r/OnlineESLTeaching

Hey everyone

I’m just getting started with online English teaching and I’m trying to keep things simple and budget-friendly at the beginning.

I’ve seen people say you don’t need much, but I’d like to know what’s actually necessary vs what’s just “nice to have.”

So far I’m thinking:

Laptop or PC (nothing fancy, just stable)

Decent internet connection

Headset with microphone

Webcam (or built-in)

Basic lighting (maybe a desk lamp or natural light)

Quiet background / clean space (for example a white background)

My goal is to start on platforms like Preply, Cambly, or NativeCamp etc... and I’m not trying to spend a lot of money upfront.

A few questions:

Is a headset really necessary or can I start with laptop audio?

How important is lighting for getting students?

Do I need a ring light or is that overkill?

What’s the minimum internet speed that works well?

Anything beginners usually forget?

Would really appreciate advice from people already teaching 🙏

Please if any of you are considering working at this s***hole I suggest not, please if you're a parent stay away if you care about your kids!

I can't begin to describe everything that's wrong but in just one month of working this platform made me angry so many times...

1. PENALTIES - yess you can't reschedule (option doesn't exist even tho they always suggest it) or cancel a class 24hrs in advance without a penalty but guess what?? students can book you 4hrs in advance, absolutely no respect for the teacher, i've paid all my salary in penalties hahahahahahahahahah shithole

2. SALARY - salary is 2.5 for 25 mins, and 5 eur for 55 min (notice how the math is mathing), also to consider a class done you have 2 mins off, if you're late more than that it doesn't count as done

3. PAYOUT - minimum is 50eur which is hard to reach since they don't give you students, so you have to wait a month to be sent some money, they pay twice a month, but it takes them a WHOLE WEEK to deliver salary, so guess what? you see money once a year

4. PRICE - you can't define prices, but parents have fixed price and it's around 15eur for a class (tutor gets 5eur)_______________ blank space for cursing

5. Materials are okay but they are a bit oversimplified and it's not worth the money

6. ALSOOO the craziest thing is that students would randomly cancel the class 12hrs in advance right at the minute (after that the student gets penalties) so they would cancel at 4AM? Who does that? I couldn't find information online but my theory is that they have some option to automatically cancel or sth, it fucks up your whole day and the worst is that it happens so much so you don't know what classes are legit and what not, and it messes your schedule for the day and others can't book you

7. Students don't see my messages when I ask them to reschedule since I can't do it, and you can't message a trial student

8. On site when I clicked on lesson info it said I could reschedule or cancel 12hrs in advance without penalties, (for free) when I canceled 18hrs in advance I got penalties 25% because in contract it says 24hrs okk champs good luck

Last but not least I wish for all companies like this who are profitising on somebody's hard work and effort and still treating workers like crap, the worst case scenario and I hope you get sued for tax fraud or sth, sincerely all the worst I have no words to describe how pissed I am, thank you for modern day slavery and hopefully somebody treats your kids like that one day!!!!

For anyone teaching online: we’ve built a small but active Online Teachers Club focused on sharing strategies, materials, and real‑world teaching experiences. Whether you teach adults, teens, IELTS, ELA, or general English, you’ll find people who get the challenges and the wins. If you’re looking for collaboration, advice, or just a place to connect with other educators, come join us.

I'm making this friend in behalf of my friend

They're an English teacher with a wealth of experience with both children and adults and a lot of training from multiple organisations but they're struggling financially recently due to personal reasons

They live in a third world country so they must support that

I'd appreciate it if you can suggest me a platform with the following conditions:

- good reputation

- transparency

- payment must be on time

- respectful and safe environment

- not necessarily but I'd prefer if the platform provides the students

They're welling to compromise on the payment provided the hours are flexible

They deserve the best in the world and they're in a tight spot now so help is appreciated

Is anybody using Superteacher for their classes. Any feedback on weather is is work it would be great. Thanks.

I've spent a year doing language exchanges on Tandem and have discovered I love teaching English, so I'm getting TEFL-certified this summer. However, more than grammar and vocab, I LOVE coaching my exchange partners on their accents. Is this a specialization I could pursue professionally? If so, how would one go about it, and what qualifications would you recommend?

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I noticed many students only use "How much is this?" while shopping. To sound more like a native, you can use phrases like "What's the damage?" or "What's the best price you can do?".

​I made a short video explaining 5 natural ways to ask for the price. Hope this helps your fluency! 💎

​Watch here: [https://youtu.be/3\_Q0A3HUkTw?si=DMP5WTchUnWw9Q98\]

​#EnglishLearning #Vocabulary #Fluency

I’m currently seeking ESL or teaching opportunities. I am a Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED) undergraduate, set to graduate next month. I have hands-on teaching experience through my internship, where I handled and taught students in a classroom setting. I also hold a TEFL certification.

I’m passionate about teaching and eager to gain more experience while helping students improve their English skills.

I've been using ClassIn for about 6 months with a small group of private students. The teaching tools are decent, but the billing system is driving me crazy.

