Is Teaching English Online Convenient?
Teaching English online is a huge growing market in today’s globalized society. According to the British Council, there are over a billion people who are learning English (750 million English as a foreign language learners and 350 million English as a second language learner). The difference between EFL and ESL learners is that EFL learners live in a country where the language of the community is not English and English is used by a learner in rare instances such as for business or pleasure; while ESL learners live where English is either a primary language or has an established role in the society and the language is used daily.
This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nina S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
With English being a universal language in business, politics, education, and tourism, it is no surprise that there are so many people who want to learn it for various purposes and that the number is only expected to grow. With a growing number of English learners, there is a big demand for ESL and EFL teachers. If you look up ‘teaching English online’, you will see hundreds of job postings and websites that are looking for online tutors and teachers.
Telecommunication has revolutionized our lives and turned the world into a computerized global village. It has changed the speed and methods of learning a language. We can have access to dozens of dictionaries, videos, blogs on a particular subject in a matter of seconds. We can chat with a native speaker online. To supplement onsite learning, leading schools like EF have online platforms where learners can practice and consolidate their language skills with teachers from all over the world. Learning a language online is a very convenient option for those who want to save their time by avoiding the commute to a school.
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Teaching English online has its advantages and disadvantages.
One of the most obvious upsides of teaching online is that you can teach from home which provides a comfortable environment for both a teacher and a learner.
Both you and your student save time and energy by having a lesson online. You are in control of your schedule versus getting on a school’s schedule. One of my students works long days and his only available time is late at night. It would be impossible for him to find a school that would provide services at that hour. Instead, he can find an online teacher from a different part of the world and learn the language at his available time. The same goes for teachers. Those who are swamped with other responsibilities and cannot work normal hours, teaching online can be a great asset. For example, it would be a great side job for a parent who is raising a kid, a person who has multiple jobs, someone who travels and loves teaching.
As far as teaching itself goes, of course, online teaching has its limitations with what kind of activities can be used. For example, you can’t do a certain warm-up or engage activities like toss-a-ball, play a board game, or do activities that involve standing up and walking around the class. You can’t see if the student opened the book on the wrong page, won’t be able to just point to the right task, etc. However, being on the computer allows for many other activities. If you use a little bit of creativity, you can still keep your lessons varied and fun. Instead of rolling the actual dice, you can ask the student to do it online. You can find tons of online resources for the study stage - gap-fills, crosswords, multiple choices, worksheets. You can play interesting videos and audios. There are online games that can be adopted for communicative purposes, too.
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
As a language instructor, you get to teach people from different places of the world, share your culture, and learn about theirs without leaving your home. Students are usually eager to learn about their teacher's country, too.
Even though challenging at times, online teaching can be very convenient and rewarding!
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