Teaching English Online From Anywhere

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of VIPKID. All opinions are 100% mine.

I recently stumbled onto one of the most rewarding work-from-home careers I’ve seen — teaching English online to Chinese children with VIPKID. There are plenty of reasons to work from home, but finding the right opportunity is far more challenging (one that pays well, doing something you’ll actually enjoy).

VIPKID is a web-based education technology platform allowing children in China to take one-on-one English classes from North American teachers, all from the comfort of their homes.

I have an aunt who traveled to the Philippines years ago, and I remember she had so many amazing experiences teaching English to children there. She was gone for almost two years, but imagine being able to teach English online to Chinese children, without ever packing a suitcase… or getting on an airplane!

VIPKID, headquartered in Beijing, China, has been connecting Chinese children ages 4-12 with North American teachers since 2013. It is the fastest growing online education company globally, with over 200,000 students as of summer 2017. VIPKID teachers have flexible hours and can work from anywhere.

VIPKID’s mission of teaching English online, is backed by Kobe Bryant. He said it took only five minutes of listening about VIPKID to decide he wanted to invest in this company impacting hundreds of thousands of children in China.

“It’s a no-brainer for me,” Bryant said. “We have to look for companies adding value to society, helping kids learn and grow.”

The CEO of VIPKID, Cindy Mi, recently interviewed with Bloomberg discussing the growing market for online education. She said that business is booming in China, where parents are particularly interested in getting a global education for their children.

A Forbes article about VIPKID gives insights into why Chinese parents are opting for teaching English online. According to Forbes, Chinese parents are seeking out the less-serious and more-engaging American teaching style for English lessons. Chinese parents also want their children to learn English from a very young age.

VIPKID also participates in charitable community projects including one with the Jack Ma Foundation, providing English instruction to rural schools in China. VIPKID teachers get connected virtually to a lower-income school and teach English to the whole class.

What is it Like Teaching English Online?

Teaching online is like being on a Skype call, but the lessons are taught on VIPKID’s proprietary platform, with interactive Powerpoint slides. All lesson plans are created by the VIPKID Curriculum team, which takes the pressure off teachers. There is no lesson planning, grading, and the prep work is all done, so teachers can just focus on what they love — teaching!

There is a VIPKID YouTube channel with tons of videos showing what it’s like teaching English online. Below is my favorite, showing what the new teacher interviews would be like if the kids conducted them. It’s fun to get a glimpse of the cute kiddos teachers get to work with.

This video shows a sort of day in the life of a VIPKID teacher. This one is a little longer, but it shows the impact of VIPKID teachers, with interviews from a couple parents and their students.

How to Become a VIPKID teacher

Teachers earn an average of $18-22 an hour with VIPKID (according to Indeed.com’s self-reporting from teachers). Plus the VIPKID teacher community is very supportive, with a culture based on flexibility and helping each other, fostered through both online and offline meetups.

I know you’ve probably been wondering: do I have to know Chinese? The answer is NO! VIPKID teachers are not required to speak Chinese. Here is what’s required:

• Bachelor’s degree in any field
• One school year of full-time teaching experience or equivalent hours in similar educational activities (such as homeschooling, tutoring, educational mentoring, etc.)
• Eligibility to work in US or Canada, but you can be located ANYWHERE.
• You do NOT need to speak Chinese to teach.

Interested? Visit VIPKID to apply.

If you want to know more about what being a VIPKID teacher is like, I found this great post with firsthand information on what it’s like to be a VIPKID teacher.

Pin the image below to help me share this idea with other moms.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of VIPKID. All opinions are 100% mine.