Due to various things going on with teaching in a public school that made it very difficult to stay there, I felt God lead me to step out of public school teaching. I do miss the children a lot, but I have been blessed in the process.
The very next day, after my last day in the public school, I was called to sub as a Theatre Teacher in a small private school for the next day. I took the position and enjoyed it. After classes that day, the head director of the fine arts department asked me if I would be willing to take the class as the full teacher for the rest of the year. They only met one day a week, but it was something, kept me working with children and doing theatre. I took it and enjoyed it during this semester.
A few days later another friend told me about teaching online. She taught English Second Language (ESL) to Chinese students online. After some prayer about it, I decided to give it a try. It is with VIPKid.
The requirements for the job are a bachelor’s degree, in anything, experience with teaching, a computer with webcam and good internet.
With this job I can set what hours I want to work. There are hours that are considered very high prime time hours to work, but I can choose from 8pm-8am, any half hour time frame or groups of timeframes. I have to work on Beijing China time. Each class is only 25 minutes long. It is one on one with a student.
One of the great things about the teaching is that I do not have to do any real lesson planning. The company I am with provides all the lessons. They show up on PowerPoint type slides. When you enter the classroom, the laptop screen will show a me and the student in 2 different spots. On the left will be the slides. I click through each one do what it requires.
Depending upon the level of the student will depend on what is being done. Students who are level 2, are usually still learning letters and small words. The teacher does about 1/2 the talking. By the time the student gets to level 5, the student is doing about 75% of the talking, and the teacher is doing very little talking. At the higher levels there is a lot more discussion.
In each of the lessons, each of the core subjects are touched upon in learning English. Math, Social Studies, History, Grammar, and Spelling. Some of the classes I have taught talk about insects, both benefits and problems; wild animals; domestic animals; jobs; culture in China; culture in America; and large mathematical word problems. I have actually learned a lot about Chinese culture in teaching them also.
Within 12 hours after a class is finished, I have to fill out a feedback on how the student did, both for the parent and for the next teacher. It also fills in for VIPKid for deciding what level the student is at, or if the student needs to move up or down a level. On average it only takes about 5 minutes to fill out that report for each student.
Some of the benefits of working this job is that it is done from my home. I do not have to travel to work or wear special clothing for it. It is a contract job, so purchase of internet, laptop, webcam and any other things that one thinks is needed can be tax deductible. The base pay is $14/hour, but can go up to about $22/hour. From the base pay, they give a lot of bonuses based off of several different factors.
In the first month I have made several hundred dollars working just a couple of hours each day. Some people work it full time and make several thousand. I only work about 12-18 hours a week. And they pay monthly. Throughout the month you can see exactly how much you have made and how you made it.
Another benefit is seeing the students eyes light up when they speak correctly or learn a new word.
I have also had several students who are my regular repeat students. Several get excited when they see me each time. Parents have left feedback saying they also enjoy seeing me each time.
I enjoy getting paid while helping parents help their children be the best that they can be. I don’t have to leave home and most of the children are in great behavior and love learning English.
If you have a bachelor’s degree and may be interested in doing this type of teaching, please click on the following link: VIPKid
If it asks for a Referral code: 07P5EQ
I will receive a referral bonus if you sign up. It is free to look at and if you have any questions on it, please click on the contact me link above and send me your questions by email.
Online learning is the best way and i would love to take classes from you.
I agree online learning is a great way to learn at a much lower cost. I don’t teach on my own. I work with a company that is for children in China to learn English. I use their curriculum, not my own. Thank you for reading and the comment. Best wishes on your learning.
I love this job too!
It is a lot of fun. Next week I am pushing it 30 hours a week. The hardest part is the early hours and long time sitting in one spot. Thank you for reading and the comment. May God bless you and your work!