Long before COVID, teaching English online was already growing at an alarming rate, with most of the virtual teaching platforms exploding out of the far East, mainly China. Now with COVID raging, teaching remotely has never been more popular. With multitudes of people being laid-off, companies collapsing, dwindling jobs and no sign of the situation improving any time soon, a lot more people are taking to the internet to give remote work a go.
In Botswana, most people remain blissfully unaware of the online gig space. Worse still, many would never even consider working online because we are creatures of habit and abhor change. However, it’s time to brush ourselves off, pull ourselves up by the scruffs of our necks and make our own luck. There are countless opportunities online, providing you’re willing to think outside the box and grab them with both hands. That being said, there are easily as many scams out there as there are legitimate earning ways. But you’re all in luck because we have been at it for almost a decade now, and will be running articles packed full of legitimate online earning sites you can try.
Teaching online is a booming industry, so there are be benefits attached to this income stream, including, flexible schedules, incredible earning potential and interacting with people from all walks of life from across the world. This week, we bring you five reputable teaching apps that pay you to teach remotely, some of which DON’T require any formal qualifications or experience that you can try.
The advancement of modern technology means the world has shrunk and become a global village. As such, now more than ever, we are able to do business and interact with people across the globe. As such, countries that are traditionally not known for speaking English now require English as one of the prerequisites when advertising jobs. Coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s impact on global economies, now is a very good time to consider working online, whether its teaching conversational English, Business English or grammar. But there’s more than just teaching because the internet is teeming with opportunities! So make sure you keep checking the YourBotswana Facebook page or the website for legitimate earning ways that we have vetted and researched fo avoid being scammed.
1. Cambly – teaching worldwide students
Cambly focuses on helping students to improve their conversational and listening skills. As is the case with many online teaching platforms, you earn more as a native English speaker, and sadly, while Cambly regards our South African neighbours as native speakers, Botswana nationals are not. BUT the good thing about Cambly is that it has an altogether separate offer for non-natives, for which you don’t need a certificate – this option is the conversational English option. So, if you are at a dead end with no hope of landing a job any time soon in this COVID era, this might be the job for you to earn a bit of money. You work as little or as much as you want.
How it works
First off, you’ll need to register to teach and await approval from Cambly to start teaching and earning. I must point out, not everyone makes the cut. I applied maybe two years ago but never got a response. But in this line of work, you will have many a door slammed in your face. You just brush yourself off and try elsewhere until that one door opens for you!
Once you’ve been approved, you can book times to teach or log in at any time to chat with students. You’ll earn $0.17 per minute, which works out at roughly $10.20 per hour. Not fantastic but a good start, especially when you have no other options. Compared to most other teaching platforms of this kind, Cambly is more laid back.
The students you’ll be conversing with will already speak English and looking to brush up on their speaking skills. They come from all over the world, although the majority are from Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Turkey.
Students sign up, pay a fee, and log in via an app to chat with tutors who are online waiting to take calls. Teachers (tutors) can log in at their convenience.
Pros of teaching with Cambly
- You can work online from anywhere in the world
- No experience required
- No university degree or TEFL certificate required
- The flexibility of choosing when to work
- Meeting and interacting with people of all ages from all over the world
- Informal setting where you just chat with students about casual topics to help them improve their fluency
- Easy to sign up
- You can ban a student immediately for inappropriate behaviour (it does happen!)
Cons of teaching with Cambly
- At $0.17/minute or $10.20 / hour, the pay rate is not fantastic
- Lessons are not guaranteed
- If you’re easily bored, it can quickly become monotonous and boring
- Some students can be inappropriate, especially towards female tutors – the good thing is that you can ban anybody who behaves inappropriately towards you. It might be prudent to use a made up name to sign up to prevent students looking you up on social media.
- As a Motswana, you’re not considered a native English speaker. You can only teach as a community tutor, where you log in to converse with students and don’t actually teach.
Click here to apply – http://www.cambly.com/en/tutors?lang=en
2. Italki – requires TEFL certification
Italki is one of the most reputable online teaching platforms for language teachers. It’s a global language learning community that connects students and teachers for 1-on-1 online language lessons. Italki believes that human interaction and cultural sharing are the best way to become fluent in a foreign language. The company boasts over 5 million students and 10,000 high-quality teachers, who teach over 130 languages. You teach as much or as little as you want! Students schedule lessons during your available times.
