English as a Second
Language (ESL) teachers, especially those who are starting their ESL or English
teaching career online, are always victims of online fraudsters or amateurs. In
order to be proficient in the language (English) and dish out quality tutorials
to their online students, ESL teachers enrol in different online English
programmes whose tutors claim to be native speakers of English. They do this
without a second thought and, most times, get disillusioned when things don't
work out as expected.
Well, it is good to
advance in your career, but it is also important you take note of or avoid
these pitfalls when you are starting your ESL or English teaching career online
or offline!
1. The online companies
that will want you to get certified
First of all, there are
tons of companies that want you to spend money getting certified. The truth is
that you don't need to. If you're looking for a job, then you're better off
learning what you need to know instead of paying for a piece of paper. Most people
who have those pieces of paper like TEFL, CELTA, TKT certificates don't know
much about teaching ESL online or offline. If you want to get results for your
students, then you definitely don't need those pieces of paper because TEFL
courses do not teach you how to do that.
2. The online companies
that promise to better your English
Another trap to avoid is
online companies like VIPKID or iTutor Company or ABCTutor or a number of
others. These are large Chinese companies that specialize in chewing up newbie
and wannabe teachers left and right and spitting them out within a few months
(if not sooner). You are going to waste a lot of time dealing with them and
make very little money when it is all said and done.
3. The online platforms
that let you choose your hourly rate
Another thing to be weary
of is online platforms that tell you that you can choose your own hourly rate,
set your hours of availability and that they will find students for you. These
platforms take huge percentage of your money and can change the terms and
conditions of your partnership so fast that you could be left without a
business. It's always better to build your business on a platform controlled by
you.
4. The guys online
The last category of
things to look out for when you're getting into the ESL industry is "the
guys online" who want to sell you programs that show you how to start an
ESL career. They might tell you that you can do it yourself on Skype or that
they've got tons of students and will show you how to get students too. When
you see offers from guys like this, do your homework and make sure that they've
actually set up a successful business of their own. You would be surprised, but
the majority of these people haven't actually set up a real teaching business.
The overall message here
is that it is better to spend your time and money investing in yourself than
investing it into a company that is supposed to get clients for you or pay you
an hourly wage.
Source: The Teaching
Revolution.