For today, we’ll be talking about an online teaching opportunity that could provide you with a decent source of income. The opportunity comes from 51talk ESL Tutoring.
But can you really make decent money with 51talk? And is this really the right opportunity for you to grab? Well, let’s find out in this review of the online tutoring platform. Now, let us talk about what 51talk is.
You can also check out the step-by-step training that helps me earn over $10,000+ per month working from home.
Contents
What is 51talk ESL Tutoring Job?
51talk is a company that will hire you to become an online English teacher for students who are looking to learn the language. It was founded in China and is considered as the leading English education platform in the country.
The company recruits people from the U.S. and in other parts of the country to teach their students English online.
As a teacher, you would be teaching the English language to students and evaluating their performances and progress.
51talk provides flexibility for their teachers, in that you can decide on the time that you want to work. You will earn by the hour as a teacher for the company, so the more hours you work the more pay you will receive.
Who Uses 51talk ESL Tutoring Job?
51talk is used by two groups, people like you who are looking for an opportunity to make decent money online and people who are looking to learn the English language.
For students, 51talk provides an affordable and accessible way to learn the English language. The company’s mission is to provide affordable and quality education across China.
They also want to allow their students to have access to live and on-demand English lessons coming from foreign teachers. The program is open to people of every age, but the majority are between 4 and 12 years old.
The company is saying that they already have millions of registered users, so there are a lot of teaching opportunities. As a teacher, 51talk will allow you to work and teach anytime and anywhere.
Since the teaching sessions are done online, you will need access to a stable internet connection, a laptop or desktop, an HD webcam, a headphone with speaker, and you are all set.
You will just need to pass the registration process before you can begin your career as an online English teacher.
How Will You Earn Money from 51talk ESL Tutoring Job?
As a teacher, 51talk will be paying you by the hour and the company is saying that their teachers can earn as high as $22 per hour.
But that is the highest rate you can get, which is not that easy to do, considering the factors that will affect payment rate and promotion.
My research, though, shows that people are still earning decent money, on the average, from 51talk. The starting pay will actually be $15 per hour, but you can easily increase it to $18 per hour, as long as you get good feedback.
That is still a pretty decent number and can actually be a primary source of income for some. Each tutoring session will last for 25 minutes, so you will likely be teaching 4 students or less within an hour’s time.
Since the schedule is flexible, you can basically log-in anytime and just take the tutoring job available on the site. The number of students you can teach will depend very much on the number of students available.
So if you log in and there are no students available, then there’s no way you can teach and earn money. It is important to note that the students will mostly be coming from China, so their time zone will be different.
So logging in during the times where students are likely to be online will be ideal. 51talk mentions that peak hours are between 3 am to 10 am EST from Monday to Friday and from 8 pm to 10 am EST during Saturdays to Sundays.
You are also required to have at least 30 peak time hours per month. You will be rated by the students you teach and the higher your ratings, the more bookings your account will likely receive.
Higher ratings will also allow you to increase your rankings, thus also increase your per hour rate.
It is important that you have a strong internet connection when you’re doing your teaching sessions, as some students will give you a bad rating with just a poor internet connection.
It is also important not to miss a teaching session, as 51talk provides stiff penalties to teachers who don’t show up for a scheduled session. You can apply for a leave of absence and you are given a maximum of 30 days leave.
You will be penalized by up to 3 times your rate if you don’t show up (some countries complain of higher penalties).
If a student doesn’t show up, you will still be paid in half and you need to wait for about 15 minutes or more before logging out. You will be receiving your payment on a monthly basis.
51talk also has a referral system, and you can earn $200 for every successful referral that the company hires.
Now, becoming part of 51talk is just like applying for a regular job. There are certain requirements and criteria that you need to meet, not to mention passing the interview and a teaching demo.
In order to be part of 51talk, you will need to fill out an online application form. You would first be asked to provide your email and a password then verify the code to be able to sign up.
Once that’s completed you will be taken to a page where more details about you will be required, like your full name, and your country.
Then 51talk will also be asking about your qualifications, like your highest level of education and your experience in teaching children. Lastly, you will be asked to upload a soft copy of your resume that is within the file size of 2MB.
After completing the application form, you will be scheduled for an online interview and a teaching demo. If you pass both, you will be required to attend an orientation and submit the other required documents.
You will also be signing a service agreement with 51talk to formalize your hiring. After the orientation, you will be attending the new teacher training session, where you will also be taught how to navigate the website.
Once you have completed everything, you can start your home-based teaching career. The company requires a one-year minimum commitment.
What I Liked about 51talk
Now that we have a general idea of what 51talk is, it’s time to discuss what I liked about the website.
- I like that 51talk offers high payment, which can be a decent source of extra income or even primary income.
- Though this is technically a job, the hours it provides is a bit flexible, so people who have day jobs and want to earn extra money can actually do so with 51talk.
- It is a legitimate job that actually pays, which is huge in the online world, considering that there are a lot of scams out there. So having a site that actually pays is big plus.
What I Disliked about 51talk
Of course, not everything is all smooth and fine with 51talk, as there are some things that the company can improve upon, which I’ll discuss here.
- Though the students’ feedback is a good way to gauge the performance of a teacher, there are cases where the negative feedback is not even warranted. Some students will even give negative feedback if there is a bad connection on their end and not on the teachers.
- I also don’t like that teachers are penalized with up to 3 times their rate if they miss a class, while students who skip a class will only warrant a half payment for the teacher.
- The teacher support of 51talk is also not very good, as it can take a lot of time before they get back to teachers who have submitted complains or have issues that need to be resolved.
Is 51talk Legit or a Waste of Time?
51talk ESL Tutoring Job is actually legitimate, as there are already a lot of people who have made a decent living teaching English online to Chinese students.
The company will pay you the amount that you are due and the work can be consistent, as long as you log in during the peak hours when there are more students seeking English lessons online.
51talk is actually listed in the New York Stock Exchange, so you know it is legitimate and you won’t be wasting your time applying for a position as an English online teacher.
Do I Recommend 51talk?
This question is actually a bit harder to answer, as this kind of job is actually not for everyone. For starters, it will be easier to get accepted if you have a degree in teaching or at least some sort of teaching experience.
Then you will also have to undergo an online interview and do a demo to show off your teaching skills. The company will then evaluate your application and the results of the interview and demo before accepting you.
If you feel that you’re not qualified enough to actually pass the screening to be a teacher, then it is probably better not try it out. This will save you a lot of time, as the screening process can take days.
But I encourage everyone who wants to give it a try and apply for the position since 51talk is opening their doors to all people who have what it takes. It is also a good opportunity to make decent money while working from home.
Frank
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