If you have a verifiable certification and experience, you teach English on the platform. Alternatively, you can earn money as a community tutor. This involves conversing with students in your native language. All you need to do is post your video introduction and set your rates. iTalki allows you to use any video chat platform such as Skype, Google hangout, Zoom or FaceTime to connect with students. The platform recommends charging a minimum of $8 per lesson for teachers, and from around $4 per lesson for community teachers based on the duration of the lesson. Professional teachers charge around $25 per hour, while the community tutors are charging around $12 / hour. But you have to be smart about pricing because if you charge too high, you may price yourself out of work. Consider starting small, and then building your profile before hiking your rates.
Requirements (iTalki has two types of professions tutors):
- Professional Teacher: Has a university qualification such as a bachelors degree.
- Teaching experience is a plus.
2. Community tutor: You don’t need any certification or qualifications to become a Community English Tutor on iTalki. All that’s required is that you are a native or near-native English speaker who enjoys teaching informally.
- 18+ years of age
- 1-3 minute introduction video
- CV
- Reference/employment statements
- Native or near-native English speaker
- iTalki currently supports Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime and QQ. You must download, install and create an account using one of these options before your first lesson.
Application Process
- Application submission
- Application review
- Pre-Approved, Waitlist or Rejection of application (applicants will be notified via email within 10 business days)
- Teacher Success Videos and Quiz
- Video call with iTalki Teacher Services
- Your application will be approved once steps 4 and 5 are completed within seven days of the pre-approved email being sent
*Check before applying that the language you want to apply to teach is available. English is currently closed, but it’s worth checking from time to time.
Pros of teaching with Italki
- You have the flexibility of setting your own fees and schedule
- You decide what you want to teach
- 1-on-1 classes
- You can teach from anywhere in the world
- The platform assists with student issues
Cons of teaching with Italki
- iTalki retains a 15% commission on your completed lessons
- You need to come up with the lesson plans yourself
- As a Motswana, you’re not considered a native English speaker. You can only teach as a community tutor, where you log in to converse with students and don’t actually teach.
Click here to apply to Italki – http://support.italki.com/hc/en-us/articles/213716298-How-do-I-become-an-italki-teacher-
3. Palfish – TEFL certification required
PalFish is yet another app-based platform which allows you to teach individual or larger groups via your iOS (Apple) or Android cell phone/tablet. PalFish does not have any preference with regards to nationality for online ESL teaching positions, so non-native English speaking teachers are encouraged to apply.
Requirements
To be considered to teach with Palfish, you must be fluent in English; have excellent communication and interpersonal skills; be creative and energetic and be passionate about teaching students English. You will also need a TEFL/TESOL/CELTA) certificate.
Application Process
- Step 1: Download the PalFish app hereand follow the application steps within the app.
- Step 2: Choose an avatar – this must be a clear photo of yourself.
- Step 3: Write your self-introduction (must be 100+ words).
- Step 4: Record a self-introduction video. This must be longer than 30 seconds in length and should highlight your English pronunciation and proficiency.
- Step 5: Go to “My Wallet” and fill in your payment information. Once done, account verification can take up to two business days. You’ll need to set up a Payoneer account to receive payment.
You can view a PalFish application checklist here
Pros of teaching with Palfish
- There are two options (Freetalk and Official Kids Course)
- Non-native English speakers can teach free talk
- No degree or experience required
- Can teach from a phone or tablet, no laptop required
- Options to teach adults or children
- Short application process, meaning you can start very quickly
- Can teach outside Beijing peak hours
- As a free talk tutor, you can log in and out whenever you want
- You set your own rate
Cons of teaching with Palfish
- It’s restrictive because Only USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Ireland, Australian nationals can apply to teach as official teachers
- Free talk lessons pay by the minute, and rates can initially be low
- As a free talk teacher, you can only change your tuition rates twice a month
- Free talk lessons require teachers to market themselves
- For the Official Kids course, you need to commit to a minimum number of hours per week, which takes away the flexibility
- To request payment, you need to have made at least $30
- You need to set up a Payoneer account to receive your money – you’ll need to have set up the account before applying
http://www.payoneer.com/accounts/ to apply for your account. It’s very straight forward.
4. Qanda Teacher – best for those who are confident in mathematics and science
Use the Qanda app to make money anytime, anywhere with your mobile phone by sharing your knowledge with students who need help with their maths and science school work. With Qanda, you earn rewards in ‘coins’ and redeem them weekly!
