Coronavirus or COVID-19 has changed the world, and we really don’t know much about how long it will last. But we know you can work online as an ESL teacher.
You might think that with the world essentially closed down with over half the population of the planet quarantined that the ESL industry is going to tank.
But those thoughts couldn’t be further from the truth.
Before we get started we are not doctors or scientists… we can’t tell you if you are going to die from Coronavirus. But we can tell you a little bit about how the Coronavirus is affecting the ESL industry, and how you can take advantage.
If you want to know more about Coronavirus also known as COVID-19 visit the World Health Organisation for the most up to date information and news.
The rush on online teaching started with ESL teachers not being able to get back into the country after the Chinese New Year holiday. With schools and language centres being closed, the Chinese government started asking schools to come up with online lessons. This meant that there was a huge increase in the need for teachers who used to work face to face to be teaching online.
We always knew that teaching online was going to be the way of the future, but now it’s happening sooner and faster than expected.
With its tightening restrictions for potential teachers, China has found it harder and harder to get good qualified teachers into the country to teach face to face anyway. Many people can’t or won’t travel halfway around the world for a job opportunity. So it was already struggling to get enough teachers, plus they were competing with other countries such as South Korea and Japan who paid better and often had better working conditions.
But Coronavirus has changed things and changed them fast. While China had been leading the way for extra online English teaching for their children, there was still an expectation that for school it would be done face-to-face.
Private language platforms are also driving the need for more teachers as even more parents aim to ensure their children don’t fall behind while the schools are closed. Many of the more well known teaching platforms have increased the hours they are offering their services and some such as Qkids have increased their referral rate and also bonuses to ensure they have enough teachers for lessons. And the best part they have also increased the pay per class by almost 30%. And Qkids is definitely not the only one doing this.
China is moving fast to get as many students as possible into online learning, and it is reasonable to assume that once these platforms are set up and both students and teachers are used to them, there will be no return. With the advent of technology, schools and universities in China no-longer will have to entice people to move with promises of included accommodation and free flights home each year. And teachers will be able to teach from the comfort of their own home and perhaps even continue with other teaching projects.
So it’s time to take advantage.
At the moment China is at the forefront of ESL spending statistics and online learning; however the ESL industry doesn’t stop there. Indonesia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Mexico are just some countries that also have heavy demand for ESL teachers, and increasingly it is online work.
And as the rest of the world has progressed in locking down schools, there is more pressure to find online tutors to help support parents who either have to work, or have no experience with tutoring. While before many parents wanted tutors for their children to be face-to-face, necessity now means that being tutored online (for all subjects, not just ESL) has become more socially acceptable around the world.
Taking advantage is relatively simple.
If you don’t have a TEFL certificate now is definitely the time to get on board! Get Qualified Now.
And if you do have your TEFL certificate, it’s time to start finding the right online school for you, and get started now.
Either way, the sooner you start, the sooner you will be teaching online.
Further Reading:
Start Your Own Online ESL Tutoring Business
Pin it for later…
