-- Originally Posted on: https://teflinstitute.com/blog/working-from-home-with-tefl-in-2024/
Working from home is something of a marmite topic. Some people simply love working from home, while others were forced to work from home during the pandemic. I hated it and couldn’t wait to get back to the office. If you were someone who absolutely adored working from home and is desperately trying to get back there once more, you might want to consider teaching English as a foreign language online. It is the perfect remote gig; you can set your own hours, Work from the comfort of your own home, and enjoy earning money without leaving the house. Pyjamas are optional!
Why work from home as a teacher
One of the main reasons why teaching English online is a great way to work from home is that this is a relatively new but booming industry. People have come around to the idea of doing a lot more online, and being able to offer flexibility in learning has made it accessible for a lot more people. It is possible to teach students on a one-to-one basis or, of course, in classroom groups. This brings down overheads because a classroom is not needed. It takes away the inconvenience of travelling, and it gives teachers a break from some classroom preparation, as a lot of what you do will be discussion-based learning.
It also looks like online learning will continue to grow and become pretty standard. The same can be said for working from home. The world has changed, and people prefer convenience and have discovered that the Internet has much to offer. This can be especially useful if you are starting your TEFL teaching journey as a side hustle. Your students can be in many different time zones, and this can be very beneficial. You can find Work at any time of the day, meaning you can teach evenings and weekends without impacting your current day job.
What Qualifications Do You Need to Teach English at Home
The bottom line is you probably don’t need any qualifications to teach English from home. However, there is a big negative in not being qualified. First of all, it will be very hard to find work, and some tutor companies employ unqualified teachers; they also pay much less than the national minimum wage an hour. If you want to make a serious effort to teach English online as a foreign language, you need the same requirements as any TEFL teacher. It’s also important that you are genuinely improving the English skills of your pupils. If you have no background in teaching and do not undertake any further training, it’s unlikely that you will be appropriately equipped to help people learn English. You need to have an accredited TEFL certification as this demonstrates that you have met the required learning as laid down by external bodies and that your teachers, people like us, have delivered a curriculum designed to meet all of the criteria for each specific course.
Our courses cover every aspect of teaching lessons, imparting grammar correctly, controlling your students in the classroom, keeping lessons engaging and fun while still delivering results and learning how to differentiate your lesson plans to make sure that all students can keep up and learn in a way that suits them best. That sounds like a lot, right? This is why you need a qualification to make a successful career out of teaching English from home. You will see there are plenty of different courses on offer, but the industry standard is the 120- or 180-hour course. Both of these will equip you with everything you need to teach English online. Of course, you could always use your qualifications to teach English abroad in later life. If you do not choose to study with us, you must understand that your course’s accreditation is vital. You may, from time to time, see very cheap offers, and you do need to make sure that this includes an accredited course. More often than not, courses are offered at low prices. Compared to most providers, there is a catch, which tends to be that you do not get the accreditation. An unaccredited course can mean employers do not recognise your talent and will not employ you.
What Else Do You Need?
Although your classroom is online, you need a quiet area of the home where you will not be disturbed by children, spouses or even pets. It’s not very professional if you compete with children playing in the background, the television blaring, or dogs barking at the door. You need to take it as seriously as any job and create a desk and workspace for yourself. If you are the only person at home during the working day, that’s great, but many people begin their TEFL career teaching English at home during the evenings as a side hustle. In this case, having a quiet area dedicated to your students is even more important.
You need to have a stable Internet connection because there’s nothing worse than a tutor stuttering and spluttering because their Internet connection is glitching. There needs to be a clear connection between you and your students so that you can hear every word they say and vice versa. Most lessons will be taught using something like Zoom or Skype. Some online English schools have proprietary platforms, but fundamentally, they’re all quite similar. They create an audio and visual link between students and teachers, enabling you to work together as if you were in the same room. We also can recommend trying to teach English online using a mobile phone or even, realistically, a tablet. You need a large enough screen to see your pupils and potentially access resources while you are talking to them. We recommend a desktop or laptop as a bare minimum, and to cut down on background noise and distractions, a headset and microphone should also form part of your set-up.
How to Find Work from Home
When it comes to finding work, you have two main choices. There are a lot of companies online that operate language schools and are looking for qualified TEFL tutors. Regarding the other staff requirements, you need to check out what other qualifications you might need. In some cases, a degree is required, and others need you to have English as a native language. If you meet the requirements, applying as you would for any other job is your best plan. You will also find that schools offer different lessons; for example, some target adult learners, whereas others prefer to work with children. If you have a preference for your students, then you should also look at this as a criterion when deciding where to apply.
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