How does it work?
- Select a problem you want to solve uploaded real-time by students all over the world
- Neatly write down your solution
- Take a picture of the solution and upload it
- After the student’s evaluation, you will receive coins as a reward
- You can redeem coins in cash!
Questions are from students all over the world, so Qanda expects high-quality answers.
Additional information
Qanda Teacher app requests the following permission:
- Camera: answers need to be uploaded as a photo
- Storage: Question and answer images are saved in and uploaded from the gallery
If you have any further questions or feedback, you can contact Qanda directly:
- Messaging in Qanda Teacher (My Info – Settings – Help – FAQ & Contact Us)
- Email: support.en@mathpresso.com
5. Preply – where you can teach more than just English!
Preply is an online learning platform with students all over the world. People of all ages can use Preply, but most students are adults. The company has an “excellent” rating on Trust Pilot and has been featured in top websites such as Forbes. Preply is a popular way to teach English online, one that also allows you to teach various subjects in addition to languages.
There are over 100 subjects available ranging from hobbies, art, languages and a whole range of academic subjects. On Preply, tutors set up profiles that list their classes, credentials and availability. Most learning apps and websites tend to focus on English, so the fact that Preply offers many other languages sets it apart from these types of platforms.
This also means that as a Preply teacher, you can teach many subjects. Because you can teach a variety of subjects on Preply, there isn’t one set of requirements that teachers must meet. You don’t need to be a native English speaker or have a degree to teach with Preply.
While you’ll have a better chance of attracting students with teaching experience and certifications, they aren’t required. You just need to be knowledgeable about your subject area and passionate about teaching. You also need to fill out your teacher profile completely and observe all the guidelines set out by Preply.
*Be sure you complete your profile because Preply will reject all incomplete teacher profiles.
Preply doesn’t have strict teacher requirements so it’s also good for tutors who don’t have traditional teaching experience. Many online teaching companies require a university degree or a TEFL certification, but Preply doesn’t.
Pros of teaching with Preply
- You can teach from anywhere, any time
- You don’t need any teaching experience, teaching qualification or even a TEFL certificate as long as you have bags of passion!
- You set your own rate
- Teach only when you want – as much or as little as you wish
- Easy application process – easy to qualify
- You can teach more than one subject, which means you can earn more
- You may up your rates the more experience you acquire
Cons of teaching with Preply
- Teachers are not paid for trial lessons
- Preply retains a hefty commission at the beginning
- The main downside of working with Preply is that they take 100% of the lesson fee for every first lesson with each new student, and an additional percentage of all subsequent lessons. But bear in mind, not many companies allow you to teach without a degree or a TEFL. So this may be a small sacrifice worth making.
- You are also responsible for arranging lesson plans and activities for your lessons, which some may not like
- Many Preply teacher reviews say the Preply platform is plagued by regular technical difficulties, and support is not always reachable when required, which creates a lot of frustration for teachers
- Because there are a lot of teachers you are competing with, you’ll need to pour time and energy into marketing yourself to students
- If the students are not happy with the quality of the lesson, they are entitled to a full refund
What you’ll need to teach with Preply
To teach with Preply, you’ll need to have a reliable internet connection, a teaching device such as a laptop or desktop and a headset with a microphone feature.
Becoming a teacher on Preply is very easy! Simply head over to the website and sign up for a free tutor account. You’ll need to fill out a detailed teacher profile, including an introduction video and any qualifications that you might have, as well as setting your timezone and availability.
Once your profile is approved, students will be able to book you for lessons. Lessons are taught through Preply’s own teaching platform, so you won’t need to download Zoom or Skype.
To apply to teach with Preply – http://preply.com/en/teach?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=t_approved&utm_campaign=1854&utm_term=&click_id=1023b47018a65e0539142e6b9605c0
Final word
Here at YourBotswana, we recognise how desperate the unemployment situation is in Botswana and the world over. Rather than curling up, having a pity party and expecting the Government to create jobs, keep visiting YourBotswana to learn about more legitimate online work opportunities. You might just find something that appeals to you through which you can be rewarded. Watch this space – going forward, we’ll be publishing new leads to legitimate paying jobs, exposing scams, educating you on how to avoid scams, giving you honest opinions about sites we have tried and much more! So, please like and follow our Facebook page so you don’t miss out.
By YourBotswana writer
brilliant suggestions.