Pros and Cons of Online Tutoring for North American ESL Teachers
While online ESL (English as a second language) teaching is a dynamic industry, the primary teacher and student body in the market are North American teachers and Chinese students. The following is a detailed listing of the advantages and disadvantages for North American teachers to teach English to Chinese students online.
After multiple research and the congregation of the reviews by teachers on Glassdoor, here are some of the common opportunities and obstacles regarding online ESL tutoring for both parties:
Advantages:
1. Less Geographical Constraints
When it comes to teaching English to students in China, there are geographical barriers for native speakers in North America. Tutoring online allows teachers and content creators to interact with students without being physically present at the students’ locations. As long as you have access to the internet and the required technology devices and software, you can teach from anywhere in the world.
2. Flexible Schedule/Work From Home
Most online teaching platforms offer flexibility for teachers to design their own teaching schedule so that it fits their lifestyle, although some may require minimum hours of teaching during peak hours in the client country’s local timezone (Beijing time). This means teachers can easily be working from home while enjoying high productivity doing what they love. Without surprise, this usually leads to great employee satisfaction for the companies that operate these online ESL platforms. A great example of this would be the 4 star+ review of VIPKid from more than two thousand employees on Glassdoor.
Here are some of the Glassdoor reviews written by current online ESL teachers at VIPKid:
“I get to work from home (in my presentable PJ’s)”
“I have been working at VIPKid part-time for more than 3 years. You make your own schedule. No minimum hours. Not a lot of prep.”
3. Safe Environment
Tutoring online promotes a safe teaching and learning environment for both the students and the teachers. Teachers will be interacting with students online instead of in-person which lowers the risk of the potential violation of safety protocols from both parties. Most online ESL tutoring platforms have well-established systems to manage reported misbehaviors and individuals to maintain a safe and positive learning environment.
Disadvantages:
Despite the great opportunities and benefits mentioned above, there are some undeniable challenges that one will potentially face when committed to being an online ESL teacher.
1. Time Difference
The time difference is the №1 issue of the online teaching process that frustrates many online teachers. The time zone difference between Beijing-China (GMT+8) and Ottawa-Canada (GMT-4) is 12 hours. This means teachers will have to adapt to the time difference in their home countries which could be physically challenging in the long-run. For example, to work during the peak hour of Beijing time from 6:30 pm to 9 pm, teachers from Ottawa, Canada will have to wake up and get ready to teach students between 3:30 am and 6 am in local time. Many find it somewhat physically exhausting and question the sustainability of this work/lifestyle.
2. Technical Issues
Since teaching online requires internet access and various types of devices, equipment, and software, it is hard to ignore the fact that technical issues are not uncommon when we rely 100% on it. Situations such as unstable wifi connection, laptop malfunction, hardware breakdown, outdated software… you name it, can all affect the quality of teaching unexpectedly and disrupt students’ learning experience.
It is also possible for certain teachers and content creators to NOT have guaranteed unlimited access to the required technical equipment due to various factors such as a limited budget. This would potentially close the door for some amazing teachers who would otherwise provide quality results.
3. Solid Barriers to Entry
We can see that most online teaching apps and platforms have made it clear about their requirements for applicants of online teachers — the TEFL certification, education degree, and in most cases, teaching experience. Many popular platforms require all of them, while some are less strict. (To learn more about the specific requirements of popular online ESL platforms, visit: Top 7 Platforms to Teach English Online from Home.) That being said, these platforms might not be as beginner-friendly as we thought for many content creators and teachers who are just getting started, such as new university graduates with zero teaching experiences, but possess the right skills and knowledge to thrive in this career path.
4. Easily Distracted Students
Do you remember the moment when you were in a lecture and you can’t help but think about the plans for the rest of the day, or what you will be eating for dinner, or that cute date you went on? Well, guess what, everybody gets distracted sometimes in classes, no big deal. However, imagine what will happen when you can just chill at home while listening to class? Now you have all the freedom to do whatever you want, as long as you don’t feel like falling behind! We are talking about getting yourself a glass of water, going to the washroom whenever you want, and even doing a cute drawing on your lecture notes.
Since students do not have to be physically present in the classroom and engage with you in-person, they will be more likely to be distracted by basically about anything and experience the above situations we just discussed, especially if you are facing a large group of students at once. Be prepared, you might feel more frustrated than you expect. Yep, that’s probably how your teachers felt like years ago when they look at you.
5. Hard to Monitor Class Performance
When you are teaching distracted students, as frustrating as that can be, it is less likely that you can change the situation when you are teaching online. If you are in the classroom and noticed someone falling asleep right under your nose or start talking to their neighbors, you can easily spot it and call out their names to answer tough questions to reward them. And yet, you are staring at your screen and teaching materials, busy with explaining a tough grammar and find it difficult to monitor what is happening on the other side of the screen, especially when teaching multiple students. When the camera doesn’t capture it, how would you even know if your students had stopped taking notes long ago and are just scrolling down their social media pages?
Teaching online can definitely be exciting, fun, and rewarding. However, you might also want to think twice about what type of teacher you want to be and the teaching platforms you want to use. Hopefully, with the above insights in mind, you are looking at the right options to take your journey in online tutoring to the next level.
