been up to date with references to Zoom and Wix.