Last month I got charged for 38 'lesson credits' but I only taught 32 classes. When I asked for an invoice breakdown, support sent me a PDF that just showed "38 credits consumed" with no details. No class dates, no student names, no duration breakdown. Just a number.

I spent three hours cross-referencing my Google Calendar, PayPal receipts, and student messages to figure out what happened. Turns out they counted two 15-minute tech support calls as full 30-minute 'credits'.

Here's what's frustrating:

1. No itemized invoices - just credit totals
2. No way to predict next month's cost
3. Support takes days to respond, and when they do, it's copy-paste answers
4. The 'buy 100 get 500 free' credit bundles feel like a mobile game, not professional software

I'm an independent teacher running a business. I need to know exactly what I'm paying for, when, and why. My students' parents expect proper invoices from me - why can't I get the same from the tools I pay for?

Has anyone found a platform that actually gives you clear, predictable billing? I'm tired of feeling like I'm getting nickel-and-dimed by opaque credit systems.

(If you've been through this and found something better, I'd genuinely appreciate a DM. Not looking for sales pitches - just real experiences from other teachers.)

Hello, I'm very new sa ESL pero bakit may mga red flag etong company from V like kailangan bago maka payout maabot yung minimum amout which is 400 USD. Attainable ba to or gg lang may mga penalties pa at deduction kapag late. Any advice na exp nyo na ba to?

Hi all,

I’ve moved abroad for other reasons but have been wanting to make some cash on the side. I’m a native English speaker with a degree in a related field. I don’t mind having to go through some certification if it means I have a guaranteed job. I am also fluent in Arabic.

What platforms should I look at? I know it’s sort of a race to the bottom and everyone and their mum is teaching english online, and so I am only willing to consider it if the compensation is worth it.

Thanks all.

I’ve been teaching on AmazingTalker for a while now, and lately it’s just been discouraging.

I have teaching certifications, a master’s degree, and I’ve built real demand, I’m booked and have sold hundreds of lessons. But because of pricing restrictions tied to where I’m from, I’m earning very low rates per lesson, sometimes just a few dollars after coupons.

Meanwhile, teachers from countries like the U.S. or U.K. can charge significantly more, even earlier on. It’s hard not to feel undervalued when your qualifications and performance don’t seem to matter as much as your nationality.

I reached out to support, hoping for some flexibility, but the responses were rigid and didn’t really address my situation.

At this point, I’m just wondering if it’s worth continuing, or if I should move on.

I am new to finding students here. I am teaching with an ESL company and would love to try Private classes. any tips how I can possibly find students here teachers?

Hey everyone,

I’m interested in starting as an online tutor and wanted to understand what’s actually required to get started + which platforms are worth it (especially for international tutors).

1. What do you realistically need to become an online tutor?

From what I’ve researched so far, it seems like the basics are:

Strong knowledge in at least one subject (English, math, science, etc.)

Good communication skills (explaining things clearly is key)

Stable internet + decent microphone/webcam

Some kind of proof (degree, certificate, or even just experience)

Ability to structure lessons (not just “talking” but actually teaching)

Am I missing anything important? Do platforms require degrees or can you start without one?

2. Platforms that accept Payoneer or bank transfer (important for me):

I’m specifically looking for platforms that support Payoneer payouts (since PayPal isn’t ideal in my country).

From what I found:

AmazingTalker (Payoneer supported)

Some AI/tutoring-related platforms might support it too

But I’m not sure which tutoring platforms are best in 2026 for international tutors.

Which platforms actually:

accept beginners

have real students (not dead accounts)

support Payoneer or similar payouts

Any real experiences would help a lot 🙏

Thanks!

Teachers are paid $7 per class.

If a class is missed, the fine is $14 per class.

That means the fine is double what the class pays.

So instead of simply losing the $7 earned, a missed class results in a $14 loss.

In practice, this means a single missed class removes the value of two classes worth of pay.

When fines are higher than earnings, it can effectively mean working for free for that time.

Recently, I came across a very young student who stubbornly pronounces "A" as the Chinese pinyin "a". It's possible that the child is just messing around, but I usually encounter similar issues with young students when they are spelling out words.😂

Hello, everyone.

I've been slowly incorporating ASL into teaching my ESL students (very basic gestures: thank you, help, let's go...), and sometimes other harder words (breakfast, living room, cooking), but nothing insanely complicated.

Are there any teachers out there doing this? I just wanted to see how other teachers think about it, as I'm also aware that there's this principle among the ASL communities that teaching ASL should only be done by deaf instructors, so I definitely do not want to violate this unwritten rule.

I guess in the end, if it helps my ESL students learn, then I don't think it's a terrible idea to incorporate ASL, but please, let me know your thoughts.

Another happy student wanted to share his results with me today. He has Autism and does not like writing at all. He found it very difficult to write for a long amount of time (essay), so we focused more on speaking to get his score up.

https://preview.redd.it/0lo04e7m7wvg1.png?width=405&format=png&auto=webp&s=11a907a3febd27ef2dabf4339f22d8bcc28dd2b2